NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Hays, 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 Hays, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 155 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 155
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Hays
The highest rating among the 155 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 8 times; the most recent, on October 16, 1998, came within 5 miles. Of the 155, 12 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 86 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 70. The most recent tornado was on May 19, 2024. Hays has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 75% of the 171 Kansas cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 253 times since 1957, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Hays has more hail reports within 10 miles than 74% of the 171 Kansas cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Hays
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2010s31
- 2000s52
- 1990s14(2 EF3+)
- 1980s11(3 EF3+)
- 1970s20
- 1960s10(2 EF3+)
- 1950s14(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 16, 1998 | F3 | 5 mi | 26 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 25, 1990 | F3 | 9 mi | 37 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 1985 | F3 | 23 mi | 30 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 1985 | F3 | 17 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 16, 1980 | F3 | 6 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 13, 1968 | F3 | 13 mi | 140.4 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Aug 31, 1964 | F3 | 2 mi | 8.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 11, 1954 | F3 | 7 mi | 8.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 2016 | EF2 | 13 mi | 6.88 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 25, 2012 | EF2 | 18 mi | 5.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 25, 2012 | EF2 | 22 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 25, 2012 | EF2 | 19 mi | 9.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 155, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Hays
The Storm Prediction Center has 253 hail reports within 10 miles of Hays since 1957, made on 156 separate days. Of these, 167 were 1 inch across or larger, and 22 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on May 26, 2021. The most recent report is from June 4, 2024. May has the most reports, 110.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Hays
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Hays, KS, 1 mile southeast of Hays at 1,990 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 44°F and 20°F. July is the wettest at 4.1 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.6 inches; the year adds up to 25.0 inches over 45 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 124 nights a year. Snowfall averages 12.9 inches a year, most of it in February. That 25.0 inches is more than at 18 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (17%). Ellis, 15 miles west, has its own station (Cedar Bluff Dam, KS): 22.9 inches a year, 2.1 less than here, and a July average high of 92°F against 93°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44 | 20 | 0.6 | 2 | 3.2 |
| Feb | 48 | 22 | 0.8 | 2 | 3.4 |
| Mar | 58 | 31 | 1.3 | 3 | 1.7 |
| Apr | 67 | 39 | 2.2 | 5 | 0.3 |
| May | 77 | 51 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 89 | 63 | 3.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 93 | 67 | 4.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 91 | 65 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 84 | 56 | 2.1 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 42 | 1.8 | 4 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 57 | 30 | 0.9 | 2 | 0.9 |
| Dec | 47 | 22 | 0.8 | 2 | 3.2 |
| Year | 69 | 42 | 25.0 | 45 | 12.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Hays, KS (1,990 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 Hays
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 212 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Hays: 163 thunderstorm wind reports, 27 heavy rain events, 12 flash floods, 9 floods and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on August 23, 2010. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 70 have had fewer than Hays.
August 23, 2010: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Hays — $1.5 million damage.
NWS: “The most expensive damage was at Fort Hays State University, where the high winds blew off most of the roof from Weist Hall. Vehicles in an adjacent parking lot were damaged by roof debris.”
September 4, 2016: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Hays — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Water about 80 yards wide was rushing over several roads along Little Big Creek.”
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 Hays's ZIP code 67601 have filed 92 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $237,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Midwest Flooding in 1993: 11 claims (12% of all) and $13,000. The year with the most claims was 1984, with 39. 14% 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, 43 have fewer than Hays.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Midwest Flooding1993 | 11 | $13,000 |
Ellis County, which includes Hays, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1993, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms, 1 flood). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, and Wildfires, on May 21, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Ellis County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes; Very Low for inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $16.0 million a year, the 26th highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.1 million (38%), 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 Hays
- Ellis, KS15 mi
- Plainville, KS23 mi
- Russell, KS25 mi
- Wakeeney, KS32 mi
- Hoisington, KS37 mi
- Great Bend, KS46 mi
- Larned, KS50 mi
- Ellinwood, KS55 mi
- Ellsworth, KS60 mi
- Phillipsburg, KS63 mi
- St John, KS66 mi
- Smith Center, KS69 mi
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