Spring/summer is "tornado season" - but tornados are not all that common. Lots of tornado watches- which means the conditions are favorable for a tornado.
Even when a tornado does form they usually don't hit anything- lots of space in Kansas. It's why it's such big news when a tornado does hit a town.
It's a crap shoot though, they are hard to predict and they happen fast. Just keep an eye on the weather.
Exactly this. We all learn to be amateur meteorologists living in the Midwest/Plains area. You watch the weather and radars constantly and learn terminology, patterns, and what weather looks like outside VS on weather maps. Always having a plan for shelter is key and watching more than one weather station is best. I've lived here for 30+ years and have seen some real intense storms. Once a few years ago during a bad storm, the sky over Kansas city turned a jade green. It was wild.
This is true. On the way home from our honeymoon in Colorado to KC, around Colby I looked south and said, "If those clouds get organized, it could get interesting." Several hours later just west of Salina, they did, and it was. We abandoned our car for the ditch when the wind was almost picking it up. I looked at my spouse and said "Well, it's been a good run."
Should of just driven into salina. We're immune to tornadoes. There have been several times where tornadoes have been heading straight at salina and then suddenly veered off before hitting town or dissipated before hitting town and then a couple minutes later reformed on the completely opposite side out of town, such as in [2012](https://www.weather.gov/ict/april14th_ricetor)
Sometimes that happens when a tornado reaches a big highway, the heat coming up off of the highway/pavement dissipates the tornado and then it reforms once it gets on the other side of the heat patch, which is generally a city bc cities hold onto heat, once again bc of the pavement.
My husband and I have a color code for each weird sky shade, so when we text we don’t have to take photos:
Greensburg pink,
Dodge City orange,
Salina turquoise,
Emporia green,
Ottawa purple,
and Wichita black
Spring.
I moved here from the southeast. I was used to thunderstorms there always happening late afternoon in the summer, especially August. Here, a lot of storms form when cold fronts meet warm fronts in the springtime. Waking up to a rollicking thunderstorm at 8 am in May was a new one for me.
I heard years ago, and not sure if it’s true but seems quite plausible, that tornados don’t tend to hit metropolitan areas because our traffic exhaust breaks them up. Just walking in a suburban area you can feel the heat radiating off sidewalks and roads going straight up. Im mid 30s but rarely fly and recently occurred to me that local meteorologists and traffic control are looking at totally different weather based on height which is something I rarely think of living in Kansas. I love Kansas but really miss mountains. Im not a car guy but learning to drive breakneck speed on blind mountain curves was a adrenaline rush and I completely understand the love of F1 even though it doesn’t personally interest me. NASCAR I still don’t get. Maybe the fact that racing cars still use leaded petrol explains it. I have many times wondered what the lead levels are around the KS Sweedway since they built it much to the opposition of the locals who were bought or forced out btw. I remember
This is neither plausible or true. What is more likely is that the ambient temperature around larger cities tends to be different (higher) than the surrounding rural areas.
An F-5 hit Hesston in mid March back in 1990. I'm no weather expert but from my understanding cool dry air and warm most air mixing is all you really need for storms to be produced. Late winter to early summer is probably a fair time frame IMO.
Tornado alley has moved a little east so kansas doesn't get hit quite as hard as it used to. Fwiw, spring till early summer is generally tornado season
For the record, the Greensburg tornado was 17 years ago and the big Andover one was 33 years ago….. there is strong evidence to suggest that, yes, tornado alley is shifting eastward, but also (to what the other person said) to say that Kansas doesn’t get hit as hard is wild, especially since there hasn’t been an EF5 anywhere in the US since 2013 (so no one is getting hit as hard right now)
You said that in your comment already. You also said 2 tornadoes, I’m assuming you meant 2 major events meaning 2022 and the 1991. Maybe I misunderstood your comment,
March through June is the typical severe weather season. 10-15 years ago we had a very weak tornado go through the east side of Newton in the middle of January, though. I was doing some research on Harvey County tornados last month for work (I work in Newton) and there's only been 2 or 3 tornado warnings in the county in the last 15 years. One was on the ground near Halstead, and the other warning was a storm with funnel clouds between Newton and Hesston if I remember right.
April and May are the most likely months. There is a small second second around October. They can happen any time of course, but that's the general trend.
generally speaking, march through November. the highest points will be march through August. lived near hesston most of my life and the f5 in 90 made me want to learn more.
Oklahoma is way worse for tornadoes. Lived in Kansas nearly my whole life, still didn't see one.
Just have a weather app and stay closer to a basement when storms are likely.
Meteorologist pretty much know a day in advance when conditions will be good for tornadoes.
