NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Hesston, 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 Hesston, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 138 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 138
- EF3 or stronger
- 10
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Hesston
The highest rating among the 138 tornadoes within 25 miles is F5, reached 2 times; the most recent, on March 13, 1990, passed within a mile of the city centre. The deadliest, an F5 on March 13, 1990, killed 1 person. Of the 138, 13 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 32 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 54. The most recent tornado was on April 30, 2024. Hesston has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 57% of the 171 Kansas cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 197 times since 1962, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Hesston has more hail reports within 10 miles than 52% of the 171 Kansas cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Hesston
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s13(1 EF3+)
- 2000s14
- 1990s29(5 EF3+)
- 1980s13
- 1970s12
- 1960s22(3 EF3+)
- 1950s30(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 13, 1990 | F5 | in town | 22 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Mar 13, 1990 | F5 | in town | 48 mi | 1 / 60 |
| Jun 8, 1950 | F4 | 16 mi | 17.1 mi | 1 / 5 |
| Jun 15, 1992 | F4 | 20 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 10 |
| May 6, 2015 | EF3 | 10 mi | 16.48 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 24, 1990 | F3 | 25 mi | 60 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 13, 1990 | F3 | 8 mi | 18 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 4, 1965 | F3 | 23 mi | 6.9 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 13, 1965 | F3 | 10 mi | 62.5 mi | 0 / 10 |
| May 24, 1962 | F3 | 7 mi | 18.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 13, 1974 | F2 | in town | 51.7 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 13, 1974 | F2 | 9 mi | 49.8 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 138, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Hesston
The Storm Prediction Center has 197 hail reports within 10 miles of Hesston since 1962, made on 119 separate days. Of these, 129 were 1 inch across or larger, and 9 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on March 13, 1990. The most recent report is from September 3, 2025. May has the most reports, 67.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Hesston
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Newton, KS, 9 miles southeast of Hesston at 1,441 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 70°F; January is the coolest, at 42°F and 20°F. June is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 33.9 inches over 53 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 62 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 115 nights a year. Snowfall averages 8.8 inches a year, most of it in December. That 33.9 inches is more than at 46 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (45%). Moundridge, 6 miles northwest, has its own station (Mcpherson, KS): 33.7 inches a year, 0.2 less than here, and a July average high of 93°F against 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42 | 20 | 0.8 | 2 | 2.1 |
| Feb | 47 | 24 | 1.3 | 3 | 1.3 |
| Mar | 57 | 33 | 2.4 | 5 | 1.2 |
| Apr | 67 | 43 | 2.9 | 5 | 0.3 |
| May | 76 | 55 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 87 | 65 | 5.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 92 | 70 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 90 | 68 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 83 | 59 | 3.0 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 46 | 2.6 | 4 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 56 | 33 | 1.7 | 3 | 0.6 |
| Dec | 44 | 24 | 1.2 | 3 | 3.2 |
| Year | 67 | 45 | 33.9 | 53 | 8.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Newton, KS (1,441 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 Hesston
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 184 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Hesston: 137 thunderstorm wind reports, 23 heavy rain events, 14 floods and 10 flash floods. They killed 0 people and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $2.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on May 31, 2007. June has had the most flash floods, 5 of 10. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 56 have had fewer than Hesston.
May 31, 2007: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Hesston — 3 injured, $1.5 million damage.
August 21, 2003: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Hesston — 1 injured, $25,000 damage.
February 28, 2012: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Hesston — 1 injured, $15,000 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
Harvey County, which includes Hesston, has been named in 25 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 16 severe storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 fire). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on August 20, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Harvey County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and hail; Relatively Low for inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $20.5 million a year, the 15th highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.9 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 Hesston
- Moundridge, KS6 mi
- North Newton, KS7 mi
- Newton, KS9 mi
- Halstead, KS10 mi
- Sedgwick, KS15 mi
- Galva, KS17 mi
- Hillsboro, KS18 mi
- Mcpherson, KS20 mi
- Valley Center, KS21 mi
- Inman, KS21 mi
- Colwich, KS25 mi
- Maize, KS25 mi
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