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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Mcpherson, 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 Mcpherson, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 102 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
0

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
102

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
11

6 deaths in all

What the records show for Mcpherson

The highest rating among the 102 tornadoes within 25 miles is F5, reached 2 times; the most recent, on March 13, 1990, came within 21 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on September 25, 1973, killed 3 people. Of the 102, 12 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 33 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 36. The most recent tornado was on April 29, 2022. Of the 171 Kansas cities on this site, 78% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Mcpherson. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 192 times since 1959, with stones up to 3.25 inches. Mcpherson has more hail reports within 10 miles than 49% of the 171 Kansas cities.

Compare Mcpherson's storm record with another city →

Tornadoes within 25 miles of Mcpherson

By decade

  • 2020s3
  • 2010s15(2 EF3+)
  • 2000s15
  • 1990s23(6 EF3+)
  • 1980s5
  • 1970s10(1 EF3+)
  • 1960s9(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s22(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Mcpherson, Kansas
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Mar 13, 1990F520 mi22 mi1 / 0
Mar 13, 1990F521 mi48 mi1 / 60
Jun 8, 1950F43 mi17.1 mi1 / 5
Jun 15, 1992F4in town6 mi0 / 10
Mar 26, 1991F421 mi13 mi0 / 5
Sep 25, 1973F316 mi169.7 mi3 / 42
Jul 13, 2015EF321 mi5.32 mi0 / 0
May 6, 2015EF321 mi16.48 mi0 / 1
May 24, 1990F39 mi60 mi0 / 0
Mar 13, 1990F312 mi18 mi0 / 0
May 24, 1962F323 mi18.8 mi0 / 0
Jun 15, 1992F216 mi7 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 102, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Mcpherson

The Storm Prediction Center has 192 hail reports within 10 miles of Mcpherson since 1959, made on 106 separate days. Of these, 122 were 1 inch across or larger, and 19 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.25 inches, fell on June 5, 2014. The most recent report is from September 3, 2025. May has the most reports, 64.

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

Radar-estimated hail days in Mcpherson since 2019 →

Weather by month in Mcpherson

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Mcpherson, KS, 4 miles east of Mcpherson at 1,520 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 42°F and 19°F. May is the wettest at 5.4 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.9 inches; the year adds up to 33.7 inches over 52 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 63 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 126 nights a year. Snowfall averages 14.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 33.7 inches is more than at 44 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (43%). Inman, 12 miles southwest, has its own station (Hutchinson, KS): 33.0 inches a year, 0.7 less than here, and a July average high of 94°F against 93°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Mcpherson, KS
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Snow in
Jan42190.924.1
Feb47221.233.3
Mar58312.452.6
Apr67413.060.6
May77525.470.0
Jun88634.860.0
Jul93684.260.0
Aug91663.550.0
Sep83583.040.0
Oct71442.440.1
Nov56311.630.6
Dec44221.332.9
Year684333.75214.2

Averages for 1991–2020 at Mcpherson, KS (1,520 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 Mcpherson

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 182 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Mcpherson: 138 thunderstorm wind reports, 22 floods, 16 heavy rain events and 6 flash floods. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $2.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on June 11, 2002. May has had the most flash floods, 4 of 6. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 31 have had fewer than Mcpherson.

  • June 20, 2009: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Mcpherson — 1 killed, 1 injured, $15,000 damage.

  • May 7, 2014: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Mcpherson — $1.0 million damage.

  • May 7, 2014: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Mcpherson — $500,000 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

Flood insurance policyholders in Mcpherson's ZIP code 67460 have filed 21 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $215,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 10% 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, 11 have fewer than Mcpherson.

McPherson County, which includes Mcpherson, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 severe storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 fire). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 29, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives McPherson County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for lightning and heat waves; Very Low for inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $20.1 million a year, the 16th highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.3 million (31%), 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 Mcpherson