NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Eureka, 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 Eureka, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 79 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 79
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Eureka
The strongest of the 79 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 2, 1956; its path came within 11 miles, and it killed 2 people. Of the 79, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 35 have come since 2000. May and June have had the most tornadoes, 20 each. The most recent tornado was on September 14, 2025. Of the 171 Kansas cities on this site, 95% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Eureka. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 85 times since 1956, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 171 Kansas cities, 96% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Eureka.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Eureka
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s15(2 EF3+)
- 2000s14(1 EF3+)
- 1990s9(2 EF3+)
- 1980s5
- 1970s7
- 1960s15
- 1950s8(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2, 1956 | F4 | 11 mi | 108.3 mi | 2 / 29 |
| Apr 26, 1991 | F3 | 16 mi | 14 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Jun 26, 2018 | EF3 | 3 mi | 9.15 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Jul 7, 2016 | EF3 | 6 mi | 4.19 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 2003 | F3 | 21 mi | 23 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 26, 1991 | F3 | 15 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 16, 2024 | EF2 | 18 mi | 2.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 7, 2016 | EF2 | 1 mi | 3.59 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 26, 1991 | F2 | 20 mi | 21 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Apr 7, 1986 | F2 | 19 mi | 22.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 15, 1982 | F2 | 19 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 1974 | F2 | in town | 25.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 79, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Eureka
The Storm Prediction Center has 85 hail reports within 10 miles of Eureka since 1956, made on 66 separate days. Of these, 50 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on September 3, 1965. The most recent report is from May 15, 2022. May has the most reports, 22.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Eureka
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Eureka 1E, KS, 4 miles southeast of Eureka at 1,100 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 43°F and 19°F. May is the wettest at 6.0 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.0 inches; the year adds up to 40.1 inches over 57 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 50 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 118 nights a year. Snowfall averages 8.6 inches a year, most of it in December. That 40.1 inches is more than at 81 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (79%). El Dorado, 28 miles west, has its own station (El Dorado, KS): 38.6 inches a year, 1.5 less than here, and a July average high of 91°F against 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43 | 19 | 1.0 | 3 | 2.8 |
| Feb | 48 | 22 | 1.5 | 3 | 1.2 |
| Mar | 58 | 32 | 2.5 | 4 | 0.9 |
| Apr | 68 | 42 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.1 |
| May | 76 | 53 | 6.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 85 | 63 | 5.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 90 | 67 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 90 | 65 | 4.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 82 | 56 | 3.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 71 | 44 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 57 | 31 | 2.4 | 4 | 0.5 |
| Dec | 46 | 22 | 1.6 | 3 | 3.0 |
| Year | 68 | 43 | 40.1 | 57 | 8.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Eureka 1E, KS (1,100 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 Eureka
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 122 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Eureka: 94 thunderstorm wind reports, 12 heavy rain events, 10 floods and 6 flash floods. They killed 0 people and injured 6, and the NWS estimated $731,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 110 mph, on April 29, 2022. May has had the most flash floods, 3 of 6. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 31 have had fewer than Eureka.
May 8, 2003: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Eureka — 6 injured, $380,000 damage.
NWS: “Severe thunderstorm winds derailed 38 cars of a 118-car Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight train. One of the derailed freight cars, a unibody tank car filled with sulphur dioxide, forced the evacuation of an estimated 250 residents.”
July 9, 2003: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Eureka — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Hangar blown down at airport.”
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
Greenwood County, which includes Eureka, has been named in 25 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 21 of them major disasters (by incident: 18 severe storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on September 11, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Greenwood County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for hail, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes and inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $8.5 million a year, the 46th highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.2 million (37%), 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 Eureka
- El Dorado, KS28 mi
- Yates Center, KS32 mi
- Fredonia, KS34 mi
- Towanda, KS38 mi
- Augusta, KS38 mi
- Emporia, KS39 mi
- Burlington, KS40 mi
- Benton, KS43 mi
- Douglass, KS44 mi
- Andover, KS44 mi
- Neodesha, KS46 mi
- Rose Hill, KS48 mi
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