NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Great Bend, 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 Great Bend, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 212 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 14 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 212
- EF3 or stronger
- 14
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
5 deaths in all
What the records show for Great Bend
The highest rating among the 212 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 21, 2001, came within 9 miles. The deadliest, an EF2 on May 24, 2011, killed 2 people. Of the 212, 23 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 109 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 98. The most recent tornado was on May 19, 2024. Great Bend has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 98% of the 171 Kansas cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 221 times since 1957, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Great Bend has more hail reports within 10 miles than 60% of the 171 Kansas cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Great Bend
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2010s38(2 EF3+)
- 2000s68(2 EF3+)
- 1990s31(1 EF3+)
- 1980s3
- 1970s12(1 EF3+)
- 1960s20(1 EF3+)
- 1950s37(7 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 21, 2001 | F4 | 9 mi | 5 mi | 1 / 28 |
| Jun 4, 1955 | F4 | 19 mi | 72.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 4, 1950 | F4 | 3 mi | 34.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 4, 2007 | EF3 | 18 mi | 17.4 mi | 1 / 0 |
| May 16, 2017 | EF3 | 6 mi | 26.64 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 14, 2012 | EF3 | 18 mi | 39.67 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 24, 1990 | F3 | 14 mi | 26 mi | 0 / 6 |
| May 27, 1975 | F3 | 14 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 22, 1964 | F3 | 10 mi | 59.7 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Oct 29, 1956 | F3 | in town | 0.6 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 2, 1956 | F3 | 12 mi | 20.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 2, 1956 | F3 | 17 mi | 5.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 212, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Great Bend
The Storm Prediction Center has 221 hail reports within 10 miles of Great Bend since 1957, made on 117 separate days. Of these, 156 were 1 inch across or larger, and 19 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on July 16, 2023. The most recent report is from May 6, 2024. May has the most reports, 76.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Great Bend
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Great Bend 3W, KS, 2 miles west of Great Bend at 1,872 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 43°F and 18°F. May is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 27.5 inches over 46 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 70 days a year, almost all from April to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 120 nights a year. Snowfall averages 11.5 inches a year, most of it in February. That 27.5 inches is more than at 24 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (23%). Larned, 23 miles southwest, has its own station (Larned, KS): 27.2 inches a year, 0.3 less than here, and the same July average high, 91°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43 | 18 | 0.7 | 2 | 2.2 |
| Feb | 47 | 21 | 0.9 | 2 | 2.6 |
| Mar | 58 | 30 | 1.6 | 4 | 2.3 |
| Apr | 68 | 39 | 2.2 | 4 | 0.3 |
| May | 76 | 51 | 4.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 87 | 61 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 91 | 65 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 89 | 63 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 82 | 55 | 2.0 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 69 | 42 | 2.0 | 3 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 55 | 29 | 1.0 | 2 | 1.7 |
| Dec | 44 | 20 | 1.0 | 2 | 2.3 |
| Year | 67 | 41 | 27.5 | 46 | 11.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Great Bend 3W, KS (1,872 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 Great Bend
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 174 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Great Bend: 140 thunderstorm wind reports, 19 floods, 11 flash floods, 3 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 12, and the NWS estimated $36.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on July 16, 2023. May has had the most flash floods, 4 of 11. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 61 have had fewer than Great Bend.
August 19, 2005: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Great Bend — 12 injured, $5.0 million damage.
NWS: “Extensive damage throughout Great Bend! Ten buildings sustained major roof or structural damage.”
May 5, 2007: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Great Bend — $30.0 million damage.
NWS: “Flash flooding was reported throughout the county. Highway 96 9 miles west of Great Bend was closed as water started flowing over the road.”
August 4, 2013: flash flood 1 mile from the centre of Great Bend — $350,000 damage.
NWS: “Numerous stalled cars were reported across town from high water. Some water rescues occurred in town from people in stalled cars.”
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 Great Bend's ZIP code 67530 have filed 471 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $2.1 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1981: 428 claims (91% of all) and $2.1 million, then Midwest Flooding in 1993 with 16. 94% 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, 63 have fewer than Great Bend.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1981 | 428 | $2.1 million |
| Midwest Flooding1993 | 16 | $8,425 |
Barton County, which includes Great Bend, has been named in 28 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 25 of them major disasters (by incident: 19 severe storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding, on December 19, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Barton County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for hail and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes; Relatively Low for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $18.4 million a year, the 18th highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.9 million (27%), is from tornadoes.
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 Great Bend
- Ellinwood, KS12 mi
- Hoisington, KS14 mi
- Larned, KS23 mi
- St John, KS24 mi
- Lyons, KS32 mi
- Sterling, KS34 mi
- Russell, KS35 mi
- Ellsworth, KS40 mi
- Hays, KS46 mi
- Pratt, KS50 mi
- Hutchinson, KS51 mi
- South Hutchinson, KS51 mi
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