NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Clay Center, 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 Clay Center, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 98 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 98
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
6 deaths in all
What the records show for Clay Center
The highest rating among the 98 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 6 times; the most recent, on September 25, 1973, came within 8 miles. Of the 98, 12 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 39 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 36. The most recent tornado was on May 9, 2023. Of the 171 Kansas cities on this site, 83% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Clay Center. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 147 times since 1961, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Of the 171 Kansas cities, 72% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Clay Center.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Clay Center
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2010s21
- 2000s15
- 1990s8
- 1980s8
- 1970s8(2 EF3+)
- 1960s13(3 EF3+)
- 1950s22(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 25, 1973 | F3 | 8 mi | 169.7 mi | 3 / 42 |
| May 25, 1951 | F3 | 2 mi | 4.1 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Sep 25, 1973 | F3 | 8 mi | 69.9 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 8, 1966 | F3 | 21 mi | 13.8 mi | 0 / 50 |
| May 11, 1966 | F3 | 21 mi | 5.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 21, 1964 | F3 | 22 mi | 8.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 5, 2007 | EF2 | 25 mi | 11 mi | 1 / 5 |
| Jun 9, 1967 | F2 | 24 mi | 42.5 mi | 1 / 10 |
| May 9, 1996 | F2 | 17 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 18, 1979 | F2 | 4 mi | 71.4 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Sep 26, 1973 | F2 | 4 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 25, 1973 | F2 | 13 mi | 5.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 98, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Clay Center
The Storm Prediction Center has 147 hail reports within 10 miles of Clay Center since 1961, made on 101 separate days. Of these, 90 were 1 inch across or larger, and 7 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on April 15, 2012. The most recent report is from May 18, 2025. June has the most reports, 40.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Clay Center
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Clay Ctr, KS, 3 miles northeast of Clay Center at 1,201 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 39°F and 18°F. May is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 31.7 inches over 55 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 54 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 121 nights a year. Snowfall averages 10.8 inches a year, most of it in December. That 31.7 inches is more than at 36 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (35%). Fort Riley, 26 miles southeast, has its own station (Milford Lake, KS): 33.1 inches a year, 1.4 more than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 91°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 39 | 18 | 0.7 | 2 | 3.1 |
| Feb | 44 | 21 | 1.1 | 3 | 2.0 |
| Mar | 55 | 31 | 1.9 | 4 | 0.8 |
| Apr | 66 | 41 | 2.8 | 6 | 0.6 |
| May | 76 | 53 | 4.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 86 | 64 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 91 | 68 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 89 | 66 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 81 | 57 | 2.9 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 68 | 44 | 2.2 | 4 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 53 | 31 | 1.5 | 3 | 0.9 |
| Dec | 42 | 21 | 1.1 | 3 | 3.2 |
| Year | 66 | 43 | 31.7 | 55 | 10.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Clay Ctr, KS (1,201 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 Clay Center
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 87 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Clay Center: 75 thunderstorm wind reports, 11 flash floods and 1 flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 87 mph, on July 13, 2016. May has had the most flash floods, 4 of 11. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 61 have had fewer than Clay Center.
May 6, 2007: flash flood 3 miles from the centre of Clay Center — $600,000 damage.
NWS: “Water reported over 9th road and Kiowa south of Clay Center. Road is closed.”
May 24, 2007: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Clay Center — $200,000 damage.
NWS: “Approximately 6 inches of water flowing over highway 396. Water also flowing over County rd.”
May 24, 2007: flash flood 3 miles from the centre of Clay Center — $200,000 damage.
NWS: “One foot of water flowing over Crawford street in town.”
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
Clay County, which includes Clay Center, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 13 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 flood, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Straight Line Winds, on February 17, 2022. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Clay County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes and heat waves; Very Low for inland flooding and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $6.1 million a year, the 76th highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.6 million (42%), 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 Clay Center
- Fort Riley, KS26 mi
- Abilene, KS28 mi
- Junction City, KS28 mi
- Concordia, KS31 mi
- Manhattan, KS32 mi
- Minneapolis, KS33 mi
- Saint George, KS40 mi
- Belleville, KS42 mi
- Salina, KS43 mi
- Marysville, KS45 mi
- Wamego, KS46 mi
- Herington, KS48 mi
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