May Tornado Outbreak

On Wednesday, May 29, there were 35 tornadoes from Texas to Iowa with the majority (24) being small EF-0 tornadoes. One person died in Kentucky.

On Tuesday, May 28, tornadoes hit Kansas, Missouri and New Jersey. A large wedge-shaped – half a mile to a mile wide – and rain-wrapped tornado hit just outside Kansas City, injuring 12 and damaging at least 30 homes. Rain-wrapped tornadoes are harder to spot, especially without radar. The tornado touched down outside of Lawrence as an EF-3 and also hit Pleasant Grove, Bonner Springs and Linwood. By the time it reached Linwood it was an EF-4 with peak winds of 170 mph. It is estimated that the tornado traveled more than 30 miles over the course of nearly an hour. It injured 18 people, damaged homes, destroyed power lines and downed trees. This was the first violent tornado – EF-4 or higher – in Kansas in three years and the first in the month of May. Another tornado touched down across the state line in Missouri, near Kearney in Clay County and moved toward Excelsior Springs. Neither tornado has been rated yet. A small tornado in New Jersey touched down in Sussex County, damaging a high school and leaving thousands without power.

A large cluster of 15 tornadoes hit Dayton, Ohio  and Pendleton, Indiana late on Memorial Day, May 27. The tornadoes were tightly-packed and came one after another “rapid-fire” with at least one crossing the path of another. An EF-3 tornado touched down in Celina damaging several homes and leading to one death. In addition to the significant damage, at least one death and 130 injuries were reported.

Another tornado traveled through several Ohio towns, strengthening from an EF-2 in Brookville to an EF-3 in Trotwood and becoming an EF-4 in Dayton. The tornado was on the ground for several miles, damaged hundreds of houses and destroyed close to 75. At the height of the electrical outages, more than five million people were without power. The Department of Transportation used snowplows to clear debris from Interstate 75.

In Oklahoma, an EF-3 tornado tore through El Reno on May 25, destroying Skyview Estates, a mobile home community of about 88 units. The tornado traveled over two miles in four minutes before lifting. Residents only had five minutes warning before the tornado touched down. Two people were killed and 29 injured. This tornado came nearly six years after the widest tornado on record decimated parts of El Reno on May 31, 2013.

A six-county area in Missouri was hit on May 22, the 8^th anniversary of the 2011 Joplin tornado, including an EF-1 in Eldon. Hardest hit (with a high-end EF-3) was Jefferson City, although unlike Joplin, there were no deaths reported immediately; one man died on May 26 as a result of injuries sustained during the tornado. Damage reports for the area stand at 82 homes destroyed, 165 with major damage and 268 with minor damage.

Between Friday, May 17 and Tuesday, May 21 more than 80 tornadoes blew through eight states, affecting a number of communities across Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Louisiana, Iowa and Oklahoma. All combined, over 100 homes and structures were damaged or destroyed, four people died and a number of injuries were reported.