Hail — Saline, Kansas

2025-05-18 · near Salina, Saline, Kansas

Event narrative

The time was estimated via radar.

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 → (38.8600, -97.6100)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1263314. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.