Kansas City’s 2026 thunderstorm, tornado season among the worst in US — so far
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kansas City has received a record high of 252 severe weather warnings through April 27.
- The majority of warnings, 215, have been for severe thunderstorms.
- There have been 37 tornado warnings through April 27, the second-highest total since 2006.
Kansas City’s severe weather season has started with a jolt: a rapid-fire burst of severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings unmatched this early, with the typical peak still ahead in May and June.
“We have issued the most warnings to this point in the year of any other year,” said Eric Carothers, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Kansas City/Pleasant Hill.
The weather service has issued 252 warnings through April 27, the majority, 215, have been for severe thunderstorms in the Kansas City forecast area.
The Kansas City region trails only the National Weather Service offices in Norman, Oklahoma, which has issued 397 warnings, and Lincoln, Illinois, which has issued 258, according to data from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet.
Closer to home, Springfield has issued 226 warnings, while Topeka has issued 172 and Wichita has issued 149.
The surge hasn’t come from one blockbuster storm, but rather from a steady parade of systems tracking into the region.
“We’ve just been continually getting systems that come through with the correct track to produce severe weather over our area,” Carothers said.
It’s hard to say if the Kansas City region will continue on its record setting pace.
“I can’t necessarily speak to the rest of the country, but it does look like the Kansas City area will kind of get into a quieter stretch here,” Carothers said.
And Kansas City’s severe weather season still has months to go, with activity typically peaking in May.
“We can still get severe weather through the whole summer and even into the fall, but the most prevalent times are April, May and June,” Carothers said.
So far this year, the weather service has issued 37 tornado warnings through April 27, the second-highest since 2006.
On March 12, 2026, a significant tornado outbreak occurred over portions of eastern Kansas and western Missouri. A total of 17 tornadoes touched down in the Pleasant Hill forecast area. Six lives were lost from tornadoes that struck Urich, Sedalia and Renick. Another 49 people were injured, according to the weather service.
So far this year, a dozen confirmed tornadoes have touched down in the Kansas City forecast area, including an EF2 east of Hillsdale Lake in Miami County on April 13 that was produced by a supercell thunderstorm that spawned an EF2 tornado in Ottawa, Kansas, as well as two tornadoes, an EF1 and EF0 that struck Clinton in Henry County on April 15 and an EF1 on the south side of Belton in Cass County on April 17.
With the busiest months still ahead, people should keep an eye on the latest forecasts and have multiple ways to get their warnings, Carothers said.