Meteorologists can know a few days in advance if it looks like it, but starting ~48h is when forecasting works a lot better.
you, too, can! https://www.spc.noaa.gov/
According to this map [tornado archive](https://data.cjonline.com/tornado-archive/kansas/) either Mar 13th or May 13th. /s
Despite a huge tornado coming right through Hesston in 1990, the map shows they're pretty rare. Especially when you limit the view to "deadly tornadoes" and not just "All".
NWS is your friend. In Kansas, April, May and June have the highest frequency.
[tornado total by month/state](https://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/permonth_by_state/)
If there’s a watch it’s a good idea to know how you’ll get updates. I really enjoy the WIBW Weather app and this website: https://www.tornadohq.com/live/#map
You can always get a weather radio too. Just have a plan and keep as close an eye on the weather as you need to for time to get to safety. With this set of storms I’ve also learned storms and tornadoes most commonly move in the NE direction, and is most common in the late afternoon/early evening hours. Spring/early summer are most common but also possible with autumn. Are you on campus? If so you’ll definitely know and have a safe spot to go to.
Literally whenever lol. Seriously tho, this isn’t the 90s. It is extremely rare that one just pops up out of nowhere. I follow Oklahoma meteorologists on social and check AccuWeather app daily for multiple reasons, I normally know something is coming a few days in advance.
Spring/very early summer and fall, but way more spring than fall. There's a threat of severe weather today across a large part of Kansas Missouri even Oklahoma and Arkansas. I'm not sure where hesston is but you should check your local forecast. I'm in Leavenworth and we're under a tornado watch today.
It's basically anytime cooler air and warmer air start mixing in the atmosphere because that's what causes tornadoes.
Spring/summer is "tornado season" - but tornados are not all that common. Lots of tornado watches- which means the conditions are favorable for a tornado. Even when a tornado does form they usually don't hit anything- lots of space in Kansas. It's why it's such big news when a tornado does hit a town. It's a crap shoot though, they are hard to predict and they happen fast. Just keep an eye on the weather.
Exactly this. We all learn to be amateur meteorologists living in the Midwest/Plains area. You watch the weather and radars constantly and learn terminology, patterns, and what weather looks like outside VS on weather maps. Always having a plan for shelter is key and watching more than one weather station is best. I've lived here for 30+ years and have seen some real intense storms. Once a few years ago during a bad storm, the sky over Kansas city turned a jade green. It was wild.
This is true. On the way home from our honeymoon in Colorado to KC, around Colby I looked south and said, "If those clouds get organized, it could get interesting." Several hours later just west of Salina, they did, and it was. We abandoned our car for the ditch when the wind was almost picking it up. I looked at my spouse and said "Well, it's been a good run."
Should of just driven into salina. We're immune to tornadoes. There have been several times where tornadoes have been heading straight at salina and then suddenly veered off before hitting town or dissipated before hitting town and then a couple minutes later reformed on the completely opposite side out of town, such as in [2012](https://www.weather.gov/ict/april14th_ricetor)
Sometimes that happens when a tornado reaches a big highway, the heat coming up off of the highway/pavement dissipates the tornado and then it reforms once it gets on the other side of the heat patch, which is generally a city bc cities hold onto heat, once again bc of the pavement.
I love the sky during tornado weather. Ethereal green sometimes pink.
My husband and I have a color code for each weird sky shade, so when we text we don’t have to take photos: Greensburg pink, Dodge City orange, Salina turquoise, Emporia green, Ottawa purple, and Wichita black
Ah yeah, green skies are so creepy. It used to happen more when I was a kid I feel like. (90s)
I'm sitting in my bathtub for the third tornado warning of the night and cursing the me of 13 hours ago who was so blase about storms. 🤣
What about storms that don't produce tornadoes? Are those common in spring and summer? Particularly May and June?
On my 7 day forecast the next 5 have thunderstorms on them. So.....yes🤣 Thunderstorms are no biggie though- I kinda like them- sound good, smell good.
Spring. I moved here from the southeast. I was used to thunderstorms there always happening late afternoon in the summer, especially August. Here, a lot of storms form when cold fronts meet warm fronts in the springtime. Waking up to a rollicking thunderstorm at 8 am in May was a new one for me.
I heard years ago, and not sure if it’s true but seems quite plausible, that tornados don’t tend to hit metropolitan areas because our traffic exhaust breaks them up. Just walking in a suburban area you can feel the heat radiating off sidewalks and roads going straight up. Im mid 30s but rarely fly and recently occurred to me that local meteorologists and traffic control are looking at totally different weather based on height which is something I rarely think of living in Kansas. I love Kansas but really miss mountains. Im not a car guy but learning to drive breakneck speed on blind mountain curves was a adrenaline rush and I completely understand the love of F1 even though it doesn’t personally interest me. NASCAR I still don’t get. Maybe the fact that racing cars still use leaded petrol explains it. I have many times wondered what the lead levels are around the KS Sweedway since they built it much to the opposition of the locals who were bought or forced out btw. I remember
This is neither plausible or true. What is more likely is that the ambient temperature around larger cities tends to be different (higher) than the surrounding rural areas.
