Hail — Rice, Kansas

2025-05-18 · near Geneseo, Rice, Kansas

Wider weather episode

Multiple rounds of severe weather impacted many areas of Kansas. The initial round developed during the mid-afternoon hours with numerous large hail reports across central and south-central Kansas. The next round developed during the late afternoon and evening hours, producing large hail across central Kansas.

The final round developed after 9 PM across west-central Kansas and moved east-northeastward into Reno County. A lone supercell thunderstorm tracked across southwest Kansas and eventually moved into Reno County. This storm produced a long track wedge tornado that was on the ground for over 30 miles and had a width around a mile wide. It destroyed three homes near the town of Plevna along with widespread tree and power line damage. This tornado was given an EF-3 rating with the most significant damage just southwest of Plevna. Fortunately there were no injuries or fatalities with this destructive tornado.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (38.5200, -98.1600)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1263308. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.