By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY
Salina Post
Monday kicks off Severe Weather Preparedness Week in Kansas.
The week is scheduled to include a statewide tornado drill at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
In 2022, 56 tornadoes were recorded in Kansas, according to information from the National Weather Service. That number was five below the 1950-2022 average of 61, 29 below the 30-year average of 85, and 11 below the 10-year average of 67, yet higher than 2021 and 2020 combined.
According to the weather service, the longest tracking tornado was an EF1 tornado that was on the ground for 21.76 miles in Dickinson and Morris counties on April 29. The strongest tornado, an EF3, also was recorded on April 29 in Sedgwick and Butler counties.
In fact, 14 tornadoes were recorded on April 29, the most prolific tornado-producing day in 2022 for Kansas. June saw the most tornadoes - 22 - for one month in 2022, and Kansas had 17 days in 2020 with at least one tornado.
Thomas County in northwest Kansas holds the record for most 2022 tornadoes in one county: eight.
The length of the 2022 tornado season in Kansas was 154 days, from March 29 to Aug. 29.
While the bulk of spring severe and tornadic weather is still ahead of us this year, Kansas has already seen tornadoes in 2023.
Are you ready should a tornado strike your neighborhood? When storms roll in with lightning, do you know how to stay safe? What about staying safe when it is hailing, high winds are blowing, or flood waters are wreaking havoc?
READ: Saline County disaster kit projects kick off Severe Weather Awareness Week
As a part of Severe Weather Preparedness Week, the National Weather Service is offering on its websites a variety of weather preparedness and safety information. Click here to access the information.
Additionally, Eagle Radio and Salina Post will strive to keep you informed about severe weather in the area.