NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Baldwin City, 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 Baldwin City, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 138 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 138
- EF3 or stronger
- 11
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
62 deaths in all
What the records show for Baldwin City
The strongest of the 138 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on May 20, 1957; its path came within 12 miles, and it killed 44 people. Of the 138, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 49 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 40. The most recent tornado was on May 19, 2024. Baldwin City has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 57% of the 171 Kansas cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 165 times since 1959, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 171 Kansas cities, 62% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Baldwin City.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Baldwin City
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s14(1 EF3+)
- 2000s29(1 EF3+)
- 1990s22
- 1980s8(1 EF3+)
- 1970s8(1 EF3+)
- 1960s24(4 EF3+)
- 1950s27(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 20, 1957 | F5 | 12 mi | 69.4 mi | 44 / 207 |
| May 28, 2019 | EF4 | 8 mi | 29.07 mi | 0 / 4 |
| May 22, 1952 | F4 | 13 mi | 26.9 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 19, 1981 | F3 | 10 mi | 7.7 mi | 1 / 33 |
| May 8, 2003 | F3 | 19 mi | 25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 4, 1977 | F3 | 3 mi | 31.6 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 19, 1966 | F3 | 24 mi | 7.7 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Apr 12, 1964 | F3 | 12 mi | 33.8 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Aug 6, 1962 | F3 | 2 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 16, 1960 | F3 | 15 mi | 9.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 20, 1957 | F3 | 19 mi | 5.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 28, 2019 | EF2 | 9 mi | 10.69 mi | 0 / 12 |
The strongest 12 of 138, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Baldwin City
The Storm Prediction Center has 165 hail reports within 10 miles of Baldwin City since 1959, made on 93 separate days. Of these, 102 were 1 inch across or larger, and 13 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 3 days, most recently September 10, 2015. The most recent report is from September 23, 2023. May has the most reports, 50.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Baldwin City
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Lawrence, KS, 12 miles north of Baldwin City at 1,050 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 89°F and low of 70°F; January is the coolest, at 38°F and 19°F. June is the wettest at 5.7 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.0 inches; the year adds up to 39.4 inches over 61 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 42 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 103 nights a year. Snowfall averages 10.4 inches a year, most of it in February. That 39.4 inches is more than at 79 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (77%). Wellsville, 9 miles southeast, has its own station (Ottawa, KS): 40.0 inches a year, 0.6 more than here, and the same July average high, 89°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38 | 19 | 1.0 | 2 | 2.1 |
| Feb | 44 | 23 | 1.5 | 4 | 3.3 |
| Mar | 55 | 33 | 2.3 | 5 | 0.8 |
| Apr | 65 | 44 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.1 |
| May | 74 | 56 | 5.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 84 | 65 | 5.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 89 | 70 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 87 | 68 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 79 | 59 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 67 | 47 | 3.2 | 5 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 54 | 34 | 2.0 | 3 | 0.9 |
| Dec | 42 | 24 | 1.6 | 3 | 2.9 |
| Year | 65 | 45 | 39.4 | 61 | 10.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Lawrence, KS (1,050 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 Baldwin City
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 117 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Baldwin City: 96 thunderstorm wind reports, 20 flash floods and 1 flood. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $4.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on July 8, 2009. August has had the most flash floods, 10 of 20. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 108 have had fewer than Baldwin City.
May 16, 1997: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Baldwin City — 2 injured, $10,000 damage.
June 15, 2014: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Baldwin City — $3.0 million damage.
July 8, 2009: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Baldwin City — $500,000 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
Douglas County, which includes Baldwin City, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 13 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 2 tornadoes). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 29, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Douglas County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hail; Relatively Low for inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $46.3 million a year, the 5th highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $20.1 million (43%), 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 Baldwin City
- Wellsville, KS9 mi
- Edgerton, KS11 mi
- Eudora, KS12 mi
- Lawrence, KS12 mi
- Ottawa, KS13 mi
- Gardner, KS15 mi
- Overbrook, KS17 mi
- De Soto, KS17 mi
- Linwood, KS17 mi
- Pomona, KS18 mi
- Spring Hill, KS21 mi
- Berryton, KS21 mi
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