46
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
56
Direct injuries
$20.4M
Property damage
Tornado in Cherokee County, Kansas: 46 recorded events between 1953 and 2026. The strongest on record measured F4. That places the county #455 nationally and #44 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Cherokee County, Kansas: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Cherokee County is the 2000s, when 11 of the county's 46 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Cherokee County archive, tornado makes up 6.2% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #455 for this hazard and #44 within Kansas, putting it in the 84.3 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for tornado in Cherokee County with 16 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
| Date | Scale | Path length | Max width | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956-04-03 | EF4 | 41.8 mi | 400 yd | Crossed in |
| 2003-05-04 | EF3 | 25.0 mi | 880 yd | Touched down here |
| 1982-03-15 | EF3 | 30.0 mi | 167 yd | Crossed in |
| 2019-05-22 | EF3 | 9.2 mi | 440 yd | Touched down here |
| 1982-03-15 | EF3 | 9.0 mi | 400 yd | Touched down here |
| 2014-04-27 | EF2 | 11.4 mi | 325 yd | Crossed in |
| 1973-05-11 | EF2 | 0.1 mi | 300 yd | Crossed in |
| 1971-05-05 | EF2 | 1.0 mi | 440 yd | Touched down here |
| 1961-05-07 | EF2 | 5.7 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1961-02-17 | EF2 | 7.3 mi | 880 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 4, 2003 | MELROSE | F3 | 3 | 19 | $2.7M |
| Mar 16, 1982 | F3 | 1 | 6 | $2.5M | |
| Apr 27, 2014 | BAXTER SPGS | EF2 | 0 | 25 | $10.0M |
| Apr 3, 1956 | F4 | 0 | 5 | $2.5M | |
| Sep 3, 1959 | F2 | 0 | 1 | $3K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 26, 2026 | HALLOWELL | EF1 | $1.2M |
| Apr 20, 2025 | LOWELL | EF1 | $500K |
| May 7, 2024 | SHERWIN | EF0 | $64K |
| May 7, 2024 | MELROSE | EF0 | $300K |
| May 23, 2019 | GALENA | EF1 | $25K |
| May 23, 2019 | TREECE | EF1 | $0 |
| May 20, 2019 | DAISY HILL | EF1 | $0 |
| Apr 3, 2015 | HALLOWELL | EF0 | $0 |
| Apr 27, 2014 | BAXTER SPGS | EF2 | $10.0M |
| Jul 13, 2010 | MELROSE | EF1 | $125K |
Other hazards here
More from Cherokee County
- Thunderstorm Wind 266
- Hail 254
- Flash Flood 131
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A survey team determined an EF2 tornado struck the town of Baxter Springs, Kansas. The tornado started near Quapaw, Oklahoma and crossed the state line into Kansas then moved through the town of Baxter Springs producing a 150 yard wide swath of damage from southwest to northeast through the center of town. Emergency management reported approximately 90 homes and 11 business were destroyed and an additional seven businesses and 85 homes suffered damage. Approximately 25 injuries were reported but no fatalities. Maximum wind speeds were estimated to be between 120 and 130 mph.
A National Weather Service storm survey determined that an EF1 Tornado with estimated wind speeds of 105 mph touched down near the northeast portion of Hallowell before tracking 4.37 miles to the east. The tornado uprooted or snapped several trees, overturned several empty railcars, caused significant damaged to several grain bins, destroyed multiple outbuildings and snapped or broke numerous power poles and downed power lines. The tornado track ended approximately 1.25 miles east of Sherwin.
A NWS survey determined that an EF 1 tornado touched down near Empire Lake north of Galena, KS and tracked to the northeast before crossing into Missouri at the intersection of SE Turkey Creek Road and North State Line Avenue. Along its path in Cherokee County the tornado damaged hundreds of trees, knocked over power poles and lines and damaged multiple roofs.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Cherokee County, Kansas?
46 tornado events are recorded in Cherokee County between 1953 and 2026, causing 4 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Cherokee County?
The strongest tornado on record in Cherokee County measured F4.
Where does the tornado data for Cherokee County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Tornado in Cherokee County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/cherokee-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.