The May 25, 2016 tornado
EF4Ottawa and Dickinson counties, Kansas
An EF4 tornado on a 25.1-mile path that injured 8. It was one of 8 tornadoes recorded in the U.S. that day.
Watch how it happenedEF4 tornado · May 25, 2016
How it happened
Follow the tornado’s path, minute by minute.
The tornado
- Rating
- EF4
- Enhanced Fujita scale
- Path length
- 25.1 mi
- Width up to 900 yards
- Killed
- 0
- Along the whole path
- Injured
- 8
- Along the whole path
- Date and time
- Wednesday, May 25, 2016
- 6:07 PM CST
The National Weather Service account
Written by the local Weather Service office after its damage survey.
The long track violent tornado began 1-2 miles NNE of Niles Kansas and destroyed 2 homes in Ottawa county before crossing into Dickinson county north of Solomon. The tornado tracked 2-3 miles north of the city of Abilene following a meandering path approximately east along 2700 avenue in Dickinson county before veering southeast and crossing interstate 70 approx. 2 miles west of the city of Chapman. The tornado then moved ESE and then east along a path around 1 mile south of Chapman destroying 1 farmstead and several other homes in the area. The worst damage was done to a farmstead 1 mile southwest of Chapman along old highway 40 where the home was destroyed and all outbuildings were blown away. The sub floor of the home was removed from a bolted sill plate and the poured concrete foundation was cracked on the south side exposing the rebar where the strongest forces from the lifting structure occurred as it was being removed and blown away likely occurred. Much of the brick facade of the home did remain where it fell around the structure however so the area was not swept clean. Winds approaching 200 mph were likely in this area while a woman home at the time took shelter in the basement and was ok with only superficial injuries. The approximate number of minor injuries was 5 reported to NWS however none required a hospital visit. Photos of the damage are available off of the NWS damage assessment toolkit website at https://apps.dat.noaa.gov/StormDamage/DamageViewer/ .
The storm system that day
One supercell thunderstorm developed over Ottawa county around 5pm on May 25th. That storm went on to produce 4 documented tornadoes including a 26 mile long violent EF4 tornado that was on the ground for around 90 minutes. Most of the damage was done in Dickinson County Kansas where 20-25 homes were damaged or destroyed. The supercell thunderstorm continued into Morris and Wabaunsee counties where it produced 2 more tornadoes before dissipating that evening.
NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
Counties on its path
Storm Prediction Center severe weather database. Path drawn as a straight line from the recorded start to end point.