Rare Christmas Tornadoes in Kansas

In addition to the intense Blizzard that affected the northern Plains on Christmas, severe weather and tornadoes occurred with this system. A strong line of storms developed across western Texas early in the day, and raced eastward into Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska.

There were a total of 35 reports, so it wasn’t a wild severe weather outbreak. However, that isn’t what really made this severe weather episode stand out. Reports of four tornadoes in southern Kansas surfaced, and 3 tornadoes were confirmed. These were the first ever reported on Christmas day in Kansas.

If today’s tornado report in Kansas is verified, it will be the first Christmas Day tornado in Kansas in NOAA record (1950-present).

— Patrick Marsh (@pmarshwx) December 26, 2016

Here are some December Kansas tornado stats. So far, NWS Dodge City has counted 3 tornadoes (unofficially) from the Christmas event #kswx pic.twitter.com/VFmhH8Llsn

— NWS Dodge City (@NWSDodgeCity) December 26, 2016

Tornadoes on Christmas aren’t common, but they do occur. Since 1964, there have been a total of 64 tornadoes on Christmas day. Most of these occurred in the south, within warm sectors of typical Christmas day low pressure tracks.

The three tornadoes were all rated EF-0’s, with the strongest tornado having 80 mph winds. What was interesting is that the tracks were all longer than 3 miles, with one traveling over 6 miles. For EF-0’s, that is a fairly long path.

Luckily, we were just warm Christmas day. The severe weather threat was held to a minimum, and we were lucky. It could have been worse around here, especially considering the unseasonable warmth. Remember those affected by these storms in your thoughts and prayers the next few days.