NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Parsons, 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 Parsons, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 103 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 103
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
32 deaths in all
What the records show for Parsons
The highest rating among the 103 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on May 10, 2008, came within 24 miles. Of the 103, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 52 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 34. The most recent tornado was on May 6, 2024. Of the 171 Kansas cities on this site, 77% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Parsons. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 99 times since 1968, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Of the 171 Kansas cities, 95% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Parsons.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Parsons
By decade
- 2020s2
- 2010s12
- 2000s38(5 EF3+)
- 1990s4
- 1980s17(1 EF3+)
- 1970s6
- 1960s9
- 1950s15(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 10, 2008 | EF4 | 24 mi | 75.51 mi | 21 / 350 |
| May 4, 2003 | F4 | 10 mi | 33 mi | 4 / 30 |
| Sep 27, 1959 | F4 | 18 mi | 20.4 mi | 1 / 1 |
| May 4, 2003 | F3 | 25 mi | 25 mi | 5 / 34 |
| Mar 15, 1982 | F3 | 16 mi | 30 mi | 1 / 6 |
| Apr 21, 2005 | F3 | 6 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 2000 | F3 | 2 mi | 34 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1958 | F3 | 7 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 2000 | F2 | 12 mi | 25 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 26, 1991 | F2 | 15 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 15, 1988 | F2 | 9 mi | 7.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 27, 1984 | F2 | 19 mi | 8.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 103, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Parsons
The Storm Prediction Center has 99 hail reports within 10 miles of Parsons since 1968, made on 64 separate days. Of these, 63 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), was reported on 2 days, most recently April 19, 2003. The most recent report is from May 21, 2025. May has the most reports, 37.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Parsons
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Parsons 2 NW, KS, 3 miles northwest of Parsons at 910 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 43°F and 22°F. May is the wettest at 6.8 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.4 inches; the year adds up to 44.8 inches over 67 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 47 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 104 nights a year. Snowfall averages 7.1 inches a year, most of it in January. That 44.8 inches is more than at 96 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (93%). Cherryvale, 16 miles west, has its own station (Big Hill Lake, KS): 40.9 inches a year, 3.9 less than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43 | 22 | 1.4 | 3 | 2.5 |
| Feb | 48 | 26 | 1.7 | 4 | 0.8 |
| Mar | 58 | 35 | 3.0 | 6 | 1.2 |
| Apr | 67 | 44 | 4.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 76 | 55 | 6.8 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 85 | 65 | 5.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 90 | 69 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 90 | 67 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 81 | 58 | 4.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 46 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 57 | 35 | 2.8 | 5 | 0.2 |
| Dec | 46 | 26 | 2.0 | 4 | 2.4 |
| Year | 68 | 46 | 44.8 | 67 | 7.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Parsons 2 NW, KS (910 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 Parsons
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 109 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Parsons: 77 thunderstorm wind reports, 14 floods, 12 flash floods, 5 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $2.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 110 mph, on February 28, 2012. May has had the most flash floods, 4 of 12. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 70 have had fewer than Parsons.
February 28, 2012: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Parsons — 3 injured, $250,000 damage.
NWS: “Winds estimated between 90 and 110 mph produced widespread damage across Labette county, including damage to sheds, mobile homes, trees and power lines. The most extensive damage occurred in a three-mile-wide swath roughly 5 to 8 miles south of Parsons, including an overturned and completely destroyed mobile home.”
July 1, 2007: flash flood in Parsons — $540,000 damage.
NWS: “Extremely heavy rainfall from the end of June into early July caused flash flooding throughout Labette County. The flash flooding and the ensuing river flooding resulted in 2 homes being destroyed and 11 others suffering major damage.”
May 7, 2007: flash flood in Parsons — $350,000 damage.
NWS: “A car trying to get away from flood water was swept off a road leading to a water rescue.”
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 Parsons's ZIP code 67357 have filed 90 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $1.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1986: 28 claims (31% of all) and $436,000. 33% 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, 42 have fewer than Parsons.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1986 | 28 | $436,000 |
Labette County, which includes Parsons, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 severe storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 29, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Labette County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $18.2 million a year, the 19th highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $8.9 million (49%), 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 Parsons
- Oswego, KS13 mi
- Cherryvale, KS16 mi
- Columbus, KS24 mi
- Neodesha, KS24 mi
- Girard, KS25 mi
- Chanute, KS25 mi
- Independence, KS27 mi
- Coffeyville, KS29 mi
- Pittsburg, KS31 mi
- Frontenac, KS32 mi
- Humboldt, KS33 mi
- Fredonia, KS35 mi
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