57
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$6.6M
Property damage
Tornado in Meade County, Kansas: 57 recorded events between 1952 and 2019. The strongest on record measured F3. That places the county #279 nationally and #23 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Meade County, Kansas: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Meade County is the 2000s, when 19 of the county's 57 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 Meade County archive, tornado makes up 7.6% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #279 for this hazard and #23 within Kansas, putting it in the 90.5 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for tornado in Meade County with 21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-05-17 | EF3 | 29.6 mi | 600 yd | Touched down here |
| 2015-11-16 | EF3 | 51.3 mi | 2,000 yd | Crossed in |
| 1973-09-25 | EF3 | 5.7 mi | 50 yd | Crossed in |
| 2005-06-09 | EF2 | 9.2 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 1994-04-09 | EF2 | 25.0 mi | 1,700 yd | Crossed in |
| 1958-06-21 | EF2 | 12.2 mi | 30 yd | Touched down here |
| 1955-06-17 | EF2 | 0.1 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 2019-05-05 | EF1 | 1.1 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 2015-11-16 | EF1 | 6.3 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 2015-05-24 | EF1 | 13.2 mi | 800 yd | Touched down here |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 18, 2019 | FOWLER ARPT | EFU | $0 |
| May 18, 2019 | FOWLER | EF0 | $0 |
| May 18, 2019 | MEADE STATE PARK | EFU | $0 |
| May 6, 2019 | MISSLER | EFU | $0 |
| May 5, 2019 | MISSLER | EFU | $0 |
| May 5, 2019 | MISSLER | EF1 | $0 |
| Nov 17, 2015 | COLLANO | EF1 | $0 |
| Nov 17, 2015 | PLAINS | EF2 | $0 |
| May 25, 2015 | FOWLER | EF2 | $0 |
| May 25, 2015 | MISSLER | EF1 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Meade County
- Hail 481
- Thunderstorm Wind 169
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The tornado entered Meade County from Seward County at 1545 CST 4 SW of Plains and moved ENE at 35 miles an hour striking the southern part of the town of Meade at around 1600 CST. It ended one mile SE of Meade after doing extensive damage to Meade High School, power lines, and several agri-based businesses in southern Meade Township. Damage estimates were around $1.3 million.
This tornado moved in from Seward County. It appeared to be much stronger and wider, visually. But the cloud bases were extremely low. The tornado turned north and then northwest as is dissipated, based on the survey. Many persons did not see the tornado due to nearby stratus and fog.
The second tornado to form started 6.3 miles northwest of Fowler at 1011 PM and traveled a total of 17 miles dissipating at 1040 PM 7 miles southwest of the Dodge City Post Office. It did EF1 damage to five pivot irrigation sprinklers, trees and some outbuildings…in addition to moving a 3000 gallon tank about 1/2 of a mile. In Meade county it tipped over a pivot sprinkler before moving into Ford county at 1014 PM.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Meade County, Kansas?
57 tornado events are recorded in Meade County between 1952 and 2019, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Meade County?
The strongest tornado on record in Meade County measured F3.
Where does the tornado data for Meade 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 Meade County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/meade-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.