NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Independence, 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 Independence, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 93 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 93
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Independence
The highest rating among the 93 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 5 times; the most recent, on April 19, 2000, came within 10 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on April 26, 1991, killed 1 person. Of the 93, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 49 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, 88% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Independence. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 117 times since 1963, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Of the 171 Kansas cities, 83% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Independence.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Independence
By decade
- 2020s9
- 2010s16
- 2000s24(1 EF3+)
- 1990s8
- 1980s18(2 EF3+)
- 1970s5(2 EF3+)
- 1960s5
- 1950s8
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 15, 1982 | F3 | 21 mi | 30 mi | 1 / 6 |
| Mar 15, 1982 | F3 | 10 mi | 6 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Apr 19, 2000 | F3 | 10 mi | 34 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 18, 1979 | F3 | 21 mi | 7.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 26, 1973 | F3 | 20 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 26, 1991 | F2 | 21 mi | 6 mi | 1 / 10 |
| Apr 26, 2024 | EF2 | 23 mi | 8.47 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 30, 2006 | F2 | 5 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 19, 2003 | F2 | 18 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 26, 1991 | F2 | 11 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 15, 1988 | F2 | 21 mi | 7.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 15, 1982 | F2 | 25 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 93, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Independence
The Storm Prediction Center has 117 hail reports within 10 miles of Independence since 1963, made on 85 separate days. Of these, 69 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 4 inches (softball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently April 3, 2015. The most recent report is from August 16, 2024. May has the most reports, 37.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Independence
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Independence, KS, 2 miles northeast of Independence at 805 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 70°F; January is the coolest, at 45°F and 23°F. May is the wettest at 6.8 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.4 inches; the year adds up to 45.6 inches over 64 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 54 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 98 nights a year. Snowfall averages 7.4 inches a year, most of it in January. That 45.6 inches is more than at 98 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (95%). Cherryvale, 11 miles northeast, has its own station (Big Hill Lake, KS): 40.9 inches a year, 4.7 less than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 91°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 45 | 23 | 1.4 | 3 | 2.2 |
| Feb | 50 | 26 | 1.9 | 3 | 0.9 |
| Mar | 60 | 35 | 2.9 | 6 | 1.9 |
| Apr | 69 | 45 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 77 | 56 | 6.8 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 86 | 65 | 6.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 91 | 70 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 90 | 68 | 4.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 83 | 59 | 4.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 72 | 47 | 4.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 59 | 35 | 2.4 | 4 | 0.3 |
| Dec | 48 | 26 | 2.4 | 4 | 2.1 |
| Year | 69 | 46 | 45.6 | 64 | 7.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Independence, KS (805 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 Independence
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 139 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Independence: 86 thunderstorm wind reports, 24 flash floods, 16 floods, 12 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 4 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $2.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on May 8, 2009. May has had the most flash floods, 8 of 24. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 120 have had fewer than Independence.
August 14, 2018: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Independence — 2 killed.
NWS: “Torrential rains within a bowl shaped landscape produced catastrophic flooding of Racket Creek. 5 inches fell in an isolated area in which the creek ran between a pair of elevated regions causing significant and rapid rises of the creek.”
April 29, 2012: flood 8 miles from the centre of Independence — 1 killed.
NWS: “Very heavy rains moved across the county causing significant travel problems due to hydroplaning and flooding of low lying areas. Creeks and streams had risen to the top of their banks and some ponding of water on the roads was noted.”
September 28, 2019: lightning strike 6 miles from the centre of Independence — 1 killed.
NWS: “A participant in the Flat Rock Ultra Trail race was struck by lightning less than one quarter of a mile away from the finish line.”
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 Independence's ZIP code 67301 have filed 134 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $2.5 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Thunderstorms in 2007: 53 claims (40% of all) and $1.9 million. 45% 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, 49 have fewer than Independence.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorms2007 | 53 | $1.9 million |
Montgomery County, which includes Independence, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 severe storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 29, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Montgomery County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for inland flooding; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $27.3 million a year, the 12th highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $11.4 million (42%), 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 Independence
- Cherryvale, KS11 mi
- Coffeyville, KS14 mi
- Neodesha, KS14 mi
- Caney, KS17 mi
- Fredonia, KS23 mi
- Parsons, KS27 mi
- Dewey, OK30 mi
- Oswego, KS33 mi
- Chanute, KS34 mi
- Bartlesville, OK35 mi
- Nowata, OK37 mi
- Humboldt, KS44 mi
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