NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Abilene, KS
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Abilene, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 117 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 117
- EF3 or stronger
- 12
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
6 deaths in all
What the records show for Abilene
The highest rating among the 117 tornadoes within 25 miles is EF4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 25, 2016, came within 3 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on September 25, 1973, killed 3 people. Of the 117, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 46 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 31. The most recent tornado was on July 22, 2023. Of the 171 Kansas cities on this site, 65% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Abilene. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 206 times since 1963, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Abilene has more hail reports within 10 miles than 54% of the 171 Kansas cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Abilene
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s21(4 EF3+)
- 2000s20(2 EF3+)
- 1990s22
- 1980s11
- 1970s7(3 EF3+)
- 1960s11(2 EF3+)
- 1950s20(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 25, 2016 | EF4 | 3 mi | 25.09 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Apr 14, 2012 | EF4 | 25 mi | 50.28 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 25, 1973 | F3 | 19 mi | 169.7 mi | 3 / 42 |
| Jun 11, 2008 | EF3 | 5 mi | 15.26 mi | 1 / 3 |
| May 25, 1951 | F3 | 23 mi | 4.1 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Oct 6, 2016 | EF3 | 11 mi | 6.48 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 28, 2013 | EF3 | 25 mi | 2.33 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 2008 | EF3 | 12 mi | 16.45 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 25, 1973 | F3 | 20 mi | 69.9 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 30, 1972 | F3 | 2 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jun 21, 1969 | F3 | 24 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 60 |
| Jun 21, 1964 | F3 | 5 mi | 8.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 117, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Abilene
The Storm Prediction Center has 206 hail reports within 10 miles of Abilene since 1963, made on 114 separate days. Of these, 153 were 1 inch across or larger, and 21 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on June 1, 2011. The most recent report is from September 3, 2025. May has the most reports, 58.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Abilene
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Abilene, KS, 1 mile south of Abilene at 1,187 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 94°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 43°F and 22°F. May is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.9 inches; the year adds up to 34.4 inches over 57 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 76 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 106 nights a year. Snowfall averages 12.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 34.4 inches is more than at 49 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (48%). Junction City, 21 miles east, has its own station (Milford Lake, KS): 33.1 inches a year, 1.3 less than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 94°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43 | 22 | 0.9 | 3 | 4.1 |
| Feb | 49 | 25 | 1.4 | 3 | 2.8 |
| Mar | 60 | 35 | 2.2 | 5 | 1.7 |
| Apr | 70 | 45 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.2 |
| May | 79 | 55 | 5.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 89 | 65 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 94 | 69 | 4.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 92 | 67 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 84 | 59 | 2.5 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 71 | 46 | 2.5 | 4 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 57 | 34 | 1.6 | 3 | 1.0 |
| Dec | 45 | 25 | 1.5 | 3 | 2.2 |
| Year | 69 | 46 | 34.4 | 57 | 12.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Abilene, KS (1,187 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Abilene
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 156 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Abilene: 125 thunderstorm wind reports, 22 flash floods, 8 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $2.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on August 10, 2009. June has had the most flash floods, 11 of 22. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 116 have had fewer than Abilene.
September 7, 2015: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Abilene — 1 injured.
NWS: “A roof was blown off a farm house at 1600 Eden rd. Minor injuries reported.”
May 6, 2007: flood 8 miles from the centre of Abilene — $400,000 damage.
NWS: “Solomon River is out of banks. Road between Solomon and Abilene impassable.”
May 24, 2007: flood 8 miles from the centre of Abilene — $400,000 damage.
NWS: “Rain road/State highway 206 closed one mile north of Chapman. Vehicles are stranded in Chapman with sandbagging and some evacuations made.”
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Flood insurance policyholders in Abilene's ZIP code 67410 have filed 22 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1993, and were paid $52,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Midwest Flooding in 1993: 10 claims (45% of all) and $13,000. 45% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 65 Kansas cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 14 have fewer than Abilene.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Midwest Flooding1993 | 10 | $13,000 |
Dickinson County, which includes Abilene, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on September 1, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Dickinson County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Low for inland flooding and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $15.9 million a year, the 27th highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.4 million (40%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Abilene
- Junction City, KS21 mi
- Salina, KS23 mi
- Fort Riley, KS24 mi
- Herington, KS24 mi
- Clay Center, KS28 mi
- Minneapolis, KS29 mi
- Lindsborg, KS34 mi
- Manhattan, KS38 mi
- Hillsboro, KS41 mi
- Marion, KS42 mi
- Galva, KS43 mi
- Council Grove, KS44 mi
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