NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Hiawatha, 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 Hiawatha, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 123 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 123
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Hiawatha
The highest rating among the 123 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 7 times; the most recent, on May 21, 2019, came within 20 miles. The deadliest, an EF2 on June 11, 2008, killed 2 people. Of the 123, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 41 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 36. The most recent tornado was on April 27, 2024. Of the 171 Kansas cities on this site, 60% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Hiawatha. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 145 times since 1957, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Of the 171 Kansas cities, 73% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Hiawatha.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Hiawatha
By decade
- 2020s12
- 2010s14(2 EF3+)
- 2000s15
- 1990s30
- 1980s12(1 EF3+)
- 1970s8
- 1960s18(1 EF3+)
- 1950s14(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2019 | EF3 | 20 mi | 5.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 3, 2014 | EF3 | 22 mi | 6.33 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 26, 1984 | F3 | 23 mi | 32 mi | 0 / 9 |
| Jun 11, 1967 | F3 | 14 mi | 43.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 1959 | F3 | 14 mi | 6.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 1959 | F3 | 5 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 5, 1950 | F3 | 1 mi | 17.3 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Jun 11, 2008 | EF2 | 24 mi | 17.28 mi | 2 / 0 |
| May 12, 2023 | EF2 | 7 mi | 1.48 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 21, 2019 | EF2 | 21 mi | 17.13 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2008 | EF2 | 16 mi | 18.41 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 4, 2005 | F2 | 6 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 123, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Hiawatha
The Storm Prediction Center has 145 hail reports within 10 miles of Hiawatha since 1957, made on 98 separate days. Of these, 92 were 1 inch across or larger, and 12 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on July 1, 1997. The most recent report is from May 12, 2023. June has the most reports, 52.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Hiawatha
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Horton, KS, 13 miles south of Hiawatha at 1,032 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 37°F and 16°F. July is the wettest at 5.4 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 38.0 inches over 62 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 43 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 127 nights a year. Snowfall averages 10.7 inches a year, most of it in December. That 38.0 inches is more than at 70 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (68%). Sabetha, 15 miles west, has its own station (Falls City Brenner Field, NE): 34.6 inches a year, 3.4 less than here, and the same July average high, 88°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37 | 16 | 0.8 | 3 | 2.8 |
| Feb | 43 | 20 | 1.3 | 3 | 2.9 |
| Mar | 54 | 30 | 2.1 | 5 | 0.9 |
| Apr | 64 | 41 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.2 |
| May | 75 | 53 | 5.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 84 | 64 | 4.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 88 | 68 | 5.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 87 | 65 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 80 | 56 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 67 | 42 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 53 | 30 | 1.8 | 4 | 0.6 |
| Dec | 41 | 20 | 1.5 | 3 | 3.1 |
| Year | 64 | 42 | 38.0 | 62 | 10.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Horton, KS (1,032 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 Hiawatha
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 102 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Hiawatha: 81 thunderstorm wind reports, 15 flash floods, 4 floods and 2 lightning strikes. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $2.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on August 27, 2003. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 88 have had fewer than Hiawatha.
May 6, 2007: flash flood in Hiawatha — $2.0 million damage.
NWS: “Hiawatha had report of flooding of city streets. One resident has house flooded out and is being evacuated by city workers.”
June 4, 2005: flash flood in Hiawatha — $400,000 damage.
NWS: “Up to six inches of rain brought widespread flooding around the city. Some cars were swept away with numerous roads closed and cars stalled.”
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
Brown County, which includes Hiawatha, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 13 severe storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on September 1, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Brown County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for inland flooding and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $7.2 million a year, the 62nd highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.5 million (35%), 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 Hiawatha
- Horton, KS14 mi
- Sabetha, KS15 mi
- Falls City, NE17 mi
- Troy, KS22 mi
- Seneca, KS27 mi
- Holton, KS28 mi
- Atchison, KS30 mi
- Wathena, KS32 mi
- Valley Falls, KS36 mi
- Mayetta, KS38 mi
- Savannah, MO38 mi
- Saint Joseph, MO38 mi
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