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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Kechi, 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 Kechi, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 179 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 16 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
0

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
179

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
16

39 deaths in all

What the records show for Kechi

The highest rating among the 179 tornadoes within 25 miles is F5, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 26, 1991, came within 9 miles. Of the 179, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 40 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 53. The most recent tornado was on April 30, 2024. Kechi has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 94% of the 171 Kansas cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 618 times since 1955, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Kechi has more hail reports within 10 miles than 95% of the 171 Kansas cities.

Compare Kechi's storm record with another city →

Tornadoes within 25 miles of Kechi

By decade

  • 2020s5(1 EF3+)
  • 2010s19(2 EF3+)
  • 2000s16(1 EF3+)
  • 1990s37(4 EF3+)
  • 1980s26
  • 1970s11(1 EF3+)
  • 1960s35(5 EF3+)
  • 1950s30(2 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Kechi, Kansas
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Apr 26, 1991F59 mi46 mi17 / 225
Mar 13, 1990F524 mi48 mi1 / 60
Jun 10, 1958F414 mi9 mi15 / 5
May 3, 1999F47 mi24 mi6 / 150
Jun 23, 1969F418 mi8.7 mi0 / 6
Apr 29, 2022EF310 mi12.65 mi0 / 3
May 6, 2015EF321 mi16.48 mi0 / 1
Apr 14, 2012EF38 mi13.2 mi0 / 38
Jun 12, 2004F323 mi4 mi0 / 2
May 16, 1991F314 mi20 mi0 / 0
May 26, 1973F314 mi4.3 mi0 / 1
Sep 3, 1965F310 mi0.1 mi0 / 27

The strongest 12 of 179, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Kechi

The Storm Prediction Center has 618 hail reports within 10 miles of Kechi since 1955, made on 255 separate days. Of these, 429 were 1 inch across or larger, and 50 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), was reported on 4 days, most recently February 17, 2000. The most recent report is from September 3, 2025. May has the most reports, 205.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Weather by month in Kechi

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Wichita Jabara Airport, KS, 4 miles southeast of Kechi at 1,421 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 43°F and 23°F. May is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.6 inches; the year adds up to 32.6 inches over 51 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 57 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 102 nights a year. That 32.6 inches is more than at 38 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (37%). Wichita, 8 miles southwest, has its own station (Wichita, KS): 34.5 inches a year, 1.9 more than here, and a July average high of 93°F against 92°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Wichita Jabara Airport, KS
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"
Jan43230.62
Feb48261.13
Mar59352.14
Apr68453.05
May77555.28
Jun86654.87
Jul92693.65
Aug90683.86
Sep83593.24
Oct70472.85
Nov57351.32
Dec45261.12
Year684632.651

Averages for 1991–2020 at Wichita Jabara Airport, KS (1,421 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.

Kansas weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Kechi

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 483 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Kechi: 363 thunderstorm wind reports, 42 floods, 39 flash floods, 31 heavy rain events and 8 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 8, and the NWS estimated $41.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on October 17, 2007. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 142 have had fewer than Kechi.

  • September 12, 2008: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Kechi — 1 killed, 1 injured, $17,000 damage.

  • July 22, 2008: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Kechi — 2 injured, $250,000 damage.

  • April 2, 2015: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Kechi — 2 injured, $50,000 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

Sedgwick County, which includes Kechi, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 severe storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 tornadoes). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 29, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Sedgwick County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes and lightning; Relatively High for hail, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $255.9 million a year, the 2nd highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $101.0 million (39%), 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.

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