NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Perry, 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 Perry, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 165 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 19 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 165
- EF3 or stronger
- 19
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
22 deaths in all
What the records show for Perry
The strongest of the 165 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 8, 1966; its path came within 10 miles, and it killed 16 people. Of the 165, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 53 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 56. The most recent tornado was on May 19, 2024. Perry has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 80% of the 171 Kansas cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 289 times since 1956, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Perry has more hail reports within 10 miles than 80% of the 171 Kansas cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Perry
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s18(1 EF3+)
- 2000s29
- 1990s33
- 1980s15(3 EF3+)
- 1970s6(1 EF3+)
- 1960s36(12 EF3+)
- 1950s22(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 8, 1966 | F5 | 10 mi | 21.1 mi | 16 / 450 |
| Jun 8, 1966 | F4 | 13 mi | 19.9 mi | 1 / 2 |
| May 19, 1960 | F4 | 9 mi | 27.5 mi | 1 / 92 |
| May 28, 2019 | EF4 | 16 mi | 29.07 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Aug 6, 1962 | F4 | 24 mi | 11 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 22, 1952 | F4 | 13 mi | 26.9 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 6, 1983 | F3 | 10 mi | 19 mi | 1 / 25 |
| Jun 19, 1981 | F3 | 11 mi | 7.7 mi | 1 / 33 |
| Apr 12, 1964 | F3 | 22 mi | 14 mi | 1 / 22 |
| Apr 26, 1984 | F3 | 21 mi | 32 mi | 0 / 9 |
| May 4, 1977 | F3 | 20 mi | 31.6 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 11, 1967 | F3 | 15 mi | 43.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 165, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Perry
The Storm Prediction Center has 289 hail reports within 10 miles of Perry since 1956, made on 149 separate days. Of these, 196 were 1 inch across or larger, and 31 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 4 inches (softball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently September 9, 1992. The most recent report is from April 23, 2025. April has the most reports, 80.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Perry
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Perry Lake, KS, 1 mile north of Perry at 957 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 37°F and 18°F. May and June are the wettest at 5.5 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.0 inches; the year adds up to 39.2 inches over 61 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 117 nights a year. Snowfall averages 12.4 inches a year, most of it in January. That 39.2 inches is more than at 78 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (76%). Oskaloosa, 9 miles northeast, has its own station (Oskaloosa 4 NE, KS): 38.4 inches a year, 0.8 less than here, and a July average high of 90°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37 | 18 | 1.0 | 2 | 4.5 |
| Feb | 43 | 22 | 1.3 | 3 | 3.2 |
| Mar | 54 | 33 | 2.4 | 4 | 0.8 |
| Apr | 64 | 43 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.1 |
| May | 73 | 54 | 5.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 64 | 5.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 87 | 68 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 87 | 66 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 79 | 57 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 67 | 45 | 2.9 | 5 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 53 | 33 | 1.9 | 3 | 0.1 |
| Dec | 41 | 23 | 1.6 | 3 | 3.5 |
| Year | 64 | 44 | 39.2 | 61 | 12.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Perry Lake, KS (957 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 Perry
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 250 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Perry: 202 thunderstorm wind reports, 41 flash floods, 5 floods, 1 heavy rain event and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 13, and the NWS estimated $3.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 99 mph, on December 15, 2021. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 146 have had fewer than Perry.
April 25, 2009: lightning strike 4 miles from the centre of Perry — 1 killed, 1 injured.
NWS: “A group of seven motorcyclists riding together as members of the group Bikers Against Child Abuse were struck by lightning just before 5pm on the 25th. One biker was killed by the strike, and the rider next to him was injured and taken to the hospital, but released later that evening.”
May 7, 2007: heavy rain event 9 miles from the centre of Perry — 6 injured, $50,000 damage.
October 2, 2005: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Perry — 2 injured, $2.0 million 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 Perry's ZIP code 66073 have filed 27 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1981, and were paid $570,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Midwest Flooding in 1993: 18 claims (67% of all) and $25,000. 67% 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, 17 have fewer than Perry.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Midwest Flooding1993 | 18 | $25,000 |
Jefferson County, which includes Perry, 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.
Cities near Perry
- Oskaloosa, KS9 mi
- Tecumseh, KS10 mi
- Meriden, KS11 mi
- Lawrence, KS12 mi
- Mc Louth, KS13 mi
- Berryton, KS14 mi
- Topeka, KS17 mi
- Valley Falls, KS17 mi
- Tonganoxie, KS17 mi
- Linwood, KS19 mi
- Eudora, KS22 mi
- Overbrook, KS23 mi
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