NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Columbus, 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 Columbus, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 163 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 18 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 163
- EF3 or stronger
- 18
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
194 deaths in all
What the records show for Columbus
The strongest of the 163 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF5 on May 22, 2011; its path came within 18 miles, and it killed 158 people. Of the 163, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 66 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 56. The most recent tornado was on April 20, 2025. Columbus has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 78% of the 171 Kansas cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 140 times since 1956, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 171 Kansas cities, 75% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Columbus.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Columbus
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s20(2 EF3+)
- 2000s38(4 EF3+)
- 1990s16
- 1980s19(4 EF3+)
- 1970s16(2 EF3+)
- 1960s22(2 EF3+)
- 1950s24(4 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 22, 2011 | EF5 | 18 mi | 21.62 mi | 158 / 1150 |
| May 10, 2008 | EF4 | 14 mi | 75.51 mi | 21 / 350 |
| May 4, 2003 | F4 | 20 mi | 33 mi | 4 / 30 |
| Sep 27, 1959 | F4 | 13 mi | 20.4 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Apr 3, 1956 | F4 | 18 mi | 41.8 mi | 0 / 59 |
| May 4, 2003 | F3 | 5 mi | 25 mi | 5 / 34 |
| Mar 15, 1982 | F3 | 25 mi | 70 mi | 2 / 8 |
| Mar 15, 1982 | F3 | 5 mi | 30 mi | 1 / 6 |
| May 5, 1971 | F3 | 18 mi | 13.1 mi | 1 / 60 |
| May 22, 2019 | EF3 | 15 mi | 9.22 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 2000 | F3 | 17 mi | 34 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 26, 1983 | F3 | 20 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 4 |
The strongest 12 of 163, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Columbus
The Storm Prediction Center has 140 hail reports within 10 miles of Columbus since 1956, made on 94 separate days. Of these, 94 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on June 23, 2008. The most recent report is from June 8, 2025. May has the most reports, 36.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Columbus
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Columbus, KS, 2 miles east of Columbus at 893 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 44°F and 23°F. May is the wettest at 7.1 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.7 inches; the year adds up to 46.2 inches over 68 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 46 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 95 nights a year. Snowfall averages 7.2 inches a year, most of it in January and December. That 46.2 inches is more than at 101 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (98%). Galena, 14 miles southeast, has its own station (Joplin Regional Airport, MO): 45.7 inches a year, 0.5 less than here, and the same July average high, 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44 | 23 | 1.7 | 4 | 2.3 |
| Feb | 49 | 27 | 2.0 | 4 | 1.1 |
| Mar | 58 | 36 | 3.4 | 6 | 1.3 |
| Apr | 68 | 46 | 5.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 76 | 56 | 7.1 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 85 | 65 | 5.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 90 | 69 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 89 | 68 | 3.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 81 | 59 | 4.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 48 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 58 | 36 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.2 |
| Dec | 47 | 28 | 2.4 | 4 | 2.3 |
| Year | 68 | 47 | 46.2 | 68 | 7.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Columbus, KS (893 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 Columbus
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 222 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Columbus: 140 thunderstorm wind reports, 66 flash floods, 12 floods and 4 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $2.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on July 4, 1996. June has had the most flash floods, 18 of 66. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 160 have had fewer than Columbus.
March 6, 2026: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Columbus — 1 injured, $25,000 damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorm winds caused the side of a house to blow in and collapse. There was one injury.”
July 23, 2014: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Columbus — 1 injured, $1,000 damage.
June 12, 2007: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Columbus — $1.1 million damage.
NWS: “Another stationary band of heavy rain occurred on the night of June 11th and the morning of June 12th. In response, significant flooding occurred in all areas of the county.”
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
Cherokee County, which includes Columbus, has been named in 28 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 24 of them major disasters (by incident: 19 severe storms, 4 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on September 1, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Cherokee County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Low for 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 $17.0 million a year, the 24th highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.3 million (43%), 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 Columbus
- Baxter Springs, KS12 mi
- Galena, KS14 mi
- Oswego, KS14 mi
- Commerce, OK17 mi
- Quapaw, OK18 mi
- Carl Junction, MO18 mi
- Pittsburg, KS19 mi
- Miami, OK20 mi
- Joplin, MO22 mi
- Frontenac, KS22 mi
- Webb City, MO22 mi
- Oronogo, MO23 mi
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