2016 Abilene–Chapman tornado
Clockwise from the top: shot of the tornado behind a farmstead near Chapman, farm machinery hurled around and mangled, EF4 damage to a well-constructed brick farmhouse near Chapman, a home near Solomon impacted at EF3 intensity, Next-Generation Radar loop of the long-lived supercell. | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | May 25, 2016 7:07 p.m. CDT (UTC−05:00) |
| Dissipated | May 25, 2016 8:40 p.m. CDT (UTC−05:00) |
| Duration | 1 hour, 33 minutes |
| EF4 tornado | |
| on the Enhanced Fujita scale | |
| Max width | 900 yards (0.51 mi; 0.82 km) |
| Path length | 25.09 miles (40.38 km) |
| Highest winds | 180 mph (290 km/h) |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 8 |
| Areas affected | Ottawa and Dickinson counties; specifically near Solomon, Abilene and Chapman, Kansas, United States |
Part of the Tornado outbreak sequence of May 22–26, 2016 and Tornadoes of 2016 | |
Throughout the evening of May 25, 2016, a long-lived and powerful EF4 tornado tore across parts of rural central to northeastern Kansas, within Ottawa and Dickinson counties. The tornado was the strongest during a major tornado outbreak sequence that lasted from May 22–26, and was the second violent tornado to occur during the 2016 season. In its wake, the tornado passed by the cities of Solomon, Abilene and Chapman, damaging or destroying many rural structures and farmsteads. Chapman in particular avoided a direct impact by the tornado, which already saw a direct hit by a deadly EF3 tornado back in June of 2008.
The tornado lasted for 93 minutes, traveled for 25.09 miles (40.38 km) and was 900 yards (0.51 mi; 0.82 km) across in width. National Weather Service damage surveyors from the Topeka, Kansas weather forecasting office, estimated winds of 180 mph (290 km/h) based on the destruction of a rural residence near Chapman. However, surveyors noted that the house was found so violently destroyed, they speculated winds of around 200 mph (320 km/h) were likely, plausibly indicating EF5 intensity.