Clay County tornado history

45 tornadoes touched Clay County, Kansas between 1950 and 2025 — about 0.6 a year. The strongest was rated F3 (Sep 25, 1973). Tornadoes here killed 4 and injured 55 people.

45tornadoes since 1950

F3strongest rating

4killed · 55 injured

169.7 milongest path · 1973

(E)F0(E)F1(E)F2(E)F3(E)F4(E)F5· dots = start point only

By rating

(E)F016

(E)F118

(E)F27

(E)F33

(E)F40

(E)F50

unrated1

By month

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak month: May.

By decade

’50’60’70’80’90’00’10’20

Strongest tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured	Killed
Sep 25, 1973	F3	169.7 mi	100 yd	42	3
May 25, 1951	F3	4.1 mi	440 yd	0	1
Sep 25, 1973	F3	69.9 mi	67 yd	2	0
Oct 18, 1979	F2	71.4 mi	400 yd	11	0
Apr 20, 1964	F2	12.4 mi	50 yd	0	0
Jun 8, 1966	F2	8.9 mi	100 yd	0	0
Sep 25, 1973	F2	5.9 mi	67 yd	0	0
May 4, 1959	F2	3.8 mi	100 yd	0	0
Sep 26, 1973	F2	2.5 mi	33 yd	0	0
May 16, 1960	F2	0.3 mi	100 yd	0	0
Jun 5, 2008	EF1	14.3 mi	100 yd	0	0
May 1, 2018	EF1	11.9 mi	50 yd	0	0

Most recent tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width
May 9, 2023	unrated	1.9 mi	30 yd
May 1, 2018	EF1	8.1 mi	200 yd
May 1, 2018	EF1	11.9 mi	50 yd
May 19, 2017	EF0	—	20 yd
Oct 6, 2016	EF1	10 mi	200 yd
Oct 6, 2016	EF1	6.4 mi	300 yd
Oct 4, 2016	EF1	4.9 mi	75 yd
May 9, 2016	EF0	—	25 yd
May 18, 2013	EF1	7 mi	75 yd
Apr 14, 2011	EF0	0.1 mi	25 yd
Jun 5, 2008	EF1	14.3 mi	100 yd
Jun 5, 2008	EF0	4.6 mi	50 yd

Deadliest: Sep 25, 1973, F3, 3 killed.

Nearby counties

Riley County, KS35 Cloud County, KS52 Ottawa County, KS36 Washington County, KS42 Geary County, KS22 Dickinson County, KS45 Republic County, KS71 Pottawatomie County, KS41

Questions

How many tornadoes has Clay County, Kansas had?

45 tornadoes touched Clay County, Kansas between 1950 and 2025 in the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database — about 0.6 per year.

What was the strongest tornado in Clay County?

The strongest rating recorded was F3 on Sep 25, 1973, with a 169.7-mile path and 3 deaths.

When is tornado season in Clay County?

Most of its tornadoes happened in May (20 of 45). Tornadoes can occur in any month, so keep alerts on year-round.

Right now: live tornado warnings map · alerts for your location. Dates link to that day’s full storm reports where available (2004 onward).