After tornado hits Kansas town, daylight shows wreckage. ‘You could hear the roar’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- A tornado struck Ottawa, Kansas, at 7:38 p.m. Monday, moving west to east.
- The tornado caused widespread damage along Main Street.
- City officials reported no major injuries despite significant structural damage.
Randy and Gwen McCurdy stood on their porch off Main Street on Monday night in Ottawa, Kansas, scanning the sky for signs of the storm.
Then the sirens sounded.
“There was no rain,” said Randy McCurdy, 70. But then it descended. In sheets. “You couldn’t see the other side of the street.”
Moments later, they retreated to their basement as the tornado tore through southern Ottawa.
“You could hear the roar,” he said.
By Tuesday morning, the damage stretched for blocks.
A tornado was reported to have struck Ottawa, about an hour southwest of Kansas City, in Franklin County, shortly after 7:30 p.m., toppling power lines and trees, leaving much of the city without electricity and causing widespread structural damage.
The tornado continued east, where it was observed in Paola, Kansas, around 8 p.m., according to a post from the National Weather Service.
A National Weather Service meteorologist confirmed by phone Monday night that at least two tornadoes moved through northeastern Kansas. One stemmed from a storm in Johnson and Miami counties. The other came from a storm in Linn and Bates counties.
Path of the storm in Franklin County
The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado near Ottawa at 7:38 p.m., moving west to east. Emergency radio traffic described parts of the city as impassable, with “power lines down all over.”
The hardest-hit area appeared to run along Main Street between 15th and 23rd streets, with particularly heavy damage reported near 17th Street.
That’s where the McCurdys found devastation.
The auto shop their family has owned for 45 years, at Main and 17th streets, was in ruins — its roof torn off, cinder blocks scattered across the lot. A small Ford sedan sat nearby, its windows shattered and its frame pushed roughly six feet by the force of the wind.
Behind the shop, the Knights Inn was nearly destroyed. Its roof had been ripped away, leaving beds and furniture exposed to the open sky.
The McCurdys stayed out surveying damage until 2 a.m. They said guests had been inside the motel when the storm hit, but early reports indicated no serious injuries.
Tornado damage in Ottawa
City officials echoed that assessment, saying there were no known fatalities or major injuries despite significant structural damage.
“We got pretty lucky, that’s for sure, “ Ottawa Police Chief Adam Weingartner said Tuesday.
The tornado, he said, damaged a four block area, from 15th Street to 19th Street, west to east, “across the entire width of our community.”
But no injuries in the city were reported, while three minor injuries were reporters in the rural parts of Franklin County.
Weingartner said no supplies or volunteer are needed.
The city endured significant power damage. Kansas Gas Service and Evergy responded.
Franklin County Undersheriff Kiel Lasswell said about three houses were significantly damaged in the rural areas east of Ottawa. Three people received minor injuries and were treated.
“For the most part,” he said, “rural Franklin County has been somewhat unaffected.”
Elsewhere along the storm’s path, businesses and infrastructure bore the brunt of the damage.
At Daylight Donuts, employee Vouchheng Leang arrived just after midnight for his usual shift and found the shop in partial ruins.
The front glass had been blown out, a support beam knocked askew and ceiling panels sagging inside.
Leang, 47, who was born in Cambodia, said he wasn’t sure what would come next — but hoped the shop could reopen quickly. “I have no idea,” he said. “Maybe Wednesday.”
Officials respond to emergencies
Emergency radio calls Monday night captured the chaos as it unfolded: reports of a person trapped in a car beneath a power line near 15th Street and Montana Road, a large natural gas leak, and entire rows of power poles flattened.
At one point, a school bus full of students became stuck while trying to turn around, prompting a rescue response.
By Tuesday morning, utility crews were working to restore power, hoisted high on poles along streets still littered with debris.
Residents said the tornado appeared to carve a path along 17th Street, snapping trees “like broken bones,” ripping apart buildings and sending bricks, glass and debris flying.
For many in Ottawa, the storm lasted only minutes.
The damage it seemed, will take far longer to rebuild.
This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 9:11 AM.
