NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Colwich, 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 Colwich, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 163 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 15 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 163
- EF3 or stronger
- 15
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
27 deaths in all
What the records show for Colwich
The highest rating among the 163 tornadoes within 25 miles is F5, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 26, 1991, came within 19 miles. Of the 163, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 36 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 51. The most recent tornado was on April 30, 2024. Colwich has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 78% of the 171 Kansas cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 378 times since 1955, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Colwich has more hail reports within 10 miles than 88% of the 171 Kansas cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Colwich
By decade
- 2020s3(1 EF3+)
- 2010s17(2 EF3+)
- 2000s16
- 1990s37(4 EF3+)
- 1980s27
- 1970s11(1 EF3+)
- 1960s25(6 EF3+)
- 1950s27(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 26, 1991 | F5 | 19 mi | 46 mi | 17 / 225 |
| Mar 13, 1990 | F5 | 15 mi | 48 mi | 1 / 60 |
| May 3, 1999 | F4 | 13 mi | 24 mi | 6 / 150 |
| Jun 23, 1969 | F4 | 11 mi | 8.7 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Apr 29, 2022 | EF3 | 22 mi | 12.65 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 6, 2015 | EF3 | 7 mi | 16.48 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 14, 2012 | EF3 | 19 mi | 13.2 mi | 0 / 38 |
| May 16, 1991 | F3 | 20 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 26, 1973 | F3 | 3 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Sep 3, 1965 | F3 | 16 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 27 |
| Jun 4, 1965 | F3 | 13 mi | 6.9 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 13, 1965 | F3 | 4 mi | 62.5 mi | 0 / 10 |
The strongest 12 of 163, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Colwich
The Storm Prediction Center has 378 hail reports within 10 miles of Colwich since 1955, made on 185 separate days. Of these, 268 were 1 inch across or larger, and 32 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), was reported on 2 days, most recently September 15, 2010. The most recent report is from September 3, 2025. May has the most reports, 126.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Colwich
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Wichita Wx, KS, 11 miles southeast of Colwich at 1,334 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 22°F. May and June are the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 34.6 inches over 51 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 67 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 109 nights a year. That 34.6 inches is more than at 51 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (50%). Sedgwick, 11 miles northeast, has its own station (Newton, KS): 33.9 inches a year, 0.7 less than here, and the same July average high, 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44 | 22 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Feb | 49 | 26 | 1.2 | 3 |
| Mar | 59 | 35 | 2.2 | 4 |
| Apr | 68 | 45 | 3.0 | 5 |
| May | 77 | 55 | 5.2 | 8 |
| Jun | 88 | 65 | 5.2 | 6 |
| Jul | 92 | 70 | 3.9 | 6 |
| Aug | 91 | 68 | 4.3 | 5 |
| Sep | 83 | 59 | 3.1 | 4 |
| Oct | 70 | 47 | 2.8 | 4 |
| Nov | 57 | 34 | 1.6 | 3 |
| Dec | 45 | 25 | 1.3 | 2 |
| Year | 69 | 46 | 34.6 | 51 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Wichita Wx, KS (1,334 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 Colwich
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 389 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Colwich: 314 thunderstorm wind reports, 27 flash floods, 25 floods, 19 heavy rain events and 4 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $6.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 91 mph, on June 15, 2002. June has had the most flash floods, 11 of 27. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 127 have had fewer than Colwich.
May 27, 2016: flood 2 miles from the centre of Colwich — 1 killed.
NWS: “Multiple reports of 3 to 6 inches of water over the roads. The usual flood locations remained under water for a considerable amount of time.”
June 27, 2013: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Colwich — 2 injured, $10,000 damage.
July 3, 2011: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Colwich — 2 injured, $2,000 damage.
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
Sedgwick County, which includes Colwich, 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 Colwich
- Maize, KS4 mi
- Andale, KS5 mi
- Goddard, KS10 mi
- Sedgwick, KS11 mi
- Garden Plain, KS12 mi
- Park City, KS12 mi
- Valley Center, KS12 mi
- Wichita, KS13 mi
- Kechi, KS15 mi
- Halstead, KS15 mi
- Haven, KS16 mi
- Cheney, KS17 mi
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