NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Oskaloosa, 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 Oskaloosa, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 137 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 18 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 137
- EF3 or stronger
- 18
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
21 deaths in all
What the records show for Oskaloosa
The strongest of the 137 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 8, 1966; its path came within 17 miles, and it killed 16 people. Of the 137, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 40 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 46. The most recent tornado was on May 19, 2024. Oskaloosa has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 54% of the 171 Kansas cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 207 times since 1961, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Oskaloosa has more hail reports within 10 miles than 56% of the 171 Kansas cities.
Compare Oskaloosa's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Oskaloosa
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s9(1 EF3+)
- 2000s27
- 1990s24
- 1980s15(3 EF3+)
- 1970s7
- 1960s36(12 EF3+)
- 1950s15(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 8, 1966 | F5 | 17 mi | 21.1 mi | 16 / 450 |
| Jun 8, 1966 | F4 | 8 mi | 19.9 mi | 1 / 2 |
| May 19, 1960 | F4 | 6 mi | 27.5 mi | 1 / 92 |
| May 28, 2019 | EF4 | 20 mi | 29.07 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Aug 6, 1962 | F4 | 22 mi | 11 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 7, 1961 | F4 | 21 mi | 26.2 mi | 0 / 12 |
| May 22, 1952 | F4 | 17 mi | 26.9 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 6, 1983 | F3 | 18 mi | 19 mi | 1 / 25 |
| Jun 19, 1981 | F3 | 17 mi | 7.7 mi | 1 / 33 |
| Apr 12, 1964 | F3 | 16 mi | 14 mi | 1 / 22 |
| Apr 26, 1984 | F3 | 14 mi | 32 mi | 0 / 9 |
| Jun 11, 1967 | F3 | 16 mi | 43.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 137, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Oskaloosa
The Storm Prediction Center has 207 hail reports within 10 miles of Oskaloosa since 1961, made on 109 separate days. Of these, 129 were 1 inch across or larger, and 17 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on September 9, 1992. The most recent report is from October 24, 2024. April has the most reports, 49.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Oskaloosa
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Oskaloosa 4 NE, KS, 3 miles northeast of Oskaloosa at 1,109 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 38°F and 18°F. June is the wettest at 5.4 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.0 inches; the year adds up to 38.4 inches over 61 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 37 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 113 nights a year. Snowfall averages 16.4 inches a year, most of it in January. That 38.4 inches is more than at 72 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (70%). Perry, 9 miles southwest, has its own station (Perry Lake, KS): 39.2 inches a year, 0.8 more than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38 | 18 | 1.0 | 3 | 4.7 |
| Feb | 45 | 22 | 1.3 | 3 | 4.5 |
| Mar | 56 | 31 | 2.5 | 5 | 1.6 |
| Apr | 66 | 42 | 3.5 | 7 | 0.1 |
| May | 76 | 54 | 5.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 85 | 64 | 5.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 90 | 68 | 4.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 88 | 66 | 4.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 80 | 57 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 68 | 44 | 2.9 | 5 | 0.5 |
| Nov | 54 | 32 | 2.0 | 4 | 1.1 |
| Dec | 42 | 22 | 1.8 | 3 | 3.9 |
| Year | 66 | 43 | 38.4 | 61 | 16.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Oskaloosa 4 NE, KS (1,109 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 Oskaloosa
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 189 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Oskaloosa: 168 thunderstorm wind reports, 19 flash floods and 2 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 6, and the NWS estimated $3.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 98 mph, on May 26, 1996. August has had the most flash floods, 7 of 19. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 102 have had fewer than Oskaloosa.
October 2, 2005: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Oskaloosa — 2 injured, $2.0 million damage.
NWS: “Highway 16 flooded with deep fast flowing water northwest of Valley Falls. Other roads over the county flooded as well including Highways 92 and 59.”
June 29, 1998: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Oskaloosa — 2 injured, $700,000 damage.
May 26, 1996: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Oskaloosa — 2 injured, $155,000 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
Jefferson County, which includes Oskaloosa, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 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 Jefferson County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $11.5 million a year, the 34th highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.0 million (52%), 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.