A destructive severe weather and tornado outbreak struck the Central Plains,

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also known as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical List of regions in the United States, region of the United States located in the eastern portion of the Southern United States and t ...

over a four day period. Multiple strong tornadoes were confirmed as well as widespread severe hail and wind, lightning, and heavy rain. One violent F4 tornado, which may have reached F5 intensity, caused severe damage between Lawrence and

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As ...

, injuring three people. Although the tornadoes themselves only caused eight injuries, scores of fatalities and additional injuries came from the non-tornadic effects as well.

Meteorological synopsis

Two low-pressure systems formed over the Central Plains; the first one formed over Southeast Colorado on May 21 and moved eastward before moving northeastward in front of a second, slower moving low-pressure center that formed over south central

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

and moved into northeastern

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. Both these lows moved eastward before the first one dissipated over Eastern Iowa while the other followed generally the same path as its predecessor. It moved through the

region through May 25, before acceleration northeastward into

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. In the meantime, the complex setup led to a large area of severe thunderstorms, some of which became tornadic.

Confirmed tornadoes

May 21 event

*The CDNS listed an additional tornado: **A tornado occurred in

Arvada, Colorado Arvada () is a home rule city located in Jefferson and Adams counties, Colorado, United States. The city population was 124,402 at the 2020 United States census, with 121,510 residing in Jefferson County and 2,892 in Adams County. Arvada is ...

. The condensation funnel did not reach the ground and damage was light. Some birds were killed when they were drawn into the funnel.

May 22 event

May 23 event

May 24 event

Non-tornadic impacts

May 21

Severe hail, lightning, damaging winds, heavy rain affected parts of

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

and

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

on March 21. In

Sedgwick County, Kansas Sedgwick County is located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita, the most populous city in the state. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 523,824, making it the second-mo ...

, a church was struck by lightning, tearing a hole into it. A house was also struck by lightning, damaging the roof and injuring two people who were sleeping. Northwest of Harmon, Oklahoma a farmer driving a tractor was struck by lightning and killed.

May 22

hail caused spotted damage to wheat crops in the south central

Marshall County, Kansas Marshall County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and largest city is Marysville. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 10,038. The county was named after Frank J. Marshall, a state representative ...

with individual losses amounting to 60 to 75 percent of crops with more extensive damage to wheat crops in Frankfort and Bigelow. Another hailstorm caused damage in

Pawnee County, Nebraska Pawnee County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 2,544. Its county seat is Pawnee City. In the Nebraska license plate system, Pawnee County is represented by the prefix 54 (it ...

while irregular shaped hail up to tennis ball size caused major damage in

Caney, Kansas Caney is a city in Montgomery County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,788. History Caney was founded in 1869. It was named from the Caney River. The first post office in Caney was established ...

. Hail caused severe damage to 51 roofs in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

and

Pawnee Pawnee initially refers to a Native American people and its language: * Pawnee people * Pawnee language Pawnee is also the name of several places in the United States: * Pawnee, Illinois * Pawnee, Kansas * Pawnee, Missouri * Pawnee City, Nebraska * ...

Counties in

with scattered damage to wheat in Tillman County, especially near Grandfield. Hail up to in diameter caused major damage in Beckham and Washita Counties, especially in the town of

Port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

, where 50 to 100 percent of wheat was destroyed, damaged roofs, cars were dented, and hail drifts were knee deep. There was wind damage to multiple buildings and lightning burned down a barn. Six picnickers in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

were injured when the tree they were huddling under was struck by lightning, with one of them being hospitalized for severe burns.

May 23

A large area of severe weather struck an area from

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

to the west,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

to the north,

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

to the south and

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

to the east. A swath of damaging winds struck an area from near Okarche to Cashion, Oklahoma. About 100,000 acres of wheat and other small cropland were affected by these winds. Severe hail also occurred between Okarche and Seward. Total hail loss to crops, including near ripe wheat, was estimated at $2 million. Almost every structure in Okarche had hail damage to their roofs, with total damage estimated at $25,000. A woman in Cashion was also injured by flying glass. In

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

, a house was struck by lightning with two occupants left injured when it caught fire. Another house suffered minor damage when it was also struck by lightning. Another home was engulfed in flames in

Tahlequah Tahlequah ( ; , ) is a city in Cherokee County, Oklahoma located at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. It is part of the Green Country region of Oklahoma and was established as a capital of the 19th-century Cherokee Nation in 1839, as par ...

when it was struck by lightning, resulting in the deaths of nine children as well as three other injuries. Strong straight-line winds damaged an industrial plant on the north side of

Magnolia, Arkansas Magnolia is a city in Columbia County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 11,577. The city is the county seat of Columbia County. Magnolia is home to the World's Largest Charcoal Grill and the World Championship ...

, injuring one person. A lightning fatality also occurred in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

when a child was struck and killed while riding a bicycle.

May 24

Lightning from the previous day's storms struck a radio shop in Selina, Kansas, starting a fire which resulted in $330 in damage to the building as well as $1,000 in damage to its contents. The only other severe weather reported on this day occurred near

Palmyra, Missouri Palmyra is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Missouri, Marion County, Missouri, United States. The population was 3,613 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Hannibal, Missouri, Hannibal Hannibal micropolit ...

, where hail destroyed crops and damaged roofs, windows, and vehicles. The same storm also produced lightning that killed three cows and destroyed a farm outbuilding while damaging another one.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1952-05-21 Tornado Outbreak 05-21 F4, EF4 and IF4 tornadoes 05-21 Tornado Outbreak Tornadoes in Kansas 05-21 Tornado Outbreak Tornadoes in Missouri 05-21 Tornado Outbreak Tornadoes in Oklahoma 05-21 Tornado Outbreak Tornadoes in Texas 05-21 Tornado Outbreak Tornadoes in Iowa 05-21 Tornado Outbreak Tornadoes in Florida 05-21 Tornado Outbreak Tornadoes in Ohio 05-21 Tornado Outbreak Tornadoes in Illinois