NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Auburn, 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 Auburn, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 134 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 13 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 134
- EF3 or stronger
- 13
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
43 deaths in all
What the records show for Auburn
The strongest of the 134 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 8, 1966; its path came within 2 miles, and it killed 16 people. The deadliest, an F1 on June 17, 1978, killed 16 people. Of the 134, 13 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 48 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 53. The most recent tornado was on June 28, 2024. Auburn has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 51% of the 171 Kansas cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 236 times since 1963, with stones up to 5.25 inches. Auburn has more hail reports within 10 miles than 69% of the 171 Kansas cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Auburn
By decade
- 2020s9
- 2010s20(1 EF3+)
- 2000s19(1 EF3+)
- 1990s23
- 1980s18(1 EF3+)
- 1970s10(1 EF3+)
- 1960s20(7 EF3+)
- 1950s15(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 8, 1966 | F5 | 2 mi | 21.1 mi | 16 / 450 |
| Jun 8, 1974 | F4 | 2 mi | 37.5 mi | 6 / 177 |
| May 19, 1960 | F4 | 19 mi | 27.5 mi | 1 / 92 |
| May 19, 1960 | F4 | 19 mi | 20.6 mi | 0 / 12 |
| May 21, 2011 | EF3 | 24 mi | 10.11 mi | 1 / 5 |
| May 6, 1983 | F3 | in town | 19 mi | 1 / 25 |
| May 8, 2003 | F3 | 22 mi | 25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 1967 | F3 | 20 mi | 43.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 1966 | F3 | 18 mi | 9.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 12, 1964 | F3 | 23 mi | 33.8 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 26, 1962 | F3 | 9 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Apr 2, 1956 | F3 | 8 mi | 127 mi | 0 / 4 |
The strongest 12 of 134, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Auburn
The Storm Prediction Center has 236 hail reports within 10 miles of Auburn since 1963, made on 120 separate days. Of these, 160 were 1 inch across or larger, and 20 reached 2 inches. The largest, 5.25 inches, fell on May 21, 2011. The most recent report is from May 19, 2025. May has the most reports, 71.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Auburn
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Topeka Forbes Field, KS, 10 miles east of Auburn at 1,067 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 41°F and 19°F. May is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 36.7 inches over 59 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 52 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 117 nights a year. That 36.7 inches is more than at 62 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (60%). Topeka, 11 miles northeast, has its own station (Topeka Municipal Airport, KS): 36.7 inches a year, the same as here, and a July average high of 90°F against 91°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41 | 19 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Feb | 46 | 23 | 1.2 | 3 |
| Mar | 57 | 33 | 2.3 | 5 |
| Apr | 67 | 43 | 3.9 | 7 |
| May | 76 | 54 | 5.2 | 8 |
| Jun | 86 | 64 | 4.7 | 7 |
| Jul | 91 | 69 | 4.6 | 6 |
| Aug | 90 | 66 | 4.5 | 6 |
| Sep | 81 | 57 | 3.5 | 5 |
| Oct | 69 | 45 | 2.8 | 5 |
| Nov | 55 | 33 | 1.8 | 3 |
| Dec | 44 | 23 | 1.4 | 3 |
| Year | 67 | 44 | 36.7 | 59 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Topeka Forbes Field, KS (1,067 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 Auburn
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 236 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Auburn: 203 thunderstorm wind reports, 20 flash floods, 11 floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $3.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on April 29, 2022. September has had the most flash floods, 8 of 20. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 108 have had fewer than Auburn.
August 8, 2012: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Auburn — 1 injured, $100,000 damage.
June 2, 2008: lightning strike 7 miles from the centre of Auburn — 1 injured.
May 7, 2007: flood 8 miles from the centre of Auburn — $2.0 million damage.
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
Shawnee County, which includes Auburn, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1966, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 severe storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on April 28, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Shawnee County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $74.5 million a year, the 3rd highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $40.0 million (54%), 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 Auburn
- Carbondale, KS11 mi
- Topeka, KS11 mi
- Silver Lake, KS15 mi
- Berryton, KS15 mi
- Tecumseh, KS17 mi
- Overbrook, KS20 mi
- Osage City, KS21 mi
- Saint Marys, KS23 mi
- Meriden, KS25 mi
- Perry, KS27 mi
- Mayetta, KS29 mi
- Pomona, KS30 mi
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