Kansas City, KS Tornado History — 152 Tornadoes Since 1950
How many tornadoes has Kansas City, KS had?
Kansas City has had 152 tornadoes on record within 25 miles since 1950, including 16 violent (EF3+) tornadoes.
When was the most recent tornado near Kansas City?
The most recent tornado within 25 miles of Kansas City was an EF0 on June 3, 2025.
When is tornado season in Kansas City?
May is historically the peak month for tornadoes near Kansas City, with 60 on record. Spring through early summer (April–June) generally sees the highest activity across most of the central and southern United States.
At a Glance
Recent Tornado Activity Near Kansas City
The last 20 years of confirmed tornadoes within 25 miles — 55 total, averaging 2.8 per year over this window.
Preliminary tornado reports near Kansas City since December 29, 2025
These are 4 preliminary reports, not confirmed tornadoes. They have not yet been through an NWS damage survey, and are not counted in the confirmed totals above.
Preliminary reports are revised, merged, and sometimes withdrawn — historically about 23% are consolidated downward once surveys complete. Ratings are omitted until a survey assigns one.
Confirmed records above are complete through December 29, 2025. NOAA publishes the confirmed archive annually, so tornadoes after that date appear here first and move into the totals above once finalized.
Within 25 miles of Kansas City. Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center preliminary storm reports, updated daily.
Tornadoes by Decade
Tornadoes by Enhanced Fujita Rating
F0–F5 ratings (pre-2007) are grouped with their EF equivalents. The Enhanced Fujita scale replaced the original Fujita scale in February 2007.
Tornadoes by Month
Casualties on Record Near Kansas City
50 fatalities have been recorded within 25 miles of Kansas City since 1950, across 5 events. 369 injuries have been reported across all events. 1957 was the deadliest year on record.
The deadliest single event was a F5 on May 20, 1957, which caused 44 fatalities along a 69.4-mile track.
Notable Tornadoes Near Kansas City
About Tornadoes in Kansas City
This overview was written August 10, 2026. The tornado counts and notable-event figures elsewhere on this page reflect the latest data and may differ from this summary.
The lower Missouri Valley sits at a seasonal crossroads: each spring, humid Gulf of Mexico air surges north across eastern Kansas just as cold fronts and jet-stream energy arrive from the High Plains, and Kansas City, Kansas lies directly beneath that collision zone. An F4 tore across the area on May 22, 1952, injuring 3 people, and the F5 of May 21, 1957 killed 44 people and injured 207 along a long track skirting the metro. An F3 in January 1967 killed 2 and injured 18, proof the season can bend beyond spring. May 1977 produced an F4 and, a day later, an F3. An F4 on May 4, 2003 killed 2 people and injured 30. On May 28, 2019, an EF4 nearly a mile wide passed the metro's southwestern flank, injuring 4, and an EF1 touched down on June 3, 2025.
The rhythm behind those dates is climatological: late spring stacks the ingredients, as deepening Gulf moisture meets the sharpening dryline and strong winds aloft supply the shear that lets thunderstorms rotate. That is why the dates above cluster in May, with April and June framing the shoulders, and why the threat ebbs as the jet stream retreats in summer. The NOAA Storm Prediction Center's database, the source for this history, shows the same seasonal pulse from the 1950s through the 2020s.