NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Ellis, 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 Ellis, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 130 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 130
- EF3 or stronger
- 12
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
5 deaths in all
What the records show for Ellis
The strongest of the 130 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on June 27, 1951; its path came within 16 miles, and it killed 5 people. Of the 130, 19 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 67 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 56. The most recent tornado was on June 9, 2022. Ellis has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 49% of the 171 Kansas cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 166 times since 1957, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 171 Kansas cities, 60% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Ellis.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Ellis
By decade
- 2020s2
- 2010s15
- 2000s50(2 EF3+)
- 1990s11(2 EF3+)
- 1980s10(3 EF3+)
- 1970s16
- 1960s8(3 EF3+)
- 1950s18(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 27, 1951 | F4 | 16 mi | 0.8 mi | 5 / 100 |
| May 23, 2008 | EF3 | 19 mi | 9.01 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 9, 2005 | F3 | 16 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 16, 1998 | F3 | 8 mi | 26 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 25, 1990 | F3 | 6 mi | 37 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 1985 | F3 | 18 mi | 30 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 1985 | F3 | 2 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 16, 1980 | F3 | 20 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 24, 1969 | F3 | 25 mi | 47 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 13, 1968 | F3 | 4 mi | 140.4 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Aug 31, 1964 | F3 | 17 mi | 8.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 11, 1954 | F3 | 21 mi | 8.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 130, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Ellis
The Storm Prediction Center has 166 hail reports within 10 miles of Ellis since 1957, made on 106 separate days. Of these, 113 were 1 inch across or larger, and 14 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on May 19, 2024. The most recent report is from May 18, 2025. May has the most reports, 70.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Ellis
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Cedar Bluff Dam, KS, 11 miles southwest of Ellis at 2,135 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 43°F and 17°F. May is the wettest at 3.5 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.5 inches; the year adds up to 22.9 inches over 41 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 67 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 143 nights a year. Snowfall averages 17.3 inches a year, most of it in February. That 22.9 inches is more than at 15 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (15%). Hays, 15 miles east, has its own station (Hays, KS): 25.0 inches a year, 2.1 more than here, and a July average high of 93°F against 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43 | 17 | 0.5 | 1 | 3.2 |
| Feb | 47 | 20 | 0.7 | 2 | 5.2 |
| Mar | 57 | 29 | 1.2 | 3 | 2.7 |
| Apr | 66 | 38 | 2.0 | 4 | 0.8 |
| May | 76 | 50 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 87 | 61 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 92 | 66 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 90 | 64 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 83 | 55 | 1.8 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 69 | 41 | 1.7 | 3 | 0.6 |
| Nov | 55 | 28 | 0.9 | 2 | 1.1 |
| Dec | 44 | 20 | 0.8 | 2 | 3.6 |
| Year | 67 | 41 | 22.9 | 41 | 17.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Cedar Bluff Dam, KS (2,135 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 Ellis
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 93 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Ellis: 64 thunderstorm wind reports, 18 heavy rain events, 6 floods and 5 flash floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $517,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on June 7, 2010. June has had the most flash floods, 3 of 5. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 27 have had fewer than Ellis.
June 7, 2010: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Ellis — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “The city manager reported multiple buildings destroyed and numerous buildings with partial damage. Forty percent of the headstones in the cemetery were turned over by the high wind.”
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
Trego County, which includes Ellis, has been named in 13 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1993, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 flood, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on April 28, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Trego County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Very Low for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $3.4 million a year, the 98th highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $814,000 (24%), 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 Ellis
- Hays, KS15 mi
- Wakeeney, KS17 mi
- Plainville, KS25 mi
- Russell, KS40 mi
- Hoisington, KS52 mi
- Larned, KS58 mi
- Great Bend, KS59 mi
- Phillipsburg, KS62 mi
- Norton, KS64 mi
- Oakley, KS68 mi
- Ellinwood, KS69 mi
- Smith Center, KS73 mi
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