NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Horton, 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 Horton, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 118 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 118
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
5 deaths in all
What the records show for Horton
The strongest of the 118 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on August 6, 1962; its path came within 16 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on May 31, 1978, killed 3 people. Of the 118, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 32 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 33. The most recent tornado was on April 27, 2024. Of the 171 Kansas cities on this site, 64% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Horton. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 112 times since 1959, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 171 Kansas cities, 87% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Horton.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Horton
By decade
- 2020s10
- 2010s7
- 2000s15
- 1990s23
- 1980s14(1 EF3+)
- 1970s9(1 EF3+)
- 1960s22(2 EF3+)
- 1950s18(4 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 6, 1962 | F4 | 16 mi | 11 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 31, 1978 | F3 | 16 mi | 37 mi | 3 / 1 |
| Apr 26, 1984 | F3 | 15 mi | 32 mi | 0 / 9 |
| Jun 11, 1967 | F3 | 7 mi | 43.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 1959 | F3 | 12 mi | 6.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 1959 | F3 | 12 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 1956 | F3 | 15 mi | 127 mi | 0 / 4 |
| May 5, 1950 | F3 | 3 mi | 17.3 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Jun 11, 2008 | EF2 | 17 mi | 17.28 mi | 2 / 0 |
| May 12, 2023 | EF2 | 20 mi | 1.48 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 21, 2019 | EF2 | 8 mi | 17.13 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 4, 2005 | F2 | 8 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 118, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Horton
The Storm Prediction Center has 112 hail reports within 10 miles of Horton since 1959, made on 72 separate days. Of these, 74 were 1 inch across or larger, and 9 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on June 30, 1960. The most recent report is from May 12, 2023. June has the most reports, 28.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Horton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Horton, KS, 1 mile northeast of Horton 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%). Holton, 16 miles southwest, has its own station (Holton, KS): 37.5 inches a year, 0.5 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 Horton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 81 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Horton: 66 thunderstorm wind reports, 11 flash floods and 4 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $97,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on August 27, 2003. May has had the most flash floods, 5 of 11. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 61 have had fewer than Horton.
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 Horton, 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 Horton
- Hiawatha, KS14 mi
- Holton, KS16 mi
- Sabetha, KS22 mi
- Valley Falls, KS22 mi
- Atchison, KS23 mi
- Troy, KS24 mi
- Mayetta, KS25 mi
- Seneca, KS30 mi
- Falls City, NE30 mi
- Meriden, KS32 mi
- Wathena, KS32 mi
- Oskaloosa, KS33 mi
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