Manhattan, KS EF4 Tornado – June 11, 2008

The tornado touched down to the southwest of Manhattan on a farm, and first destroyed a large machine shed, and threw a grain cart into an adjacent field. The tornado tracked to the northeast and destroyed several homes that were in the process of being built. 

Then, the tornado entered the Miller Ranch area of Manhattan, where the EF-4 damage was observed. Fifteen well built homes were completely destroyed. Nearby in the Amherst residential area, approximately thirty homes were damaged. A local newspaper reported that 45 residences in Manhattan were destroyed, 142 were damaged, and 637 were affected by the tornado. Ninety three apartments or duplexes, twenty mobile homes, and ten total businesses were impacted. 

Thereafter, the windows at the Little Apple Honda/Toyota car dealership were blown out, and several cars on the lots were tossed. A nearby hardware store and several self-storage units were demolished. Other nearby businesses were also damaged. The Lee Elementary School was then damaged. 

The tornado continued toward the Kansas State University campus. There, the roof was blown off a fraternity house, windows were blown out of buildings, the USDA Wind Erosion Laboratory roof was damaged, and debris from damage to the southwest was blown across the campus. Summer classes at the University were shuffled around to find appropriate, undamaged buildings to hold summer students. New student orientation was also going on the week the tornado struck. It was reported that $37 million dollars in damage was done to the KSU campus alone.

The total preliminary damage estimate from the Manhattan tornado was approximately $71 million. Off-campus, $22 million in structural damage was reported, as was $7 million in vehicle damage.