NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Chanute, 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 Chanute, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 92 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 92
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Chanute
The highest rating among the 92 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 21, 2005, came within 18 miles. Of the 92, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 42 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 29. The most recent tornado was on June 29, 2024. Of the 171 Kansas cities on this site, 89% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Chanute. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 96 times since 1960, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 171 Kansas cities, 96% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Chanute.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Chanute
By decade
- 2020s7
- 2010s5
- 2000s30(2 EF3+)
- 1990s4
- 1980s14
- 1970s9
- 1960s11
- 1950s12(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 21, 2005 | F3 | 18 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 2003 | F3 | 21 mi | 23 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jul 20, 1956 | F3 | 21 mi | 69.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 26, 2024 | EF2 | 20 mi | 6.71 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 2000 | F2 | 13 mi | 25 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 26, 1991 | F2 | 21 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 26, 1991 | F2 | 11 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Nov 15, 1988 | F2 | 15 mi | 7.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 7, 1986 | F2 | 21 mi | 22.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 15, 1982 | F2 | 19 mi | 30 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 4, 1973 | F2 | 19 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 4, 1973 | F2 | 22 mi | 5.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 92, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Chanute
The Storm Prediction Center has 96 hail reports within 10 miles of Chanute since 1960, made on 64 separate days. Of these, 67 were 1 inch across or larger, and 7 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 3 inches (tea cup size), was reported on 2 days, most recently March 12, 2006. The most recent report is from April 27, 2024. May has the most reports, 27.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Chanute
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Chanute Martin Johnson Airport, KS, 2 miles west of Chanute at 985 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 70°F; January is the coolest, at 44°F and 23°F. May is the wettest at 5.9 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.2 inches; the year adds up to 40.8 inches over 59 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 49 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 102 nights a year. That 40.8 inches is more than at 85 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (83%). Humboldt, 10 miles north, has its own station (Humboldt, KS): 42.3 inches a year, 1.5 more than here, and a July average high of 90°F against 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44 | 23 | 1.2 | 3 |
| Feb | 50 | 27 | 1.6 | 4 |
| Mar | 60 | 36 | 2.5 | 5 |
| Apr | 70 | 46 | 4.3 | 6 |
| May | 78 | 56 | 5.9 | 8 |
| Jun | 87 | 66 | 5.6 | 7 |
| Jul | 92 | 70 | 4.4 | 5 |
| Aug | 91 | 68 | 3.8 | 5 |
| Sep | 83 | 59 | 4.1 | 5 |
| Oct | 72 | 47 | 3.3 | 5 |
| Nov | 59 | 36 | 2.4 | 4 |
| Dec | 47 | 27 | 1.7 | 3 |
| Year | 69 | 47 | 40.8 | 59 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Chanute Martin Johnson Airport, KS (985 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 Chanute
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 142 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Chanute: 93 thunderstorm wind reports, 20 floods, 16 heavy rain events, 11 flash floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $15.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on July 9, 2003. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 61 have had fewer than Chanute.
November 30, 2023: heavy rain event 3 miles from the centre of Chanute — 1 killed.
NWS: “Heavy rain was occurring according to the nearby airport observation at Chanute Martin Johnson Airport when a car crossed the center line and hit a semi freightliner head-on. Unfortunately the driver of the car died from this car crash near the intersection of Kansas Highway 39 and Brown Road.”
July 1, 2007: flash flood 1 mile from the centre of Chanute — $12.0 million damage.
NWS: “Extremely heavy rainfall from the end of June into early July caused flash flooding throughout Neosho County. The flash flooding and the ensuing river flooding resulted in roughly 100 homes being destroyed and another 50 sustaining major damage.”
June 30, 2005: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Chanute — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “Extensive damage! Large trees uprooted, with many falling onto homes and businesses.”
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
Flood insurance policyholders in Chanute's ZIP code 66720 have filed 72 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $966,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Thunderstorms in 2007: 29 claims (40% of all) and $657,000. 51% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 65 Kansas cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 36 have fewer than Chanute.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorms2007 | 29 | $657,000 |
Neosho County, which includes Chanute, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 13 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on July 15, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Neosho County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $11.9 million a year, the 32nd highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $5.5 million (46%), 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 Chanute
- Humboldt, KS10 mi
- Iola, KS18 mi
- Yates Center, KS21 mi
- Neodesha, KS21 mi
- Fredonia, KS23 mi
- Parsons, KS25 mi
- Cherryvale, KS27 mi
- Independence, KS34 mi
- Girard, KS34 mi
- Oswego, KS38 mi
- Burlington, KS41 mi
- Fort Scott, KS41 mi
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