NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Atchison, 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 Atchison, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 108 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 108
- EF3 or stronger
- 11
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Atchison
The strongest of the 108 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on June 8, 1966; its path came within 24 miles, and it killed 1 person. Of the 108, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 38 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 31. The most recent tornado was on May 19, 2025. Of the 171 Kansas cities on this site, 71% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Atchison. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 100 times since 1963, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 171 Kansas cities, 95% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Atchison.
Compare Atchison's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Atchison
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s4
- 2000s29(1 EF3+)
- 1990s10
- 1980s12(1 EF3+)
- 1970s9
- 1960s23(7 EF3+)
- 1950s16(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 8, 1966 | F4 | 24 mi | 19.9 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Apr 12, 1964 | F3 | 19 mi | 14 mi | 1 / 22 |
| May 29, 2004 | F3 | 16 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 26, 1984 | F3 | 7 mi | 32 mi | 0 / 9 |
| Jun 11, 1967 | F3 | 15 mi | 43.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 10, 1965 | F3 | 8 mi | 23.2 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Apr 12, 1964 | F3 | 25 mi | 33.8 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 19, 1960 | F3 | 18 mi | 13.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 19, 1960 | F3 | 24 mi | 11.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 18, 1959 | F3 | 10 mi | 6.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 1956 | F3 | 11 mi | 127 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jun 4, 2005 | F2 | 23 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 108, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Atchison
The Storm Prediction Center has 100 hail reports within 10 miles of Atchison since 1963, made on 70 separate days. Of these, 57 were 1 inch across or larger, and 7 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 3 days, most recently May 7, 2010. The most recent report is from May 31, 2025. May has the most reports, 38.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Atchison
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Atchison, KS, 2 miles northeast of Atchison at 945 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 36°F and 18°F. May is the wettest at 5.3 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.9 inches; the year adds up to 36.4 inches over 61 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 38 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 107 nights a year. Snowfall averages 17.0 inches a year, most of it in January. That 36.4 inches is more than at 61 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (59%). Weston, MO, 15 miles southeast, has its own station (Leavenworth, KS): 41.4 inches a year, 5.0 more than here, and a July average high of 91°F against 88°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36 | 18 | 0.9 | 3 | 5.0 |
| Feb | 42 | 23 | 1.2 | 3 | 4.8 |
| Mar | 54 | 32 | 1.9 | 4 | 1.8 |
| Apr | 65 | 43 | 3.4 | 7 | 0.4 |
| May | 74 | 55 | 5.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 84 | 65 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 88 | 69 | 5.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 86 | 67 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 79 | 58 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 67 | 46 | 3.1 | 5 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 52 | 33 | 1.8 | 4 | 0.9 |
| Dec | 40 | 23 | 1.4 | 3 | 3.8 |
| Year | 64 | 44 | 36.4 | 61 | 17.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Atchison, KS (945 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 Atchison
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 76 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Atchison: 53 thunderstorm wind reports, 16 floods and 7 flash floods. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $539,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 83 mph, on June 16, 2017. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 36 have had fewer than Atchison.
June 10, 2009: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Atchison — 2 injured, $1,000 damage.
NWS: “A fifth wheel camper was blown into another camper.”
March 13, 2019: flood 7 miles from the centre of Atchison — $200,000 damage.
NWS: “Once the Missouri River started flooding on March 9, it remained in flood through the remainder of the month. The gauge in St.”
March 14, 2019: flood 2 miles from the centre of Atchison — $200,000 damage.
NWS: “While Platte County escaped much of the devastating flooding that affected portions of Buchanan, Holt and Atchison Counties, the Missouri River still rose to near record levels and impacted portions of Platte County. 01 feet.”
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
Atchison County, which includes Atchison, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 severe storms, 5 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 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 Atchison County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $9.4 million a year, the 44th highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.9 million (42%), 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 Atchison
- Weston, MO15 mi
- Troy, KS17 mi
- Fort Leavenworth, KS18 mi
- Wathena, KS18 mi
- Leavenworth, KS21 mi
- Saint Joseph, MO22 mi
- Horton, KS23 mi
- Valley Falls, KS23 mi
- Platte City, MO23 mi
- Lansing, KS24 mi
- Mc Louth, KS25 mi
- Oskaloosa, KS26 mi
All Kansas cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Atchison with another place →