90
Recorded events
13
Direct deaths
346
Direct injuries
$932.5M
Property damage
Tornado in Sedgwick County, Kansas: 90 recorded events between 1950 and 2026. The strongest on record measured F5. That places the county #79 nationally and #5 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Sedgwick County, Kansas: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Sedgwick County is the 1990s, when 21 of the county's 90 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 Sedgwick County archive, tornado makes up 3.1% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #79 for this hazard and #5 within Kansas, putting it in the 97.3 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Apr is the peak month for tornado in Sedgwick County with 24 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991-04-26 | EF5 | 46.0 mi | 440 yd | Crossed in |
| 1999-05-03 | EF4 | 24.0 mi | 880 yd | Crossed in |
| 1969-06-23 | EF4 | 8.7 mi | 700 yd | Touched down here |
| 2022-04-29 | EF3 | 12.7 mi | 250 yd | Touched down here |
| 2015-05-06 | EF3 | 16.5 mi | 300 yd | Touched down here |
| 2012-04-14 | EF3 | 13.2 mi | 1,760 yd | Touched down here |
| 1991-05-16 | EF3 | 20.0 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 1973-05-26 | EF3 | 4.3 mi | 400 yd | Touched down here |
| 1965-09-03 | EF3 | 0.1 mi | 400 yd | Touched down here |
| 1965-05-13 | EF3 | 62.5 mi | 100 yd | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 4, 1999 | PECK | F4 | 6 | 150 | $140.0M |
| Apr 26, 1991 | F5 | 4 | 75 | $250.0M | |
| May 26, 1973 | F1 | 3 | 0 | $0 | |
| Apr 15, 2012 | HAYSVILLE | EF3 | 0 | 38 | $500.0M |
| Sep 4, 1965 | F3 | 0 | 27 | $2.5M | |
| Oct 11, 1973 | F2 | 0 | 15 | $250K | |
| May 14, 1965 | F3 | 0 | 10 | $250K | |
| Jun 23, 1969 | F4 | 0 | 6 | $250K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 23, 2026 | KECHI | EFU | $0 |
| Apr 30, 2022 | ROSE HILL | EF2 | $4.5M |
| May 6, 2015 | VIOLA | EF0 | $0 |
| May 6, 2015 | MT HOPE | EF3 | $600K |
| Apr 9, 2015 | GARDEN PLAIN | EF0 | $0 |
| May 19, 2013 | CLEARWATER | EF2 | $0 |
| May 19, 2013 | VIOLA | EF0 | $0 |
| Apr 15, 2012 | HAYSVILLE | EF3 | $500.0M |
| Jun 9, 2011 | ANDALE | EF0 | $0 |
| Sep 15, 2010 | DERBY | EF0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Sedgwick County
- Hail 1,386
- Thunderstorm Wind 1,112
- Flash Flood 127
- Flood 93
- Heavy Rain 61
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Significant damage to homes, many of them had a number missing outer walls. Seven homes were missing two to four walls, one home was completely destroyed. The trees associated with house completely stripped to nothing, this was also the case at many other locations along the path. ||A mobile home park to south had seventy five percent of the homes uninhabitable. Approximately twenty five percent were reduced to rubble. ||Significant damage was also noted at McConnell AFB. Many of the hangars sustained damage. One hangar in particular that was owned by Spirit Aerosystems sustained a considerable amount of damage.||Several apartments and businesses also had damage like roofs being torn off and windows blown out.
A highly visible tornado that came to be known as the Andover Tornado initially touched down in rural Sedgwick county and tracked to the east northeast into Butler county, Kansas. Two direct injuries occurred, when a manufactured home was completely destroyed, with two occupants inside. Two people were transported to local hospitals with serious injuries. Total structures affected were 116, with 22 of those being homes. The rest of the structures affected were barns, sheds, detached garages, etc. This tornado crossed the county line into Butler County. Damage were estimated at 4.5 million dollars.
The weak tornado fromed along the gust front of a downburst in East Wichita. Initial touchdown occurred just west of the East Harry/South Oliver intersection. The tornado moved northeast to the Kellogg/Oliver intersection, then almost due north to just east of the Central/Oliver intersection where it lifted. The tornado inflicted extensive tree damage, destroyed two portable grade school classrooms, caved in the ceiling of a supermarket, and caused extensive roof damage to homes and businesses.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Sedgwick County, Kansas?
90 tornado events are recorded in Sedgwick County between 1950 and 2026, causing 13 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Sedgwick County?
The strongest tornado on record in Sedgwick County measured F5.
Where does the tornado data for Sedgwick 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 Sedgwick County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/sedgwick-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.