The nearly two week event of severe weather was mainly concentrated in the Midwestern (Great Plains) region of the United States, but was widely spread out to areas as far south as Texas and Florida, and as far east as New York.

It started on the southwest side of town, moving northeast, passing through several subdivisions and over a local landmark named Burnett's Mound.

Bill Kurtis, then a fill-in reporter at WIBW-TV (channel 13; then a hybrid CBS/ABC/NBC affiliate, now CBS) delivered the message to take shelter from the devastating storm by telling viewers calmly but sternly, "for God's sake, take cover!

Douglass, whose clothes were ripped from his body, was pushed by the strong winds along the ground until the tornado passed on to make a six-block swath across Topeka.

In an interview with The History Channel's Wrath of God, Douglass stated that he then pulled off the cover, resulting in the attending nurse wincing in reaction, Douglass found shards of debris in his skin for several years after the tornado and was left with a smell he described in the interview as "a mix of blood, guts, wood and metal" for several weeks.

[8] The tornado first struck residential areas, cleanly sweeping away entire rows of homes and hurling vehicles hundreds of yards through the air.

[10] One vehicle on campus was reportedly lofted over the top of the university's ROTC building, before coming to rest on the 50-yard line of the football field.

Streets in devastated areas of the city were filled with sightseers checking out the ruins of homes and businesses, which hampered efforts from first responders to find those missing under rubble.

[12][7] According to a local Native American legend, Burnett's Mound (a local landmark that was named after Potawatomi Indian chief Abram Burnett, and also believed to be an ancient Native American burial ground) was thought to protect the city from tornadoes, suggesting that the 250 feet (76 m) hill would cause a tornado that was approaching Topeka to disintegrate.