–13 NCEI, NOAA. Storm Events Database.

–11 21:03-21:05 EF5 Tornado, Kiowa, KS.

–1 Male, 58, location not noted.

–1 Male, 63, in water.

–1 Male, 79, mobile/trailer home.

–1 Male, 77, permanent home.

–1 Female, 76, permanent home.

–1 Male, 49, permanent home.

–1 Female, 72, permanent home.

–1 Male, 52, permanent home.

–1 Female, 78, permanent home.

–1 Male, 77, permanent home.

— 1 21:48-22:08 EF3 Tornado, Pratt, KS. Male, 84, permanent home near Hopewell.[1]

— 1 22:34-22:58 EF3 Tornado, Stafford County, near Macksville, KS. Male, 46, vehicle.

–11 Fitzgerald. Sound and Fury: A History of Kansas Tornadoes, 1854-2008. 2008-09, p. 339.

–11 Livingston and Berrington. “May 4, 2007: The night that made maps of Greensburg…”

–11 NOAA. Facts about the May 4, 2007 Greensburg tornado (webpage). 4-25-2008.

–10 URS. Final Report: Tornado Damage Investigation. Greensburg, Kansas. 10-24-2007, 1-2.[2]

Narrative Information

NCEI/NOAA on Greensburg tornado: “A destructive tornado, the first 5 rating on the new Enhanced-Fujita Scale and the first 5 classification since May 3, 1999 when an F5 tornado ripped through Moore, Oklahoma occurred on this day. There were 16 tornadoes during about a 4 hour period, one a little over 2 miles wide! Two of the tornadoes existed for over 1 hour as they churned up the ground, leveling homes and causing fatalities along their path. Miraculously, on 13 people perished, 11 in Greensburg – a miracle because over 90 percent of the town of Greensburg was literately wiped off the face of the earth. Another round of tornadoes occurred the following day across generally the same area. Nearly 250 pivot irrigation sprinklers were damaged or destroyed during the 2 day outbreak. Due to the number of sprinklers involved and the lack of replacements, some farmers would be out of service for over 1 year.

“This killer tornado started in Comanche county and crossed into Kiowa county at 2003 CST / 2103 CDT. It curved north then northwest before making a complete loop northwest of Greensburg. Thus, the path was 25.8 miles.

“This tornado destroyed nearly 95 percent of the town of Greensburg and despite adequate warning, unfortunately took the life of 11 people, some that were in basements. First responders arriving on the scene requested three refrigerated refer trucks thinking there would be hundreds of fatalities. It also destroyed a dozen homes and a church south of Greensburg but did not cause injury. In all, 961 homes and businesses were destroyed, 216 received major damage and 307 received minor damage.

“As the tornado was dissipating it turned northwest, west, south and then back east making a loop. This was documented on both high resolution doppler radar and through the ground survey. Also as the tornado was dissipating a new circulation quickly grew northeast of town.
“Several oil storage tanks were destroyed causing an environmental concern. In the town of Greensburg, hazardous material was strewn everywhere. As of July 26th, the debris was still not fully cleaned up. Two landfills were filled with debris from the town and this was even as most was burned. Hundreds of thousands of dump truck loads were taken out. It was estimated that approximately 400,000 cubic yards of debris was removed. The major highway running through town was closed for 1 full month.

“At one time there were over 150 law enforcement officers (from all over the country) present. Military was called in for debris removal and rebuilding.

“Damage of insured losses exceeded $150 million, but including un-insured losses, was roughly 250 million dollars.

“Note: The 11^th victim passed away on September 19^th, 2007 after a long battle with a head injury sustained during the tornado.” (NCEI, NOAA. Storm Events Database. 21:03-21:05 EF5 Tornado, Kiowa, KS.)

NCEI/NOAA on Pratt County tornado: “This tornado moved across out of southeast Edwards county at 2148 CST and grew into a large tornado of a little more than a mile wide. A male was killed near Hopewell as a basement wall collapsed on him when his home was demolished. Very little of the home was left visible.” (NCEI, NOAA. Storm Events Database. 21:48-22:08 EF3 Tornado, Pratt, KS.)

NCEI/NOAA on Stafford County tornado: “This killer tornado formed just east of another large but dissipating tornado that was approaching Macksville. Unfortunately a law officer watching the dissipating tornado was unaware that this one was rapidly forming and could not get out of harms way. His car was thrown at least 1/4 of a mile and was found in a field. He died several days later from catastrophic injuries received in the crushed vehicle. EF3 damage was done to over a dozen farms, trees, machinery, vehicles, pivot irrigation sprinklers and power poles.” (NCEI/NOAA, Storm Events Database. 22:34-22:58 EF3 Tornado, Stafford County, KS.)

URS for FEMA: “Description of the Event: On the evening of May 4, 2007, “supercell” thunderstorms formed across portions of the Midwestern United States, spawning tornadoes in several States. An intense supercell developed southwest of Greensburg, KS that evening, resulting in the formation of 12 tornadoes. One of these tornadoes formed in northwest Comanche County at approximately 9:00 pm and moved northeastward through Kiowa County. At approximately 9:45 pm, this tornado reached Greensburg, KS, a small community of approximately 1,400 people. The tornado traversed the town traveling from the town’s southern edge to its northwest border. The tornado had a reported damage path that was 1.7 miles across and the funnel cloud itself was estimated to be 1 mile across. The tornado destroyed or severely damaged many of the buildings in Greensburg and caused the deaths of 10 people. The death toll in Greensburg might have been higher were it not for a tornado warning issued by the National Weather Service 20 minutes before the tornado reached town, giving the residents of Greensburg time to take refuge.” (URS. Final Report: Tornado Damage Investigation. Greensburg, Kansas. 10-24-2007, 1-2.)

Sources

Fitzgerald, Daniel C. Sound and Fury: A History of Kansas Tornadoes, 1854-2008. Dan Fitzgerald Company, 2008-2009, 417 pages.

Livingston, Ian and Andrew Berrington. “May 4, 2007: The night that made maps of Greensburg, Kansas have to be redrawn.” U.S. Tornadoes (website). 5-4-2017. Accessed 10-17-2017 at: http://www.ustornadoes.com/2017/05/04/may-4-2007-night-maps-greensburg-kansas-redrawn/

National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), NOAA. Storm Events Database. Kansas, Kiowa County, Greensburg tornado. Accessed 10-17-2017 at: https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=35937

National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), NOAA. Storm Events Database. Kansas, Pratt County, Hopewell tornado. Accessed 10-17-2017 at: https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=36001

National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), NOAA. Storm Events Database. Kansas, Stafford County, Macksville tornado. Accessed 10-17-2017 at: https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=36003

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Facts about the May 4, 2007 Greensburg tornado (webpage). 4-25-2008. Accessed 10-17-2017 at: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/Image/ddc/News/Greensburg/GreensburgTornadoFactSheet.pdf

URS Group, Inc. Final Report: Tornado Damage Investigation. Greensburg, Kansas, 1699 DR-KS, October 24, 2007. Washington, DC: FEMA, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. 10-24-2007. Accessed 10-17-2017 at: https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1646-20490-3544/greenburg_ks_tornado_damage.pdf

[1] Notes that his basement wall collapsed on him as his home was demolished.

[2] As the NCEI/NOAA notes, “The 11^th victim passed away on September 19^th, 2007 after a long battle with a head injury sustained during the tornado.” (The URS report for FEMA did not include this fatality.)

2007 — May 4, Tornado outbreak, Greensburg (11), Hopewell (1), Macksville (1), KS– 13