What the record says
On 17 June 1978, a tornado touched down near Lyndon, Kansas. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 7.3 miles long and up to 150 yards wide, rated F1 on the Fujita (F) scale. It killed 16 people and injured 3.
- F1Fujita rating
- 16deaths
- 3injuries
- 7.3 mipath length
- 150 ydmaximum width
It has its own page because it killed three or more people.
This page gives the official record's figures. Numbers of deaths and injuries are sometimes revised after a survey, and they cannot convey what the day was like for the people who lived through it.
Counties it crossed
The start point was at 38.68, -95.65 and the end point at 38.68, -95.52 (latitude, longitude).
How to read this path
The Storm Prediction Center records most tornadoes as a straight line from the point where they touched down to the point where they lifted. The real path usually curved and was not the same width all the way along. The width given is the widest part. Older records are less precise, and the record starts in 1950.
Source: the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database, public domain.
Other notable tornadoes in Kansas
- Newkirk, Oklahoma tornado25 May 1955, F5, 80 deaths, 273 injuries, 56.4 miles long
- Overland Park, Kansas tornado20 May 1957, F5, 44 deaths, 207 injuries, 69.4 miles long
- Welch, Oklahoma tornado10 May 2008, EF4, 21 deaths, 350 injuries, 75.5 miles long
- Tonkawa, Oklahoma tornado25 May 1955, F5, 20 deaths, 280 injuries, 28.4 miles long
- Derby, Kansas tornado26 April 1991, F5, 17 deaths, 225 injuries, 46 miles long
- Topeka, Kansas tornado8 June 1966, F5, 16 deaths, 450 injuries, 21.1 miles long
Other notable tornadoes of 1978
- Rhodes, Iowa tornado16 September 1978, F3, 6 deaths, 45 injuries, 31.8 miles long
- Elgin, North Dakota tornado4 July 1978, F4, 5 deaths, 35 injuries, 26 miles long
- Monticello, Mississippi tornado18 April 1978, F4, 4 deaths, 31 injuries, 19.1 miles long
- Gary, Minnesota tornado5 July 1978, F2, 4 deaths, 44 injuries, 57.5 miles long
- Westmoreland, Kansas tornado31 May 1978, F3, 3 deaths, 1 injury, 37 miles long
All tornadoes of 1978 · Kansas tornado history · All notable tornadoes