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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Berryton, 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 Berryton, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 158 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 16 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
0

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
158

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
16

43 deaths in all

What the records show for Berryton

The strongest of the 158 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 8, 1966; its path came within 9 miles, and it killed 16 people. The deadliest, an F1 on June 17, 1978, killed 16 people. Of the 158, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 53 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 55. The most recent tornado was on May 19, 2024. Berryton has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 77% of the 171 Kansas cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 227 times since 1956, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Berryton has more hail reports within 10 miles than 64% of the 171 Kansas cities.

Compare Berryton's storm record with another city →

Tornadoes within 25 miles of Berryton

By decade

  • 2020s7
  • 2010s21(1 EF3+)
  • 2000s25(1 EF3+)
  • 1990s34
  • 1980s15(2 EF3+)
  • 1970s10(2 EF3+)
  • 1960s27(8 EF3+)
  • 1950s19(2 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Berryton, Kansas
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Jun 8, 1966F59 mi21.1 mi16 / 450
Jun 8, 1974F417 mi37.5 mi6 / 177
May 19, 1960F419 mi27.5 mi1 / 92
May 28, 2019EF412 mi29.07 mi0 / 4
May 22, 1952F418 mi26.9 mi0 / 3
May 6, 1983F37 mi19 mi1 / 25
Jun 19, 1981F316 mi7.7 mi1 / 33
May 8, 2003F316 mi25 mi0 / 0
May 4, 1977F314 mi31.6 mi0 / 1
Jun 11, 1967F317 mi43.9 mi0 / 0
May 11, 1966F319 mi9.9 mi0 / 0
Apr 12, 1964F39 mi33.8 mi0 / 3

The strongest 12 of 158, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Berryton

The Storm Prediction Center has 227 hail reports within 10 miles of Berryton since 1956, made on 131 separate days. Of these, 158 were 1 inch across or larger, and 30 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on May 31, 1980. The most recent report is from April 23, 2025. May has the most reports, 70.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Weather by month in Berryton

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Topeka Forbes Field, KS, 6 miles west of Berryton 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%). Tecumseh, 6 miles north, 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.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Topeka Forbes Field, KS
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"
Jan41190.82
Feb46231.23
Mar57332.35
Apr67433.97
May76545.28
Jun86644.77
Jul91694.66
Aug90664.56
Sep81573.55
Oct69452.85
Nov55331.83
Dec44231.43
Year674436.759

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.

Kansas weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Berryton

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 205 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Berryton: 177 thunderstorm wind reports, 22 flash floods and 6 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $4.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on June 9, 2026. June has had the most flash floods, 7 of 22. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 116 have had fewer than Berryton.

  • May 30, 1999: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Berryton — 2 injured, $5,000 damage.

  • August 8, 2012: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Berryton — 1 injured, $100,000 damage.

  • April 19, 2002: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Berryton — $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 Berryton, 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.

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