Tornado in Wabaunsee County, Kansas

As the line of thunderstorms moved eastward across northeast Kansas on of the strongest storms spawned a brief, but very strong tornado, which impacted the town of Harveyville, Kansas. The tornado was short-lived, but was able to destroy a large portion of the town. Several houses were completely destroyed, as was a church in the center of town. A National Weather Service survey team determined that the tornado rated an EF-2 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. At least a dozen injuries occurred with this storm, one of which became fatal after a day in the hospital. The tornado continued into Osage County and weakened.

A tornado bounced up and down along a northeast track through the eastern part of the county, mainly in farmland. About half dozen buildings were damaged. At times the tornado had multiple vorticies. This tornado was one of 12 confirmed tornadoes that struck northeast Kansas on the evening of May 6th. Several had multiple vortices that were initially reported as more than one tornado.

NWS damage survey along with multiple video accounts show a tornado formed just east of Alta Vista then tracked over mainly rural areas of Wabaunsee County to the northeast producing damage along an 8.5 mile long track. The tornado was most intense just northeast of Alta Vista and southeast of Volland where EF2 damage was found to hardwood trees where widespread healthy tree trunks were snapped on the west side of the circulation. The survey crew could not access further east closer to the center point or eastern flank of the tornado circulation damage path however it is estimated that this was around 300 yards wide at its widest point. Maximum winds estimated to around 115 mph based upon damage to hardwood trees.