doppler radar (Velocity – Storm Relative Motion) image at 1735 UTC showing tornado-producing supercell thunderstorm near Windsor, Colorado. (NWS Colorado/Boulder) On May 22, a
low pressure system developed across the
Rocky Mountains, with a warm front stretching across the central Plains and a trough stretching north towards
Alberta and eastern
British Columbia. A moderate risk had already been issued for portions of northern Kansas on May 21, and was upgraded into a high risk during the afternoon of May 22. It was the first high risk outlook in Kansas since May 5, 2007, one day after an
EF5 tornado struck the town of
Greensburg, Kansas. Severe thunderstorm and tornado watches extended from eastern Wyoming into northern Kansas early on May 22. Just before noon, a mile-wide (1.6 km) tornado was reported near
Greeley, Colorado, which is about one hour north of
Denver. It moved northwest, an unusual path for tornadoes. It struck the town of
Windsor at EF3 strength, causing extensive damage to homes and buildings in town. One person was killed at the Missile Silo Campground near Greeley. An EF2 tornado struck the city of
Laramie, Wyoming causing some damage to roofs of businesses and tossing trucks across
I-80. Several other tornadoes occurred in Kansas, and even a few touched down as far west as southern California that afternoon. Numerous tornadoes were reported across northern Kansas; however, damage was limited due to the sparsely populated areas it affected. Another intense storm traveled across northern
Oklahoma during the evening hours. At least 45 tornadoes were reported across the region on May 22. On May 23, thunderstorms fired up across much of the same areas, where a moderate risk of severe storms was issued for northern Kansas. Tornado watches stretched from Wyoming into Oklahoma. Supercells were reported across northern Kansas and Colorado as well as southern Kansas where an intense supercell was traveling near the areas
hit by powerful tornadoes on May 4–5, 2007. An EF4 tornado affected areas near
Quinter. Greensburg, still in the rebuilding process from the EF5 tornado that destroyed most of the town more than one year prior, narrowly missed getting struck again. Homes and trailers were also reported destroyed in
Pratt and
Lane Counties. There were 55 tornadoes confirmed in the
Dodge City warning area alone and over 80 tornadoes confirmed that day and night, with two deaths reported in Pratt County and at least five people were injured in Kansas alone with the most across
Stafford County. On May 24, a slight risk was issued for much of the
Missouri River corridor as well as areas along
I-35 from
Kansas City to
Oklahoma City and later into portions of northern
Texas.
Tornado watches were issued from
Minnesota (at the Canada–US border) to Oklahoma with a
severe thunderstorm watch in parts of Texas. One thunderstorm produced several tornadoes across
Kingfisher and
Garfield Counties south of
Enid. Most tornadoes were caught on tape by a helicopter reporter for
KWTV-TV in
Oklahoma City which was also repeatedly broadcast on
CNN. One of the tornadoes captured live on CNN and KWTV destroyed a hog farm. None of the employees who worked at the farm were injured, although a few pigs inside the structures were hurt. However, none of the pigs were found dead. Tornadoes were also reported across the
Dakotas during the evening hours for a total of 13 reports throughout the day. On May 25, notices for moderate risk of severe weather were issued for northern Kansas, southern Nebraska, eastern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa, and western Wisconsin with a slight risk from Texas to northwestern Ontario. Watches extended along all the corridor and storms developed in four different areas including northern Texas, northern Kansas, central Minnesota and Iowa and southern Manitoba.
One particularly violent tornado touched down and struck the Iowa town of
Parkersburg, and the northern side of
New Hartford. This long track tornado also destroyed homes near
Dunkerton and near the
Waterloo Municipal Airport. That tornado killed nine people and was later rated an EF5, the first since the Greensburg, Kansas tornado. According to the SPC Storm Reports, 50 tornadoes have been reported throughout the day. At 4:55 pm, an EF3 tornado touched down in
Lino Lakes, a northern suburb of the
Minneapolis-St. Paul area. The tornado then moved into
Hugo where it caused major damage. Around 50 houses were destroyed and 150 damaged in Creek View Preserve and Water's Edge neighborhoods of Hugo, and 500 homes were damaged in total. A two-year-old child was killed and nine people were seriously injured. A moderate risk of severe weather was issued for central Kansas from the same storm system for May 26 while a large slight risk area was issued by the SPC from Texas to southern
Quebec and
Ontario, while
Environment Canada issued a slight risk for severe weather for southwestern Ontario. The moderate risk in Kansas was a bust as the severe weather was limited to just a few tornadoes across western Texas and central Kansas. Meanwhile, only isolated strong thunderstorms across southern and eastern Ontario during the evening hours while very limited activity across the
Great Lakes and
Ohio Valley regions. However, two weak tornadoes were later confirmed north of
Sudbury and
North Bay. Minimal severe activity was reported on May 27 and May 28. ==Confirmed tornadoes==