The Central United States tornado outbreak of March 13, 1990, was one of the most violent outbreaks ever documented in March. Numerous tornadoes touched down across Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Iowa. Two tornadic thunderstorms with exceptional life spans/tornado families were observed, one of which produced an F4 tornado in eastern Nebraska that was on the ground for over. The other produced an extensive tornado family in southern Kansas that included two F5 tornadoes. The first of these struck the town of Hesston, Kansas, and was one of the most photographed and documented violent tornadoes in history.
The tornadoes that struck Hesston and Goessel were both spawned by the same supercell thunderstorm. They were part of what is known as a tornado family; a family that included several additional touchdowns after the Goessel storm dissipated. The first tornado of the Hesston storm touched down at approximately 4:34 p.m. CDT just to the northeast of Pretty Prairie. It was initially between 200 and 500 yards in diameter, and caused minimal damage as it churned between Castleton and the Cheney Reservoir. Photographic evidence suggests significant widening as the tornado approached Haven and the Arkansas River. The damage path ranged between 1/2 and 3/4 miles near Haven, and several homes were completely demolished indicating F4 damage. Had the tornado moved through a more populated area in this stage of its life, it is likely that it would have caused much more dramatic damage. Fairly constant F3 damage was produced from Haven to Burrton and to the Little Arkansas River. The path width remained over in diameter. Northeast of the Little Arkansas, the track abruptly decreased in width from to just over. Photographs suggest what appears to be a re-organization of the tornadic circulation; initially a wedge like appearance, the funnel quickly became tall and narrow. The most significant damage was done in this stage, however. The tornado plowed into the town of Hesston, just northwest of Newton on I-135. A total of 226 homes and 21 businesses were destroyed, and several were swept completely from their foundations with only slabs and empty basements remaining. Several industrial buildings were obliterated, and vehicles were thrown and stripped down to their frames. Portions of the damage path in Hesston were rated F5. 20 farms were torn apart in rural areas outside of town. Light debris from Hesston was found away in Nebraska. One person died and 59 people were injured. The series of events that occurred as the tornado moved past the Hesston area were most interesting. Eyewitness accounts observed the touchdown of an additional tornado just to the north. This is consistent with models of what is known as a "tornado handoff", in which an old mesocyclone and tornado occlude as a new mesocyclone and tornado further downwind becomes dominant. Over the course of a few miles, the new tornado intensified and the original one abruptly constricted and apparently became a satellite tornado to the new tornado. Eventually, the Hesston tornado occluded and merged with the new tornado, and the supercell began to re-intensify. The new tornado rapidly became very large, and violent damage was produced by the second tornado in Marion County. Several homes were again completely obliterated and swept away and one additional fatality was reported. The tornado produced very severe cycloidal ground scouring in farm fields, and damage near the town of Goessel was "extreme F5" according to NWS damage surveyors. The severity of the damage left behind by this tornado led some meteorologists to believe that the Goessel tornado was among the strongest ever documented at that time. The storm passed Goessel and then dissipated approximately from its genesis.
