EF1 tornado in Franklin County, Kansas

Franklin and Douglas County Emergency Managers surveyed damage from a tornado that crossed the border between the two counties. A very well defined and continuous swath of enhanced damage from a brief tornado was noted from both Emergency Managers. No specific town was impacted by the tornado, but many rural residences and farmsteads sustained quite a bit of damage in the form of damaged homes and destroyed outbuildings, trailers, and grain bins.

On the evening of Tuesday, February 28 2012, a very strong upper level storm system caused widespread thunderstorms to form across most of central and eastern Kansas. The storms initiated approximately 4:00 PM and increased in coverage and intensity throughout the night. Since atmospheric instability was not extremely high there were few reports of severe hail; however, many structures across the area were damaged due to strong, straight-line thunderstorm winds.

The most significant event from the evening of February 28 was a strong tornado that impacted Harveyville, Kansas at approximately 9:03 pm CST. The town sustained significant damage to some structures, including an apartment complex and a church. On Wednesday, February 29 a National Weather Service survey crew traveled to Harveyville to assess the damage. The tornado caused at least 12 injuries and one fatality. The survey crew gave a preliminary assessment of EF-2 damage, indicating wind speeds of 111 - 135 mph.

Three other tornadoes occurred across the area that night, but no injuries and only marginal damage to outbuildings and structures occurred from these other tornadoes.