NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Paola, 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 Paola, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 95 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 95
- EF3 or stronger
- 10
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
49 deaths in all
What the records show for Paola
The strongest of the 95 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on May 20, 1957; its path came within 11 miles, and it killed 44 people. Of the 95, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 34 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 34. The most recent tornado was on May 19, 2024. Of the 171 Kansas cities on this site, 86% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Paola. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 112 times since 1958, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Of the 171 Kansas cities, 87% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Paola.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Paola
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s16
- 2000s13(1 EF3+)
- 1990s5
- 1980s11
- 1970s8(2 EF3+)
- 1960s22(6 EF3+)
- 1950s15(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 20, 1957 | F5 | 11 mi | 69.4 mi | 44 / 207 |
| Apr 12, 1964 | F4 | 20 mi | 19.4 mi | 3 / 9 |
| Feb 28, 2007 | EF4 | 24 mi | 24.49 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 4, 1977 | F3 | 20 mi | 29.8 mi | 2 / 15 |
| May 4, 1977 | F3 | 22 mi | 31.6 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 15, 1968 | F3 | 12 mi | 2.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 1966 | F3 | 24 mi | 7.7 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Aug 6, 1962 | F3 | 21 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 16, 1960 | F3 | 16 mi | 9.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 15, 1960 | F3 | 12 mi | 8.4 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 23, 1981 | F2 | 24 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 1978 | F2 | 2 mi | 11.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 95, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Paola
The Storm Prediction Center has 112 hail reports within 10 miles of Paola since 1958, made on 81 separate days. Of these, 68 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on May 17, 1997. The most recent report is from April 17, 2025. May has the most reports, 36.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Paola
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Paola, KS, 1 mile northwest of Paola at 860 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 89°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 40°F and 19°F. May is the wettest at 6.1 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.2 inches; the year adds up to 41.2 inches over 63 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 39 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 107 nights a year. That 41.2 inches is more than at 88 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (85%). Spring Hill, 11 miles north, has its own station (Olathe Johnson Co Airport, KS): 37.7 inches a year, 3.5 less than here, and the same July average high, 89°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40 | 19 | 1.2 | 3 |
| Feb | 45 | 23 | 1.7 | 3 |
| Mar | 56 | 33 | 2.7 | 5 |
| Apr | 66 | 43 | 3.8 | 7 |
| May | 75 | 55 | 6.1 | 8 |
| Jun | 84 | 65 | 5.2 | 7 |
| Jul | 89 | 69 | 4.0 | 6 |
| Aug | 87 | 66 | 4.3 | 5 |
| Sep | 80 | 58 | 4.6 | 6 |
| Oct | 69 | 45 | 3.4 | 5 |
| Nov | 55 | 34 | 2.4 | 4 |
| Dec | 43 | 23 | 1.8 | 4 |
| Year | 66 | 44 | 41.2 | 63 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Paola, KS (860 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 Paola
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 95 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Paola: 74 thunderstorm wind reports, 13 flash floods, 7 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $76,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 22, 1998. June has had the most flash floods, 5 of 13. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 78 have had fewer than Paola.
October 10, 2018: flood 3 miles from the centre of Paola — 1 killed.
NWS: “From FOX 4 Kansas City: Miami County Sheriff���s Office confirmed to FOX4 that a missing 78-year-old woman has been found dead. Authorities found Hazel Phillips inside her vehicle near Hospital Drive south of 327th Street Friday morning.”
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 Paola's ZIP code 66071 have filed 15 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1998, and were paid $613,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 27% 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, 7 have fewer than Paola.
Miami County, which includes Paola, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 tornadoes, 1 flood). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 29, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Miami County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $17.9 million a year, the 20th highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $8.0 million (45%), 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 Paola
- Osawatomie, KS8 mi
- Louisburg, KS10 mi
- Spring Hill, KS11 mi
- Bucyrus, KS14 mi
- Edgerton, KS15 mi
- Wellsville, KS15 mi
- Gardner, KS17 mi
- Cleveland, MO17 mi
- La Cygne, KS17 mi
- Drexel, MO17 mi
- Olathe, KS21 mi
- Ottawa, KS22 mi
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