National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Overview

Late on Thursday, May 18th, a stationary surface front extended from central Illinois across central Missouri into south-central Kansas. In addition, a large upper level storm system was moving eastward across the central Rockies. A series of waves moving around this upper level system was interacting with the surface front and a very warm and unstable air mass to the south of the front to produce waves of strong to severe thunderstorms. The first wave moved across the area during the overnight hours on Thursday. This wave produced a total of eight tornadoes as it moved across the area. The second wave came through the area on Friday afternoon, May 19th. This wave produced a total of seven tornadoes. The third came through the area during the overnight hours on Friday and produced an additional tornado.

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Tornadoes: May 18th - 20th, 2017
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