NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Garden City, 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 Garden City, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 138 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 138
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Garden City
The highest rating among the 138 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 6 times; the most recent, on May 26, 1996, came within 22 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on June 23, 1967, killed 1 person. Of the 138, 17 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 50 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 71. The most recent tornado was on June 18, 2024. Garden City has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 57% of the 171 Kansas cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 296 times since 1955, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Garden City has more hail reports within 10 miles than 81% of the 171 Kansas cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Garden City
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2010s29
- 2000s18
- 1990s42(3 EF3+)
- 1980s4
- 1970s10
- 1960s21(2 EF3+)
- 1950s11(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 23, 1967 | F3 | in town | 35.6 mi | 1 / 30 |
| May 26, 1996 | F3 | 22 mi | 28 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 16, 1995 | F3 | 3 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 15, 1995 | F3 | 11 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 16, 1962 | F3 | 12 mi | 34.6 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 20, 1951 | F3 | 11 mi | 12.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1956 | F2 | 25 mi | 20 mi | 1 / 0 |
| May 15, 1995 | F2 | 11 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 1978 | F2 | 9 mi | 31.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 1977 | F2 | in town | 117.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 28, 1973 | F2 | in town | 7.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 17, 1971 | F2 | 2 mi | 5.6 mi | 0 / 7 |
The strongest 12 of 138, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Garden City
The Storm Prediction Center has 296 hail reports within 10 miles of Garden City since 1955, made on 169 separate days. Of these, 190 were 1 inch across or larger, and 32 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on May 16, 1995. The most recent report is from April 23, 2025. May has the most reports, 92.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Garden City
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Garden City Exp Stn, KS, 1 mile northeast of Garden City at 2,890 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 46°F and 17°F. July is the wettest at 3.2 inches of precipitation on average and January and November the driest at 0.5 inches; the year adds up to 19.6 inches over 38 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 74 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 148 nights a year. Snowfall averages 15.6 inches a year, most of it in January. That 19.6 inches is more than at 6 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (6%). Lakin, 24 miles west, has its own station (Lakin, KS): 19.0 inches a year, 0.6 less than here, and a July average high of 94°F against 93°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 46 | 17 | 0.5 | 1 | 3.4 |
| Feb | 49 | 20 | 0.6 | 2 | 3.3 |
| Mar | 59 | 29 | 1.1 | 3 | 3.2 |
| Apr | 68 | 37 | 1.7 | 4 | 1.1 |
| May | 78 | 49 | 2.8 | 5 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 89 | 60 | 3.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 93 | 65 | 3.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 91 | 63 | 2.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 84 | 54 | 1.3 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 71 | 40 | 1.3 | 3 | 0.8 |
| Nov | 57 | 27 | 0.5 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Dec | 47 | 18 | 0.7 | 2 | 2.7 |
| Year | 69 | 40 | 19.6 | 38 | 15.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Garden City Exp Stn, KS (2,890 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 Garden City
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 339 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Garden City: 308 thunderstorm wind reports, 19 heavy rain events, 7 flash floods and 5 floods. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $4.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 110 mph, on August 20, 2007. July has had the most flash floods, 5 of 7. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 36 have had fewer than Garden City.
August 20, 2007: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Garden City — 1 killed.
NWS: “A downburst rolled two trailer homes, demolishing them both. An occupant in one of the trailers did not survive.”
April 16, 2008: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Garden City — 1 injured.
NWS: “Strong winds blew over a semi-tractor truck on Highway 83. The driver had minor injuries and was released at the scene.”
August 20, 2007: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Garden City — $1.5 million 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 Garden City's ZIP code 67846 have filed 11 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $30,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. Of the 65 Kansas cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 0 have fewer than Garden City.
Finney County, which includes Garden City, has been named in 11 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 8 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 flood, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on September 24, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Finney County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for hail; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for inland flooding; Very Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $23.6 million a year, the 14th highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $5.4 million (23%), is from hail.
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 Garden City
- Holcomb, KS13 mi
- Lakin, KS24 mi
- Cimarron, KS28 mi
- Sublette, KS31 mi
- Scott City, KS36 mi
- Ulysses, KS39 mi
- Dodge City, KS46 mi
- Leoti, KS48 mi
- Syracuse, KS54 mi
- Hugoton, KS62 mi
- Liberal, KS63 mi
- Oakley, KS79 mi
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