Tornado damage in Linwood, Kansas (May 29, 2019)
A tornado onslaught continued to rattle the central United States on Tuesday, making it
the 12th consecutive day at least eight tornadoes had been reported across the country.
The most recent outbreak came in Kansas, where a massive tornado was confirmed Tuesday evening near Lawrence. The monstrous twister eventually tracked across the northeastern part of the state, pummeling several communities and prompting tornado emergencies in Kansas City and surrounding areas.
At least a dozen homes were damaged or destroyed in Linwood, Kansas, according to the
Kansas City Star. At least 18 injuries were reported in Douglas County, emergency management officials said. Three of those were said to be serious.
On Wednesday afternoon, the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Kansas City
released its final damage survey and determined that the tornado that ripped through Linwood was an EF4 storm with maximum winds of 170 mph. It was on the ground for more than 31 miles and had a maximum width of one mile.
This is only the third EF4 tornado of 2019 -- the first occurred in early March and was
blamed for killing 23 in Lee County, Alabama. The
second occurred in Dayton, Ohio, just one day prior to the Linwood twister.
In 2018, there were no tornadoes stronger than an EF3 anywhere in the U.S.
Comment: On the same day in India lightning strikes killed up to 8 people in Odisha, 4 individuals in Telangana, a youth in Jharkhand and one person in Haryana.