NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit El Dorado, 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 El Dorado, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 110 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 110
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
32 deaths in all
What the records show for El Dorado
The strongest of the 110 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 26, 1991; its path came within 5 miles, and it killed 17 people. Of the 110, 20 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 43 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 33. The most recent tornado was on September 14, 2025. Of the 171 Kansas cities on this site, 70% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than El Dorado. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 236 times since 1956, with stones up to 6 inches. El Dorado has more hail reports within 10 miles than 69% of the 171 Kansas cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of El Dorado
By decade
- 2020s7(1 EF3+)
- 2010s18(2 EF3+)
- 2000s18
- 1990s25(1 EF3+)
- 1980s8(1 EF3+)
- 1970s8
- 1960s14
- 1950s12(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 26, 1991 | F5 | 5 mi | 46 mi | 17 / 225 |
| Jun 10, 1958 | F4 | in town | 9 mi | 15 / 5 |
| Apr 29, 2022 | EF3 | 13 mi | 12.65 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jul 7, 2016 | EF3 | 23 mi | 4.19 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 14, 2012 | EF3 | 21 mi | 13.2 mi | 0 / 38 |
| Oct 15, 1980 | F3 | 23 mi | 13.3 mi | 0 / 4 |
| May 18, 1950 | F3 | 20 mi | 14.9 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Sep 5, 1992 | F2 | 25 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 26, 1991 | F2 | 10 mi | 21 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jul 5, 1987 | F2 | 24 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 29, 1984 | F2 | 24 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 1974 | F2 | 24 mi | 25.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 110, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in El Dorado
The Storm Prediction Center has 236 hail reports within 10 miles of El Dorado since 1956, made on 132 separate days. Of these, 166 were 1 inch across or larger, and 30 reached 2 inches. The largest, 6 inches, fell on May 17, 1959. The most recent report is from July 6, 2025. May has the most reports, 71.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in El Dorado
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is El Dorado, KS, in El Dorado at 1,290 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 44°F and 20°F. May is the wettest at 5.8 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.9 inches; the year adds up to 38.6 inches over 58 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 53 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 112 nights a year. Snowfall averages 4.5 inches a year, most of it in February. That 38.6 inches is more than at 74 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (72%). Augusta, 13 miles southwest, has its own station (Smileyberg 1N, KS): 39.1 inches a year, 0.5 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 | 44 | 20 | 0.9 | 2 | 1.1 |
| Feb | 49 | 23 | 1.5 | 3 | 1.4 |
| Mar | 59 | 33 | 2.5 | 5 | 0.7 |
| Apr | 68 | 43 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| May | 77 | 55 | 5.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 86 | 64 | 5.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 91 | 69 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 90 | 67 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 83 | 58 | 3.6 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 71 | 45 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 58 | 33 | 1.7 | 3 | 0.2 |
| Dec | 46 | 24 | 1.3 | 3 | 1.1 |
| Year | 69 | 45 | 38.6 | 58 | 4.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at El Dorado, KS (1,290 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 El Dorado
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 243 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of El Dorado: 182 thunderstorm wind reports, 29 heavy rain events, 18 floods, 13 flash floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 11, and the NWS estimated $3.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on June 5, 2001. May has had the most flash floods, 7 of 13. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 78 have had fewer than El Dorado.
March 9, 2009: flood in El Dorado — 1 killed, $10,000 damage.
NWS: “Heavy rainfall caused ponding of water on North Main Street in El Dorado. This ponding of water caused a car to slide off the road into a rain swollen culvert.”
July 20, 2009: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of El Dorado — 4 injured, $50,000 damage.
NWS: “Severe straight-line winds from a squall line ravaged the Shady Creek Campground on the east side of El Dorado Lake. Numerous large trees were uprooted, campsites were damaged, and two camper trailers were overturned.”
May 12, 2010: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of El Dorado — 2 injured, $250,000 damage.
NWS: “Three semi tractor trailer trucks were overturned along the Kansas Turnpike directly underneath the K-254 overpass, when high tension powerlines fell onto the road. The semi's became tangled in the wires and overturned or were pushed off the road.”
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 El Dorado's ZIP code 67042 have filed 149 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $2.6 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1979, with 81. 1% 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, 52 have fewer than El Dorado.
Butler County, which includes El Dorado, has been named in 29 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 25 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 Butler County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for inland flooding; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $42.3 million a year, the 7th highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $15.3 million (36%), 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 El Dorado
- Towanda, KS10 mi
- Augusta, KS13 mi
- Benton, KS15 mi
- Andover, KS18 mi
- Rose Hill, KS23 mi
- Douglass, KS24 mi
- Kechi, KS24 mi
- Park City, KS26 mi
- Valley Center, KS27 mi
- Eureka, KS28 mi
- Wichita, KS29 mi
- Derby, KS29 mi
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