NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Garden Plain, 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 Plain, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 175 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 16 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 175
- EF3 or stronger
- 16
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
27 deaths in all
What the records show for Garden Plain
The highest rating among the 175 tornadoes within 25 miles is F5, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 26, 1991, came within 17 miles. Of the 175, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 50 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 61. The most recent tornado was on April 30, 2024. Garden Plain has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 92% of the 171 Kansas cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 178 times since 1962, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Of the 171 Kansas cities, 53% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Garden Plain.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Garden Plain
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s23(3 EF3+)
- 2000s26(2 EF3+)
- 1990s44(4 EF3+)
- 1980s25
- 1970s11(1 EF3+)
- 1960s22(5 EF3+)
- 1950s23(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 26, 1991 | F5 | 17 mi | 46 mi | 17 / 225 |
| Mar 13, 1990 | F5 | 17 mi | 48 mi | 1 / 60 |
| May 3, 1999 | F4 | 19 mi | 24 mi | 6 / 150 |
| Jun 23, 1969 | F4 | 2 mi | 8.7 mi | 0 / 6 |
| May 6, 2015 | EF3 | 12 mi | 16.48 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 14, 2012 | EF3 | 20 mi | 13.2 mi | 0 / 38 |
| Apr 14, 2012 | EF3 | 19 mi | 18.11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 29, 2004 | F3 | 20 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 29, 2004 | F3 | 19 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 16, 1991 | F3 | 17 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 26, 1973 | F3 | 6 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Sep 3, 1965 | F3 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 27 |
The strongest 12 of 175, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Garden Plain
The Storm Prediction Center has 178 hail reports within 10 miles of Garden Plain since 1962, made on 108 separate days. Of these, 131 were 1 inch across or larger, and 17 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on September 15, 2010. The most recent report is from July 8, 2025. May has the most reports, 58.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Garden Plain
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Wichita Wx, KS, 13 miles east of Garden Plain at 1,334 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 70°F; January is the coolest, at 44°F and 22°F. May and June are the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 34.6 inches over 51 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 67 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 109 nights a year. That 34.6 inches is more than at 51 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (50%). Cheney, 6 miles west, has its own station (Norwich, KS): 33.2 inches a year, 1.4 less than here, and a July average high of 93°F against 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44 | 22 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Feb | 49 | 26 | 1.2 | 3 |
| Mar | 59 | 35 | 2.2 | 4 |
| Apr | 68 | 45 | 3.0 | 5 |
| May | 77 | 55 | 5.2 | 8 |
| Jun | 88 | 65 | 5.2 | 6 |
| Jul | 92 | 70 | 3.9 | 6 |
| Aug | 91 | 68 | 4.3 | 5 |
| Sep | 83 | 59 | 3.1 | 4 |
| Oct | 70 | 47 | 2.8 | 4 |
| Nov | 57 | 34 | 1.6 | 3 |
| Dec | 45 | 25 | 1.3 | 2 |
| Year | 69 | 46 | 34.6 | 51 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Wichita Wx, KS (1,334 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 Plain
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 159 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Garden Plain: 134 thunderstorm wind reports, 9 floods, 8 heavy rain events, 7 flash floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $1.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on June 17, 2004. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 36 have had fewer than Garden Plain.
July 3, 2011: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Garden Plain — 2 injured, $2,000 damage.
June 25, 2021: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Garden Plain — 1 injured.
June 17, 2004: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Garden Plain — $600,000 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
Sedgwick County, which includes Garden Plain, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 severe storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 tornadoes). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 29, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Sedgwick County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes and lightning; Relatively High for hail, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $255.9 million a year, the 2nd highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $101.0 million (39%), 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 Garden Plain
- Cheney, KS6 mi
- Goddard, KS6 mi
- Andale, KS9 mi
- Colwich, KS12 mi
- Maize, KS14 mi
- Clearwater, KS14 mi
- Haven, KS17 mi
- Conway Springs, KS18 mi
- Wichita, KS19 mi
- Haysville, KS20 mi
- Park City, KS21 mi
- Sedgwick, KS22 mi
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