Tuesday's Tornado Near Bennington, Kansas, a Déjà Vu From a Weird Tornado Path 5 Years Ago

Home Shredded After Missouri Storms

A large tornado in northern Kansas Tuesday tore through almost the exact same area as another tornado five years ago that carved one of the most bizarre paths we've seen.

(MORE: Tornado Central)

A supercell thunderstorm spawned at least one tornado in Ottawa County, Kansas, Tuesday evening.

Homes and outbuildings were damaged near the towns of Tescott and Minneapolis, west of the city of Bennington, about 95 miles north-northwest of Wichita.

(LATEST NEWS: Plains Tornadoes, Severe Storms Leave Damage in Kansas, Nebraska)

In some ways, this was a case of déjà vu.

Almost five years ago, another large tornado inflicted EF3 damage just west of Bennington on May 28, 2013, roughly 6 miles from the nearest tornado reports from Tuesday. 

A pair of mobile Doppler radars sampled winds up to 247 mph just over 300 feet above the ground in this nearly mile-wide tornado, but no damage indicating winds nearly that strong was ever found. There were no injuries or fatalities, but over 100 head of cattle were lost.

Perhaps the most memorable aspect of this May 2013 tornado to meteorologists was its bizarre track.

Instead of moving on a more typical east or northeast path, this May 2013 tornado moved slowly southeast, then turned north, then back toward the southwest over roughly a one-hour period, tracing out what resembled a crude drawing of a fish, according to the National Weather Service in Topeka.

At times, it appeared the tornado actually stopped in place.

(MORE: NWS Radar History of the May 28, 2013 Bennington Tornado)

The May 2018 and May 2013 tornadoes even resembled each other.

Compare the photo below shared with us in May 2013 from storm chaser Roger Hill to the tweet above from May 1, 2018. 

(MORE: States With the Most Violent Tornadoes Since 1950)

If this wasn't a weird enough coincidence, another northern Kansas town, Codell, was hit three straight years by a tornado on the same date, May 20 in 1916, 1917 and 1918.

We hope there won't be another large tornado near Bennington in May 2023. 

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been an incurable weather geek since a tornado narrowly missed his childhood home in Wisconsin at age 7. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to The Weather Channel podcast.