KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The 2026 severe weather season in the Kansas City region has officially set new records. The National Weather Service has confirmed 37 tornadoes touched down so far this year in eastern Kansas and western Missouri, the highest number ever on record.
Tornado tracking and records for the Kansas City area date back to 1951. 2003 previously held the record with 33 tornadoes in the FOX4 viewing area. The region historically averages only 11 twisters per year. For the NWS Pleasant Hill forecast area, 2026 had 38 tornadoes, breaking the old record of 33 from 1967.
The year’s first tornado touched down late on March 6, when an EF-0 moved from Shawnee through Merriam and ended near Westport in Kansas City, Missouri. April was the busiest month by far with 20 tornadoes, 18 of them rated, the most rated tornadoes of any April on record for the region. May brought six more and June added ten. No tornadoes have been confirmed in the viewing area since June 13.
The strongest tornadoes of the year came early in the season, with two separate EF-2s hitting Ottawa, Kansas and Hillsdale, Kansas on the night of April 13. A third long-track EF-2 tornado began in Saline County, Missouri, and stayed on the ground for 36 miles. Only six injuries were caused by tornadoes in 2026, all of which happened on April 13. No one has been killed…