NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Newton, 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 Newton, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 154 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 14 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 154
- EF3 or stronger
- 14
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
41 deaths in all
What the records show for Newton
The highest rating among the 154 tornadoes within 25 miles is F5, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 26, 1991, came within 24 miles. Of the 154, 15 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 34 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 58. The most recent tornado was on May 19, 2024. Newton has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 73% of the 171 Kansas cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 164 times since 1958, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 171 Kansas cities, 63% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Newton.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Newton
By decade
- 2020s6(1 EF3+)
- 2010s14(1 EF3+)
- 2000s14
- 1990s35(5 EF3+)
- 1980s18
- 1970s12(1 EF3+)
- 1960s23(4 EF3+)
- 1950s32(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 26, 1991 | F5 | 24 mi | 46 mi | 17 / 225 |
| Mar 13, 1990 | F5 | 9 mi | 22 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Mar 13, 1990 | F5 | 9 mi | 48 mi | 1 / 60 |
| Jun 10, 1958 | F4 | 22 mi | 9 mi | 15 / 5 |
| May 3, 1999 | F4 | 24 mi | 24 mi | 6 / 150 |
| Jun 8, 1950 | F4 | 24 mi | 17.1 mi | 1 / 5 |
| Apr 29, 2022 | EF3 | 23 mi | 12.65 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 6, 2015 | EF3 | 16 mi | 16.48 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 13, 1990 | F3 | 16 mi | 18 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 26, 1973 | F3 | 24 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 4, 1965 | F3 | 25 mi | 6.9 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 13, 1965 | F3 | 12 mi | 62.5 mi | 0 / 10 |
The strongest 12 of 154, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Newton
The Storm Prediction Center has 164 hail reports within 10 miles of Newton since 1958, made on 101 separate days. Of these, 109 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 3 inches (tea cup size), was reported on 2 days, most recently June 7, 1966. The most recent report is from July 30, 2025. May has the most reports, 47.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Newton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Newton, KS, 3 miles southwest of Newton at 1,441 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 70°F; January is the coolest, at 42°F and 20°F. June is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 33.9 inches over 53 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 62 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 115 nights a year. Snowfall averages 8.8 inches a year, most of it in December. That 33.9 inches is more than at 46 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (45%). Valley Center, 14 miles south, has its own station (Wichita Jabara Airport, KS): 32.6 inches a year, 1.3 less than here, and the same July average high, 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42 | 20 | 0.8 | 2 | 2.1 |
| Feb | 47 | 24 | 1.3 | 3 | 1.3 |
| Mar | 57 | 33 | 2.4 | 5 | 1.2 |
| Apr | 67 | 43 | 2.9 | 5 | 0.3 |
| May | 76 | 55 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 87 | 65 | 5.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 92 | 70 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 90 | 68 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 83 | 59 | 3.0 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 46 | 2.6 | 4 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 56 | 33 | 1.7 | 3 | 0.6 |
| Dec | 44 | 24 | 1.2 | 3 | 3.2 |
| Year | 67 | 45 | 33.9 | 53 | 8.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Newton, KS (1,441 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 Newton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 166 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Newton: 133 thunderstorm wind reports, 13 heavy rain events, 11 floods and 9 flash floods. They killed 0 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $878,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on April 2, 2015. June has had the most flash floods, 5 of 9. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 50 have had fewer than Newton.
April 2, 2015: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Newton — 3 injured, $40,000 damage.
NWS: “A mobile home was rolled by a channeled microburst and completely destroyed. Three people were inside the home and climbed out of the rumble.”
August 21, 2003: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Newton — 1 injured, $25,000 damage.
July 20, 2000: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Newton — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Widespread tree and power line damage resulted in power losses to about 2,000 residences in and around Newton.”
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 Newton's ZIP code 67114 have filed 85 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1981, and were paid $380,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Midwest Flooding in 1993: 16 claims (19% of all) and $40,000. 20% 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, 38 have fewer than Newton.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Midwest Flooding1993 | 16 | $40,000 |
Harvey County, which includes Newton, has been named in 25 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 16 severe storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 fire). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on August 20, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Harvey County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and hail; Relatively Low for inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $20.5 million a year, the 15th highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.9 million (38%), 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 Newton
- North Newton, KS2 mi
- Hesston, KS9 mi
- Halstead, KS11 mi
- Sedgwick, KS11 mi
- Valley Center, KS14 mi
- Moundridge, KS15 mi
- Kechi, KS18 mi
- Park City, KS20 mi
- Benton, KS20 mi
- Maize, KS21 mi
- Hillsboro, KS21 mi
- Colwich, KS22 mi
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