NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Buffalo, WY
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 Buffalo, Wyoming since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 8 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 8
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Buffalo
The highest rating among the 8 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1 or EF1, reached 4 times; the most recent, on June 19, 2019, came within 20 miles. Of the 8, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 2 have come since 2000. Of the 35 Wyoming cities on this site, 54% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Buffalo. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 32 times since 1979, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Buffalo has more hail reports within 10 miles than 65% of the 35 Wyoming cities.
Compare Buffalo's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Buffalo
By decade
- 2010s1
- 2000s1
- 1970s6
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 19, 2019 | EF1 | 20 mi | 4.09 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 9, 1977 | F1 | 5 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 23, 1973 | F1 | 5 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 3, 1971 | F1 | 4 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 29, 2008 | EF0 | 22 mi | 0.14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 18, 1979 | F0 | 2 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 18, 1979 | F0 | 2 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 18, 1979 | F0 | 2 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 8 of 8, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Buffalo
The Storm Prediction Center has 32 hail reports within 10 miles of Buffalo since 1979, made on 27 separate days. Of these, 18 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 4 days, most recently July 6, 2023. The most recent report is from September 12, 2025. June has the most reports, 13.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Buffalo
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Buffalo, WY, 4 miles north of Buffalo at 4,639 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 53°F; January is the coolest, at 36°F and 11°F. May is the wettest at 2.8 inches of precipitation on average and January and December the driest at 0.4 inches; the year adds up to 13.8 inches over 36 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 19 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 184 nights a year. Snowfall averages 42.7 inches a year, most of it in February. That 13.8 inches is more than at 19 of the 32 Wyoming stations used on this site (59%). Sheridan, 37 miles north, has its own station (Sheridan Co Airport, WY): 15.1 inches a year, 1.3 more than here, and a July average high of 88°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36 | 11 | 0.4 | 2 | 6.6 |
| Feb | 37 | 12 | 0.5 | 2 | 7.4 |
| Mar | 47 | 20 | 0.7 | 3 | 6.5 |
| Apr | 53 | 28 | 1.5 | 4 | 4.2 |
| May | 62 | 37 | 2.8 | 6 | 0.9 |
| Jun | 73 | 46 | 2.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 53 | 1.4 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 51 | 0.8 | 2 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 72 | 42 | 1.3 | 3 | 0.7 |
| Oct | 57 | 30 | 1.3 | 4 | 3.5 |
| Nov | 45 | 19 | 0.5 | 2 | 5.9 |
| Dec | 36 | 11 | 0.4 | 1 | 7.0 |
| Year | 57 | 30 | 13.8 | 36 | 42.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Buffalo, WY (4,639 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 Buffalo
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 31 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Buffalo: 26 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 floods and 1 flash flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on July 6, 2009.
June 3, 2015: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Buffalo — $1.5 million damage.
NWS: “The last in a series of thunderstorms on Wednesday, June 3, brought very heavy rain to Buffalo and the surrounding area. 98 inches of rain in less than 25 minutes as the storm moved north and then stalled over Buffalo.”
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
Johnson County, which includes Buffalo, has been named in 7 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1978, 5 of them major disasters (by incident: 2 biological emergencies, 2 fires, 2 floods, 1 severe storm). The latest major disaster declaration was Wildfires, on November 13, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Johnson County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding and lightning; Very Low for tornadoes, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $6.8 million a year, the 17th highest of 23 Wyoming counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.1 million (61%), 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 Buffalo
- Sheridan, WY37 mi
- Gillette, WY59 mi
- Worland, WY68 mi
- Greybull, WY68 mi
- Moorcroft, WY87 mi
- Lovell, WY88 mi
- Lame Deer, MT89 mi
- Thermopolis, WY92 mi
- Crow Agency, MT97 mi
- Casper, WY102 mi
- Evansville, WY105 mi
- Glenrock, WY111 mi
All Wyoming cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Buffalo with another place →