NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Fredonia, 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 Fredonia, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 91 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 91
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Fredonia
The strongest of the 91 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 2, 1956; its path came within 23 miles, and it killed 2 people. Of the 91, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 44 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 25. The most recent tornado was on June 29, 2024. Of the 171 Kansas cities on this site, 89% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Fredonia. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 116 times since 1958, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 171 Kansas cities, 84% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Fredonia.
Compare Fredonia's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Fredonia
By decade
- 2020s10
- 2010s10
- 2000s24(1 EF3+)
- 1990s4(2 EF3+)
- 1980s10
- 1970s6
- 1960s13
- 1950s14(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2, 1956 | F4 | 23 mi | 108.3 mi | 2 / 29 |
| Apr 26, 1991 | F3 | 22 mi | 14 mi | 1 / 2 |
| May 8, 2003 | F3 | 19 mi | 23 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 26, 1991 | F3 | 20 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 26, 2024 | EF2 | 13 mi | 6.71 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 26, 2024 | EF2 | 2 mi | 8.47 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 30, 2006 | F2 | 15 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 26, 1991 | F2 | 21 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 15, 1988 | F2 | 25 mi | 7.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 7, 1986 | F2 | 24 mi | 22.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 15, 1982 | F2 | 17 mi | 30 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 15, 1982 | F2 | 15 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 91, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Fredonia
The Storm Prediction Center has 116 hail reports within 10 miles of Fredonia since 1958, made on 74 separate days. Of these, 75 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on July 11, 1958. The most recent report is from July 11, 2025. May has the most reports, 32.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Fredonia
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Fredonia, KS, 1 mile southeast of Fredonia at 893 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 43°F and 22°F. June is the wettest at 6.1 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.2 inches; the year adds up to 41.9 inches over 55 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 54 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 110 nights a year. Snowfall averages 6.5 inches a year, most of it in January. That 41.9 inches is more than at 91 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (88%). Chanute, 23 miles northeast, has its own station (Chanute Martin Johnson Airport, KS): 40.8 inches a year, 1.1 less than here, and a July average high of 92°F against 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43 | 22 | 1.2 | 3 | 2.9 |
| Feb | 49 | 26 | 1.5 | 3 | 0.8 |
| Mar | 58 | 35 | 2.8 | 5 | 0.4 |
| Apr | 68 | 44 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.1 |
| May | 76 | 56 | 5.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 85 | 65 | 6.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 90 | 69 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 90 | 67 | 4.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 82 | 59 | 4.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 46 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 58 | 35 | 2.3 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 46 | 26 | 1.8 | 3 | 2.3 |
| Year | 68 | 46 | 41.9 | 55 | 6.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Fredonia, KS (893 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 Fredonia
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 94 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Fredonia: 55 thunderstorm wind reports, 17 flash floods, 11 floods, 9 heavy rain events and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $22.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on May 8, 2009. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 97 have had fewer than Fredonia.
May 8, 2009: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Fredonia — 1 killed, $510,000 damage.
NWS: “A mobile home was blown 40 feet and ended up wrapped around a large tree and was totally demolished. A 54 year old woman of the home was found in the wreckage and died.”
July 1, 2007: flash flood 1 mile from the centre of Fredonia — $21.6 million damage.
NWS: “Extremely heavy rainfall from the end of June into early July caused flash flooding throughout Wilson County. The flash flooding and the ensuing river flooding led to approximately 500 homes sustaining major damage which resulted in an estimated 15 million dollars in damage.”
May 8, 2009: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Fredonia — $120,000 damage.
NWS: “Winds speeds of 80 to 90 mph produced widespread wind damage across Fredonia and Altoona. Numerous businesses in Fredonia had some serious roof 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Fredonia's ZIP code 66736 have filed 21 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1984, and were paid $846,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 19% 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, 11 have fewer than Fredonia.
Wilson County, which includes Fredonia, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1976, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on July 15, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Wilson County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $8.0 million a year, the 54th highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.6 million (44%), 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 Fredonia
- Neodesha, KS12 mi
- Chanute, KS23 mi
- Independence, KS23 mi
- Yates Center, KS24 mi
- Cherryvale, KS24 mi
- Humboldt, KS29 mi
- Eureka, KS34 mi
- Parsons, KS35 mi
- Caney, KS36 mi
- Iola, KS36 mi
- Coffeyville, KS37 mi
- Oswego, KS46 mi
All Kansas cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Fredonia with another place →