Why is Kansas so Prone to Tornadoes?

Kansas is known to have lots of tornadoes, with around 96 popping up per year, but many don't know the science behind why. To put it simply, it is all a matter of geography and wind patterns. Cold, dry winds from the Rocky Mountains and warm, moist winds from the Gulf of Mexico collide over the flat plains of the midwest. However, there is more to it than that.

First we need to understand how tornadoes work and how they are formed to be able to understand why the midwest gets so many tornadoes.

Tornadoes start as supercell thunderstorms, thunderstorms with a rotating, warm updraft. That updraft eventually turns into a rotating column of warm air, also known as a vortex. As the supercell expands, the vortex begins to tilt. That tilt starts pulling warm, moist air upward and cold, dry air downward. The moistness of the warm air turns the vortex into a funnel cloud. The dry air that is pulling downward puts force on the center of the funnel cloud, pulling the cloud along with it to the ground. This makes the center of the funnel cloud touch the ground, officially creating a tornado.

Now that we know the basics, how does this specifically apply to the Midwest? Well, Kansas has access to two large sources of cold, dry air and warm, moist air. Air travelling east from the Rocky Mountains is cold and dry and air travelling north from the Gulf of Mexico is warm and moist. When the winds collide, tornadoes are possible.

Above, you can see just how many tornadoes have occurred in Kansas since tornadoes began to be recorded here in 1950. Tens of large ones and hundreds of small ones prove just how perfect the conditions are for tornadoes in Kansas. However, some tornadoes are more powerful than others. Listed below are some of the more severe tornadoes recorded in Kansas.

The Topeka tornado of June 8, 1966, was one of the most devastating tornadoes ever to take place in Kansas. It was, for a short period of time, about half a mile wide and left a trail of damage over 22 miles long. It killed 17 people and left over 500 people injured. It had caused over $200 million in damage, but factoring in years of inflation, the total cost of damage was over $1.8 billion.

The Greensburg Tornado of May 4, 2007, was an EF5 on the Fujita Intensity scale. It killed 11 people and injured 63 others. Almost 95% of the buildings in the town were completely demolished. During its time on the ground, it got to about 1.7 miles wide.

The Chapman Tornado of May 25, 2016, had winds of about 180 miles per hour and was an EF4 scale. Some houses were swept away in the wind, trees 3 and 4 feet in diameter were snapped, and iron railway tracks were bent, completely stopping railway activity to and from Chapman for 3 whole days.

The Udall Tornado of May 25, 1955, is assumed to be the most severe and destructive tornado in Kansas history. In the town, 192 buildings, not including 170 homes, were destroyed by the tornado. Over 200 people were injured and 87 were killed. This left only about 80% of the population alive.

Depending on the exact weather conditions, a tornado can be weak, but other times, the tornadoes will be extremely strong, and strong tornadoes can have disastrous results on their environment. The factors that are necessary to form tornadoes happen to commonly occur right over Kansas, which is why it is part of Tornado Alley.