On June 12, 1881, a tornado outbreak affected the West North Central states of the Midwestern United States and produced numerous strong tornadoes, killing 15 people, primarily in parts of Kansas and Missouri. One of the strongest tornadoes in the outbreak was retroactively rated an F4âÂÂpossibly an F5âÂÂon the Fujita scale, hitting near Hopkins, Missouri, in Nodaway County. Another F4 in Missouri claimed five lives, and a pair of F4s in Kansas collectively killed eight more. A fifth violent tornado also occurred in Iowa. In all, the outbreak injured at least 112.
Prior to 1990, there is a likely undercount of tornadoes, particularly E/F0âÂÂ1, with reports of weaker tornadoes becoming more common as population increased. A sharp increase in the annual average E/F0âÂÂ1 count by approximately 200 tornadoes was noted upon the implementation of NEXRAD Doppler weather radar in 1990âÂÂ1991. 1974 marked the first year where significant tornado (E/F2+) counts became homogenous with contemporary values, attributed to the consistent implementation of Fujita scale assessments. Numerous discrepancies on the details of tornadoes in this outbreak exist between sources. The total count of tornadoes and ratings differs from various agencies accordingly. The list below documents information from the most contemporary official sources alongside assessments from tornado historian Thomas P. Grazulis.