National Weather Service confirms EF-2 tornado in Riley Co. Thursday

RILEY COUNTY, Kan. (WIBW) – The National Weather Service confirmed Riley County saw an EF-2 tornado on Thursday.

Several counties in Northeast Kansas saw severe weather on Thursday, June 4.

According to the NWS’ preliminary local storm report, an EF-2 tornado was present in Riley County starting at 5:13 p.m. through 5:23 p.m. The report shows the tornado’s max wind speed was 120 mph.

There were no injuries or fatalities reported.

A home on Union Road sustained damage consistent with an EF-2 tornado.

Some other structural damage was reported along the east side of Riley County: www.wibw.com/2026/06/05/possible-tornado-damage-reported-riley-thursday-evening/.

The Riley County Emergency Management says that dispatch activated outdoor warning sirens in the City of Riley on Thursday evening, after reports from residents of a tornado sighting, though NWS had not issued a tornado warning yet.

“We want to thank residents for calling to report the tornado sighting yesterday evening,” said Laurie Harrison, Riley County Emergency Management Coordinator. “There was no tornado watch or thunderstorm warning in effect, and the storm popped up very quickly.”

Though sirens were activated, Emergency Management says some residents reported not hearing the warning, prompting personnel to work with the siren maintenance company to identify the issue. The problem was determined to be mechanical. Repairs are expected to be completed next week.

Roads in the area that were closed due to flooding are now reopened.

According to Emergency Management, several people were rescued from stranded vehicles in the Manhattan area Thursday night.

Chances of storms remain throughout this weekend. Check www.wibw.com/weather/ for the latest on weather.