62
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
3
Direct injuries
$4.2M
Property damage
Tornado in Gove County, Kansas: 62 recorded events between 1950 and 2025. The strongest on record measured F2. That places the county #221 nationally and #18 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Gove County, Kansas: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Gove County is the 2000s, when 21 of the county's 62 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 Gove County archive, tornado makes up 8.2% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #221 for this hazard and #18 within Kansas, putting it in the 92.3 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for tornado in Gove County with 26 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-05-23 | EF4 | 11.4 mi | 1,320 yd | Touched down here |
| 2025-05-18 | EF3 | 13.3 mi | 416 yd | Touched down here |
| 1968-05-13 | EF3 | 140.4 mi | 320 yd | Crossed in |
| 2017-10-02 | EF2 | 18.3 mi | 450 yd | Crossed in |
| 2008-05-23 | EF2 | 14.0 mi | 1,760 yd | Touched down here |
| 1979-08-28 | EF2 | 10.1 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 1950-08-06 | EF2 | 8.7 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 2017-10-02 | EF1 | 0.4 mi | 75 yd | Touched down here |
| 2017-10-02 | EF1 | 0.5 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 2015-05-09 | EF1 | 6.1 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 23, 2008 | QUINTER | EF4 | 0 | 2 | $2.5M |
| May 6, 1964 | F1 | 0 | 1 | $25K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 18, 2025 | CAMPUS | EF3 | $0 |
| May 2, 2024 | GOVE | EFU | $0 |
| May 1, 2024 | GOVE | EFU | $0 |
| Mar 24, 2024 | CAMPUS | EFU | $0 |
| May 18, 2022 | BUFFALO PARK | EFU | $0 |
| Oct 3, 2017 | QUINTER | EF1 | $75K |
| Oct 3, 2017 | GOVE | EF0 | $4K |
| Oct 3, 2017 | GOVE | EF1 | $40K |
| Oct 3, 2017 | GOVE | EF1 | $0 |
| May 8, 2016 | GOVE | EF0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Gove County
- Hail 447
- Thunderstorm Wind 200
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A large wedge tornado developed about 9 miles SSW of Quinter and moved north, then northwest, eventually dissipating 2 miles SE of Park. This tornado caused extensive damage to several homes, including EF4 damage to one home which was completely destroyed. A car and a pickup truck were tossed or bounced 200 yards at the residence. Nearby, two other homes suffered extensive damage. This tornado caused two injuries, including the driver of a vehicle which was thrown off Interstate 70, and an older male attempting to get into his storm cellar when he was struck by flying debris.
Storm chaser videotaped a large wedge tornado just north of Quinter, which moved into Sheridan county along a path just west of a second tornado occurring simultaneously. This tornado caused extensive utility pole damage from northern Gove into southern Sheridan county, and impacted several homesteads with roof and outbuilding damage.
Many structures were damaged in Quinter. The tornado began near the elementary school, causing damage to play ground equipment and blew a fence down. The tornado then caused damage to the city building to the northeast of the school, and damaged a few businesses, a few single-wide mobile homes, and a few homes. Damage to the buildings ranged from loosing shingles to porches being blown over, blowing in a set of doors to a hardware store, and blowing a mobile home off its foundation. Many windows were also broken out of the buildings and a few vehicles. Some of the buildings with metal roofing lost some paneling. Numerous trees had significant damage, with some tree trunks having been snapped. A windbreak on the edge of town was damaged in the middle but not on either end.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Gove County, Kansas?
62 tornado events are recorded in Gove County between 1950 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Gove County?
The strongest tornado on record in Gove County measured F2.
Where does the tornado data for Gove 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 Gove County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/gove-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.