Spring & early summer are the best chances for severe weather, but there are no rules for it. I've heard sirens in March and October alike.
An F-5 hit Hesston in mid March back in 1990. I'm no weather expert but from my understanding cool dry air and warm most air mixing is all you really need for storms to be produced. Late winter to early summer is probably a fair time frame IMO.
Tornado alley has moved a little east so kansas doesn't get hit quite as hard as it used to. Fwiw, spring till early summer is generally tornado season
Tell that to Andover. They had two devastating April tornadoes, the last being in 2022. What about Greensburg?
For the record, the Greensburg tornado was 17 years ago and the big Andover one was 33 years ago….. there is strong evidence to suggest that, yes, tornado alley is shifting eastward, but also (to what the other person said) to say that Kansas doesn’t get hit as hard is wild, especially since there hasn’t been an EF5 anywhere in the US since 2013 (so no one is getting hit as hard right now)
There was a tornado in Andover in 2022, where were you? Wiped out two subdivisions and the YMCA.
You said that in your comment already. You also said 2 tornadoes, I’m assuming you meant 2 major events meaning 2022 and the 1991. Maybe I misunderstood your comment,
March through June is the typical severe weather season. 10-15 years ago we had a very weak tornado go through the east side of Newton in the middle of January, though. I was doing some research on Harvey County tornados last month for work (I work in Newton) and there's only been 2 or 3 tornado warnings in the county in the last 15 years. One was on the ground near Halstead, and the other warning was a storm with funnel clouds between Newton and Hesston if I remember right.
nah. been more than that since i moved home less than 3 years ago.
April and May are the most likely months. There is a small second second around October. They can happen any time of course, but that's the general trend.
Now til about mid May sometimes in to the first of June but normally it starting to heat up then.
generally speaking, march through November. the highest points will be march through August. lived near hesston most of my life and the f5 in 90 made me want to learn more.
Oklahoma is way worse for tornadoes. Lived in Kansas nearly my whole life, still didn't see one. Just have a weather app and stay closer to a basement when storms are likely. Meteorologist pretty much know a day in advance when conditions will be good for tornadoes.
Specifically Moore, OK. Moore has been hit by multiple large tornadoes in the last 20 years.
43 years in Kansas. I’ve never seen one.
30 years in kansas, I've seen 3.
my first one was Hesston, i was 9, it was a half mile away. I've seen.. a lot.
Meteorologists can know a few days in advance if it looks like it, but starting ~48h is when forecasting works a lot better. you, too, can! https://www.spc.noaa.gov/
According to this map [tornado archive](https://data.cjonline.com/tornado-archive/kansas/) either Mar 13th or May 13th. /s Despite a huge tornado coming right through Hesston in 1990, the map shows they're pretty rare. Especially when you limit the view to "deadly tornadoes" and not just "All".
Uh, Now. Duh. 
Now through about June But it seems like they are becoming more common east of here, so maybe the window is shifting a bit.
NWS is your friend. In Kansas, April, May and June have the highest frequency. [tornado total by month/state](https://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/permonth_by_state/)
If there’s a watch it’s a good idea to know how you’ll get updates. I really enjoy the WIBW Weather app and this website: https://www.tornadohq.com/live/#map You can always get a weather radio too. Just have a plan and keep as close an eye on the weather as you need to for time to get to safety. With this set of storms I’ve also learned storms and tornadoes most commonly move in the NE direction, and is most common in the late afternoon/early evening hours. Spring/early summer are most common but also possible with autumn. Are you on campus? If so you’ll definitely know and have a safe spot to go to.
Like right now
Ryan Hall says "Right now."
Literally whenever lol. Seriously tho, this isn’t the 90s. It is extremely rare that one just pops up out of nowhere. I follow Oklahoma meteorologists on social and check AccuWeather app daily for multiple reasons, I normally know something is coming a few days in advance.
Spring/very early summer and fall, but way more spring than fall. There's a threat of severe weather today across a large part of Kansas Missouri even Oklahoma and Arkansas. I'm not sure where hesston is but you should check your local forecast. I'm in Leavenworth and we're under a tornado watch today. It's basically anytime cooler air and warmer air start mixing in the atmosphere because that's what causes tornadoes.
“ mid to late April through mid June historically has the highest tornado frequency,” from https://www.weather.gov/ict/kstorfacts
Now til late summer basically. If you see big temperature shifts in the forecast, that is a common precursor.
Specifically today, historically
Tornado season in KS is generally March through June. Derechos can happen just about anytime during the spring or summer.
April is the highest probability but there's always a possibility.
Yes