2022 Andover Tornado

In the evening hours of April 29, 2022, a strong and well-documented "drill-bit" tornado moved through the city of Andover, located in the U.S. state of Kansas. The tornado tracked through the area, injuring three people and inflicting severe EF3 damage to structures located on the eastern side of Andover.

The tornado first touched down southwest of Andover in Sedgwick County, first causing minor damage. The tornado rapidly intensified as it approached the town, damaging numerous structures prior to entering city limits. The tornado reached EF3 intensity in eastern Andover, where it destroyed several dozen homes and damaged a YMCA fitness center that served the town. It remained on the ground for 21 minutes while tracking through the area, and was the only strong tornado to occur during a two-day outbreak that produced 29 tornadoes.

Background

A powerful low pressure system approached Kansas on April 29, allowing a sharp dryline to track to generally along Interstate 135. The Storm Prediction Center issued an enhanced risk of severe weather for the region, including a 10% risk area for tornadoes. Storms first developed across central and northeast Kansas near the warm front, but as the early evening hours continued, several storms fired just east of Wichita. One of these storms intensified into a low-precipitation supercell, which produced the Andover tornado.

Tornado summary

The tornado first touched down at 8:10 pm CST to the east of McConnell Air Force Base, crossing South 127th Street East and tossing a small grain bin at EF0 intensity. It tracked to the northeast and quickly reached high-end EF2 intensity as it crossed South 137th Street East, East 31st Street South, and several other nearby rural streets. A couple of mobile homes were completely destroyed in this area, a few frame homes had roof and exterior wall loss, and some other residences were damaged to a lesser degree. A pickup truck was flipped over, outbuildings were destroyed, and trees and power poles were snapped along this section of the path as well. After the tornado exited this area, it turned slightly to the north and crossed East Pawnee Street, uprooting trees at EF1 intensity and damaging another home located nearby.
The relatively narrow but intense tornado would first reach EF3 intensity moments later as it began to enter the southern fringes of Andover, impacting a cul-de-sac at the end of Lantern Lane Court. A house at this location was destroyed and left with only a few walls standing, while some neighboring homes were severely damaged. A damage survey conducted after the tornado concluded that peak wind speeds in this area reached .

The tornado weakened to high-end EF2 strength, but still produced heavy structural damage as it proceeded to cross West Harry Street and South Andover Road in the southern part of town. Multiple houses along this corridor had roofs and exterior walls ripped off, debris was strewn across properties, and trees were snapped or uprooted. Just northeast of this area, the highly visible tornado entered a subdivision and moved across East Minneha Avenue, where many additional homes had roofs torn off and exterior walls knocked down. A majority of the damage in this area was rated high-end EF2, though one house was swept away with only its subfloor remaining, and damage at that residence was rated EF3. It then exited the subdivision and side-swiped Prairie Creek Elementary School, which suffered major roof damage and had windows blown out. Cars were moved and damaged in the school's parking lot, and damage was rated EF2 at this location. Just north-northeast of the elementary school, a YMCA of the USA fitness center took a direct hit from the tornado and sustained major EF3-level structural damage. Multiple vehicles in the parking lot were thrown and mangled, and one car was picked up by the tornado and lofted in the air before it was dropped through the roof of the fitness center.

The powerful tornado retained EF3 intensity as it continued to the north-northeast and crossed U.S. Route 54, striking a vacant pet supplies business on the other side of the highway. The building was completely destroyed and swept from its slab foundation, though it lacked interior walls. A couple of adjacent homes and buildings suffered severe damage, while nearby trees were twisted, stripped of their branches, and sustained significant debarking. Moving almost due-north, the tornado then weakened back to high-end EF2 strength as it badly damaged a house, destroyed an outbuilding, snapped trees, and moved across a series of open fields as it narrowly missed Andover City Hall. It regained EF3 strength once again as it crossed East 13th Street in the northeastern part of Andover and struck a subdivision, where multiple homes had their roofs and exterior walls removed, or were swept away with only their subfloors remaining. A large wooden electrical transmission line support structure was snapped in this area as well, and winds were estimated to have reached . Numerous videos and photographs were taken of the tornado as it tracked through this area, and it was still highly visible. It continued along a sharp north-northeastern path as it exited Andover and tracked through more sparsely populated areas to the west of Southwest Meadowlark Road, producing high-end EF2 damage as it destroyed a house and an outbuilding. The tornado weakened further and continued through rural farmland to the north-northeast of Andover, producing EF1 to low-end EF2 damage as it destroyed a farm building, snapped trees and power poles, and damaged the roof of a house. It caused a final area of EF0 tree damage along Southwest 30th Street to the southeast of Benton before it dissipated at 8:31 PM CST, after being on the ground for 21 minutes along a path.

Aftermath

1,074 buildings were damaged by the tornado to varying degrees; up to 400 of those were destroyed. Thousands were also left without power in Sedgwick County directly following the tornado. The United States Air Force deployed 150 airmen to help recovery efforts following the tornado, and many other non-commissioned volunteers visited Andover to provide assistance. Kansas Governor Laura Kelly declared a state of emergency following the tornado. Three people were injured by the tornado; two of these injuries occurred in Sedgwick County. The tornado inflicted $41.5 million (2022 USD) in damages to Andover.

Other tornadoes

The Andover tornado occurred during an otherwise weak outbreak of 29 tornadoes that lasted from April 29 to April 30. Most of the tornadoes occurred in Kansas and Nebraska, though additional isolated tornadoes touched down in Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, and Florida. In addition to the Andover tornado, the outbreak produced EF1 tornadoes that caused minor damage in the Kansas towns of Parkerville and Rosalia. In Nebraska, a brief EF1 tornado caused considerable damage in Unadilla.

April 29 event

April 30 event

See also

* List of notable media in the field of meteorology
* 1991 Andover tornado outbreak

References

{{2022 tornado outbreaks

F3, EF3 and IF3 tornadoes
Tornadoes of 2022
April 2022 in the United States
Sedgwick County, Kansas
Tornadoes in Kansas
Articles containing video clips