20 years ago, tornado outbreak in Kansas City area created widespread damage

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - When one thinks of severe weather in the greater Kansas City area, one of the first days that comes to mind is May 4, 2023.

On that spring Sunday, according to the National Weather Service, “a single supercell spawned a series of four tornadoes that touched down from south of Paola to northwest of Sedalia between 5 and 7:45 p.m.”

Those tornadoes ranged in strength from F0 to F4, as this was prior to usage of the EF Scale.

Below is a video from the May 4 tornado near Arcadia, Kansas.

Longtime residents of Liberty, Missouri, the storm well. The area near William Jewell College and downtown Liberty was one of the costliest zones in of damage.

Peter Van Ness, a fire chief for the city, had just started with the department six months before the tornado hit.

“I saw debris falling out of the sky,” he ed. “When I drive around, I still have images in my mind of, ‘I saw that roof blown off that house.’”

Nathan Wyman, a theater professor at William Jewell, ed gathering his pets and going to the basement for shelter. When he returned to campus, several buildings were totally destroyed. The clock tower on Gano Chapel had collapsed.

In the weeks that followed, the theater at the college became a hub for distributing supplies to tornado victims.

“It was like a thrift store where people came and could have a fresh start,” he said.

Chery Carr Holtman, the curator of the Clay County Museum, also ed taking shelter. She recalled the robust community effort following the tornado, too.

“There were neighbors that weren’t hit helping people that were hit,” she said.

Van Ness also recalled being impressed with the volunteer response. He said it made Liberty feel like a home very quickly.

“When something like the tornado happens, that sense of community is survival for so many people,” he said.

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