EF4 Tornado — Linn, Kansas

2007-02-28 · near Blue Mound, Linn, Kansas

Event narrative

EF4 tornado crossed from Anderson county into Linn county in Kansas at 7:30 PM CST, 4 miles northwest of Blue Mound. The tornado moved east-northeast over mainly rural areas of the county. A home, several farm buildings, and garage were completely destroyed. Other buildings received minor to moderate damage. There were no injuries or deaths with this tornado. The tornado also downed trees and power lines. The tornado lifted 6 miles north-northeast of Pleasanton at 8:10 PM CST.

Wider weather episode

A strong storm system lifted northeast into the region from Oklahoma, during the late afternoon and early evening hours on February 28th. The dynamics from this storm system provided the lift for rapid thunderstorm development along and north of a warm front by the early evening hours. There were numerous reports of hail with the storms, as well as some flash flooding.

The most significant severe thunderstorm produced a tornado in Anderson county Kansas, which then tracked east into Linn county Kansas. The EF4 tornado took a nearly 24 mile continuous path, where it caused damage to mainly rural areas. Just north of Blue Mound a single residence, garage, and several farm buildings were completely destroyed. The tornado was historic, since it was the first time anywhere in the country that a tornado was rated as high as EF4, since switching to the new Enhanced Fujita scale February 1st, 2007.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (38.1209, -95.0720)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 15503. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.