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Second EF-4 tornado of the season, 935 so far this year, U.S.

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Late Tuesday afternoon, May 28, 2019, an area of thunderstorms developed over southeastern Kansas. Through 16:00 local time, these storms became anchored on a warm front, which provided a source of forcing and enhanced low-level wind shear.

The strongest storm developed an EF-4 tornado south of Clinton Lake in southwestern Douglas County, KS and continued through southeastern Lawrence, KS before crossing into Leavenworth County, moving through the town of Linwood and the area west of Bonner Springs, KS. The storm began to cycle as it moved into the western Kansas City Metro area and stopped producing a tornado.

This was the second violent (EF-4 or EF-5) tornado of the 2019 season and in the past 2 years. The first violent tornado of the season (also EF-4) killed 23 people in Oklahoma's Lee County on March 3, 2019.

Date May 28, 2019
Time (Local) 18:05 CDT
EF Rating EF – 4
Est. Peak Winds 273 km/h / 170 mph
Path Length 51.2 km / 31.82 miles
Max Width 1.6 km / 1 mile
Injuries/Deaths 18 injuries; 0 fatalities

Summary:

The tornado developed in southwestern Douglas county Kansas and tracked to the east-northeast while strengthening. EF-3 damage occurred in northeastern Douglas county, then the storm gained strength and produced EF-4 damage in southern Leavenworth County, Kansas.

Tornado track – May 28, 2019. Credit: NWS, Google, TW

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As the storm moved east and northeast, a new tornado (EF-2) developed in Clay County, MO, near Kearney, MO, which ended just north of Excelsior Springs, MO.

These are just some of the recent tornadoes reported in the United States. So far this year, NWS SPC reported 935 tornadoes (preliminary).

Tornado reports have exploded this year after a couple of years of low activity, AccuWeather meteorologists report.

May 2019 is on track to have the most tornado reports of any recorded May, which is typically the most active month in terms of tornado activity.

Before Tuesday, there were 442 tornado reports during May. The official tally has not been confirmed, but there were 45 additional filtered reports on Tuesday and Wednesday, so that would bring the total to 487 for the month, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski.

38 people have died this season in 10 tornadoes, up from 10 tornado fatalities in 2018.

Featured image: Tornado damage in Linwood, KS on May 28, 2019. Credit: NWS

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