NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Lyons, 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 Lyons, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 135 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 16 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 135
- EF3 or stronger
- 16
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
4 deaths in all
What the records show for Lyons
The highest rating among the 135 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 14, 2012, came within 5 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on September 25, 1973, killed 3 people. Of the 135, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 59 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 60. The most recent tornado was on May 18, 2025. Lyons has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 53% of the 171 Kansas cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 179 times since 1956, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Of the 171 Kansas cities, 53% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Lyons.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Lyons
By decade
- 2020s3(1 EF3+)
- 2010s25(3 EF3+)
- 2000s31
- 1990s23(4 EF3+)
- 1980s5
- 1970s10(1 EF3+)
- 1960s12(2 EF3+)
- 1950s26(5 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 8, 1950 | F4 | 15 mi | 17.1 mi | 1 / 5 |
| Apr 14, 2012 | EF4 | 5 mi | 50.28 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 26, 1991 | F4 | 20 mi | 13 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Sep 25, 1973 | F3 | 10 mi | 169.7 mi | 3 / 42 |
| May 18, 2025 | EF3 | 18 mi | 32.65 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 13, 2015 | EF3 | 16 mi | 5.32 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 14, 2012 | EF3 | 8 mi | 39.67 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 26, 1991 | F3 | 16 mi | 26 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 24, 1990 | F3 | 10 mi | 60 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 24, 1990 | F3 | 15 mi | 26 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Apr 22, 1964 | F3 | 18 mi | 59.7 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 24, 1962 | F3 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 135, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Lyons
The Storm Prediction Center has 179 hail reports within 10 miles of Lyons since 1956, made on 95 separate days. Of these, 122 were 1 inch across or larger, and 16 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on June 13, 2000. The most recent report is from April 1, 2025. May has the most reports, 60.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Lyons
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Sterling, KS, 10 miles south of Lyons at 1,636 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 42°F and 20°F. May is the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 29.1 inches over 47 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 64 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 121 nights a year. Snowfall averages 9.3 inches a year, most of it in January. That 29.1 inches is more than at 30 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (29%). Ellinwood, 19 miles west, has its own station (Great Bend 3W, KS): 27.5 inches a year, 1.6 less than here, and a July average high of 91°F against 93°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42 | 20 | 0.8 | 2 | 3.3 |
| Feb | 46 | 22 | 1.0 | 2 | 2.6 |
| Mar | 57 | 31 | 2.0 | 4 | 0.7 |
| Apr | 67 | 41 | 2.4 | 5 | 0.2 |
| May | 77 | 53 | 4.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 88 | 64 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 93 | 69 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 90 | 67 | 3.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 82 | 58 | 2.0 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 44 | 2.5 | 4 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 56 | 31 | 1.1 | 2 | 0.6 |
| Dec | 44 | 22 | 1.0 | 2 | 1.8 |
| Year | 67 | 43 | 29.1 | 47 | 9.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Sterling, KS (1,636 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 Lyons
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 131 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Lyons: 107 thunderstorm wind reports, 17 floods, 4 flash floods and 3 heavy rain events. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $8.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on August 12, 2002.
May 23, 2007: flood in Lyons — $4.0 million damage.
NWS: “Numerous, slow-moving thunderstorms produced widespread 2 to 5 inch rainfall amounts across Rice County from the late afternoon hours on May 23rd, to the early morning hours on May 24th. Excessive runoff caused area streams and creeks to overflow their banks, resulting in widespread flooding.”
May 6, 2007: flood 10 miles from the centre of Lyons — $2.6 million damage.
NWS: “US Highway 56 was closed between Chase and Lyons with about 2 feet of water flowing over it. K-14 was closed north of Lyons.”
May 8, 2009: flood 8 miles from the centre of Lyons — $340,000 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
Rice County, which includes Lyons, has been named in 26 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 22 of them major disasters (by incident: 17 severe storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 fire). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on September 1, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Rice County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail; Relatively Low for tornadoes, 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 $10.4 million a year, the 40th highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.0 million (28%), 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 Lyons
- Sterling, KS11 mi
- Ellinwood, KS19 mi
- Inman, KS23 mi
- Hutchinson, KS25 mi
- Ellsworth, KS27 mi
- South Hutchinson, KS27 mi
- Mcpherson, KS28 mi
- Great Bend, KS32 mi
- Lindsborg, KS33 mi
- Hoisington, KS34 mi
- Galva, KS36 mi
- Moundridge, KS38 mi
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