NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Ellsworth, 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 Ellsworth, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 130 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 130
- EF3 or stronger
- 11
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
4 deaths in all
What the records show for Ellsworth
The highest rating among the 130 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 14, 2012, came within 14 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on September 25, 1973, killed 3 people. Of the 130, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 70 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 65. The most recent tornado was on April 1, 2025. Ellsworth has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 49% of the 171 Kansas cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 204 times since 1957, with stones up to 4.25 inches. Ellsworth has more hail reports within 10 miles than 54% of the 171 Kansas cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Ellsworth
By decade
- 2020s11
- 2010s20(2 EF3+)
- 2000s39
- 1990s20(3 EF3+)
- 1980s6
- 1970s14(1 EF3+)
- 1960s7(1 EF3+)
- 1950s13(4 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 7, 1993 | F4 | 19 mi | 25.5 mi | 1 / 6 |
| Apr 14, 2012 | EF4 | 14 mi | 50.28 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 25, 1973 | F3 | 23 mi | 169.7 mi | 3 / 42 |
| May 1, 2018 | EF3 | 23 mi | 15.78 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 24, 1990 | F3 | 17 mi | 60 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 24, 1990 | F3 | 10 mi | 26 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Apr 22, 1964 | F3 | 6 mi | 59.7 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Oct 29, 1956 | F3 | 22 mi | 28.7 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 2, 1956 | F3 | 14 mi | 20.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 2, 1956 | F3 | 17 mi | 5.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 7, 1952 | F3 | 24 mi | 4.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 30, 1972 | F2 | 11 mi | 1 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 Ellsworth
The Storm Prediction Center has 204 hail reports within 10 miles of Ellsworth since 1957, made on 118 separate days. Of these, 151 were 1 inch across or larger, and 17 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.25 inches, fell on June 11, 2008. The most recent report is from September 8, 2025. May has the most reports, 67.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Ellsworth
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Ellsworth, KS, 1 mile south of Ellsworth at 1,568 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 42°F and 18°F. May is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 30.8 inches over 49 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 62 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 137 nights a year. Snowfall averages 16.2 inches a year, most of it in February. That 30.8 inches is more than at 35 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (34%). Lyons, 27 miles south, has its own station (Sterling, KS): 29.1 inches a year, 1.7 less than here, and the same July average high, 93°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42 | 18 | 0.8 | 2 | 3.8 |
| Feb | 47 | 20 | 1.2 | 2 | 4.7 |
| Mar | 57 | 30 | 1.9 | 4 | 1.3 |
| Apr | 68 | 39 | 2.5 | 5 | 0.4 |
| May | 77 | 52 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 88 | 63 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 93 | 67 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 90 | 65 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 82 | 56 | 2.7 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 42 | 2.1 | 4 | 0.4 |
| Nov | 56 | 29 | 1.3 | 2 | 1.2 |
| Dec | 44 | 20 | 1.2 | 2 | 4.4 |
| Year | 68 | 42 | 30.8 | 49 | 16.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Ellsworth, KS (1,568 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 Ellsworth
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 117 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Ellsworth: 92 thunderstorm wind reports, 10 floods, 8 heavy rain events and 7 flash floods. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $4.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on June 11, 2002. June has had the most flash floods, 3 of 7. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 36 have had fewer than Ellsworth.
April 23, 2008: heavy rain event 1 mile from the centre of Ellsworth — 1 injured, $10,000 damage.
NWS: “A 53-year old man lost control of his motorcycle during a heavy rainstorm while driving on Interstate 70 one mile west of the K-156 junction. He was taken to Ellsworth hospital with disabling injuries.”
May 23, 2007: flash flood 1 mile from the centre of Ellsworth — $4.5 million damage.
NWS: “Numerous, slow-moving thunderstorms produced widespread 4 to 7 inch rainfall amounts across primarily the southeastern three-quarters of Ellsworth County from the late afternoon hours on May 23rd, to the early morning hours on May 24th. This caused widespread countywide flash flooding.”
May 11, 1998: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Ellsworth — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Hospital, under construction, sustained extensive damage when 750 feet of metal frame was blown down.”
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
Ellsworth County, which includes Ellsworth, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 1 fire). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on August 20, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Ellsworth 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 $7.1 million a year, the 64th highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.3 million (32%), 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 Ellsworth
- Lyons, KS27 mi
- Hoisington, KS32 mi
- Lindsborg, KS32 mi
- Ellinwood, KS33 mi
- Salina, KS33 mi
- Russell, KS35 mi
- Sterling, KS38 mi
- Minneapolis, KS39 mi
- Mcpherson, KS40 mi
- Great Bend, KS40 mi
- Inman, KS43 mi
- Galva, KS45 mi
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