NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Clearwater, 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 Clearwater, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 173 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 17 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 173
- EF3 or stronger
- 17
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
26 deaths in all
What the records show for Clearwater
The strongest of the 173 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 26, 1991; its path came within 3 miles, and it killed 17 people. Of the 173, 15 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 55 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 61. The most recent tornado was on April 29, 2022. Clearwater has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 89% of the 171 Kansas cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 222 times since 1956, with stones up to 7.75 inches. Clearwater has more hail reports within 10 miles than 61% of the 171 Kansas cities.
Compare Clearwater's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Clearwater
By decade
- 2020s2(1 EF3+)
- 2010s22(3 EF3+)
- 2000s31(3 EF3+)
- 1990s38(4 EF3+)
- 1980s21
- 1970s11(1 EF3+)
- 1960s20(4 EF3+)
- 1950s28(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 26, 1991 | F5 | 3 mi | 46 mi | 17 / 225 |
| May 3, 1999 | F4 | 7 mi | 24 mi | 6 / 150 |
| Jun 23, 1969 | F4 | 6 mi | 8.7 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Apr 29, 2022 | EF3 | 18 mi | 12.65 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 6, 2015 | EF3 | 24 mi | 16.48 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 14, 2012 | EF3 | 8 mi | 13.2 mi | 0 / 38 |
| Apr 14, 2012 | EF3 | 13 mi | 18.11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 12, 2004 | F3 | 15 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 29, 2004 | F3 | 11 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 29, 2004 | F3 | 11 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 16, 1991 | F3 | 3 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 13, 1990 | F3 | 21 mi | 22 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 173, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Clearwater
The Storm Prediction Center has 222 hail reports within 10 miles of Clearwater since 1956, made on 131 separate days. Of these, 157 were 1 inch across or larger, and 16 reached 2 inches. The largest, 7.75 inches, fell on September 15, 2010. The most recent report is from September 3, 2025. May has the most reports, 70.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Clearwater
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Wichita, KS, 10 miles north of Clearwater at 1,335 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 70°F; January is the coolest, at 44°F and 23°F. May is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.9 inches; the year adds up to 34.5 inches over 52 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 65 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 103 nights a year. Snowfall averages 12.7 inches a year, most of it in February. That 34.5 inches is more than at 50 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (49%). Haysville, 8 miles east, has its own station (Haysville 3SE, KS): 38.4 inches a year, 3.9 more than here, and a July average high of 92°F against 93°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44 | 23 | 0.9 | 2 | 2.7 |
| Feb | 49 | 26 | 1.2 | 3 | 3.6 |
| Mar | 59 | 36 | 2.3 | 4 | 2.1 |
| Apr | 68 | 45 | 3.1 | 5 | 0.2 |
| May | 78 | 56 | 5.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 88 | 66 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 93 | 70 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 91 | 69 | 4.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 83 | 60 | 3.1 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 71 | 47 | 2.9 | 4 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 57 | 35 | 1.4 | 3 | 0.8 |
| Dec | 46 | 25 | 1.2 | 2 | 3.1 |
| Year | 69 | 46 | 34.5 | 52 | 12.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Wichita, KS (1,335 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 Clearwater
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 217 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Clearwater: 177 thunderstorm wind reports, 16 flash floods, 16 floods, 6 heavy rain events and 2 lightning strikes. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 102 mph, on June 17, 2025. September has had the most flash floods, 6 of 16. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 93 have had fewer than Clearwater.
September 12, 2008: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Clearwater — $310,000 damage.
May 8, 2019: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Clearwater — $200,000 damage.
September 10, 2016: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Clearwater — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Three water rescues occurred near Clearwater, Kansas due to rising water from the Ninnescah River getting close to homes.”
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 Clearwater's ZIP code 67026 have filed 36 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1985, and were paid $430,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 17% 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, 24 have fewer than Clearwater.
Sedgwick County, which includes Clearwater, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 severe storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 tornadoes). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 29, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Sedgwick County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes and lightning; Relatively High for hail, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $255.9 million a year, the 2nd highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $101.0 million (39%), 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 Clearwater
- Haysville, KS8 mi
- Goddard, KS10 mi
- Conway Springs, KS12 mi
- Derby, KS14 mi
- Belle Plaine, KS14 mi
- Garden Plain, KS14 mi
- Wichita, KS15 mi
- Mulvane, KS15 mi
- Wellington, KS18 mi
- Maize, KS18 mi
- Cheney, KS18 mi
- Colwich, KS19 mi
All Kansas cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Clearwater with another place →