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EF3 tornado in Butler County, Kansas

Tornado April 29, 2022 · Butler County, Kansas

EF3
Rating
12.6 mi
Whole path
250 yd
Path width
6
Injuries
$41.5M
Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Sedgwick County → Butler County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 250 yards (0.14 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF3 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF3 is severe damage: whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, consistent with estimated gusts of 136–165 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

A highly visible tornado tracked across portions of Andover, Kansas, during the early evening hours of April 29th, 2022. The tornado went through a highly populated portion of town, including 2 different subdivisions. Also a health club took a direct hit, but no injuries occurred due to actions taken by the health club. Only 1 direct injury occurred from the tornado, with 3 indirect injuries occurred during search and rescue operations. Total damaged house or destroyed structures in Andover and rural Butler County were 205. Of the damaged properties, approximately 180 were residences and the rest were businesses or city buildings. Damage estimates were around $37 million.

The wider storm

A powerful low pressure system approached Kansas on Friday April 29th allowing a sharp dryline to track generally along Interstate 135. Storms first developed across central and northeast Kansas near the warm front, but as the early evening hours continued, a couple of storms fired just east of Wichita. One of these storms produced a strong tornado across the east side of Andover, causing extensive damage. This tornado was eventually rated an EF-3. A total of 6 more tornadoes were produced by other storms across portions of central Kansas all the while, blowing dust was proving to be a major hindrance behind the frontal boundary.

Began near Andover (37.6530, -97.1530).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

8 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1016769. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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