25 years later: Remembering the deadly Kansas and Oklahoma tornado outbreak

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – It has been 25 years since a deadly outbreak of tornadoes in Kansas and Oklahoma.

On May 3, 1999, an F4 tornado tore through Haysville and south Wichita.

Jim Glennie was born and raised in Haysville and vividly remembers the night the tornado hit. His brother called and was insistent that Jim should take shelter at his house.

“Saying you need to get over here, I don’t like what’s happening,” Glennie said.

The tornado had winds estimated between 207 to 260 mph. Its track was 24 miles long and around one-half mile wide. It killed six and caused around $140 million in damage.

Without a basement at his own home, Glennie spent the next three hours at his brother’s place.

“So we went back to my house, and we turned the corner, and my whole neighborhood was gone,” Glennie said.

Then-mayor Tim Norton, was sheltering at home when he got the call from dispatch that Haysville took a direct hit.

“It was dark and ominous, and all the street lights were out, and it was hissing gas. And we knew we were in trouble and had a major hit from a tornado,” Norton said.

Even after years of rebuilding and development, Norton says it’s hard to think back to that day.

“You can’t see that and feel it without conjuring up some kind of emotion,” Norton said.

Former mayor, city administrator remember the deadly Haysville tornado 24 years later

The tornado went nearly straight north along Seneca to Interstate 235 into Wichita. From there, the tornado weakened as it traveled northeast. Tree damage was also observed as far north as College Hill, where numerous trees were uprooted.

And for Glennie, 25 years later, he’s still grateful for his brother’s call.

“If he hadn’t called bugging me I would have been sitting in my living room and probably not been here today,” Glennie said.

However, the tornado wasn’t the strongest reported that day. The National Severe Storms Laboratory says 74 tornadoes touched down across the two states in less than 21 hours. At one point, as many as four tornadoes were reported on the ground at the same time.

The strongest tornado, which was rated a maximum F-5 on the Fujita Tornado Scale, was tracked for nearly an hour and a half along a 38-mile path from Chickasha through south Oklahoma City and the suburbs of Bridge Creek, Newcastle, Moore, Midwest City and Del City.

In total, both states counted 46 dead and 800 injured, more than 8,000 homes damaged or destroyed, and total property damage of nearly $1.5 billion.

Haysville commemorates anniversary

Haysville commemorated the anniversary of the tornado at the annual Arbor Day Celebration at 5:15 p.m. at 200 S. Main. Local scouts planted trees in the Historic District following the ceremony.

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