NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Phillipsburg, 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 Phillipsburg, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 95 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 95
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Phillipsburg
The highest rating among the 95 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 10, 1985, came within 7 miles. Of the 95, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 35 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 31. The most recent tornado was on April 16, 2024. Of the 171 Kansas cities on this site, 86% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Phillipsburg. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 141 times since 1955, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 171 Kansas cities, 74% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Phillipsburg.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Phillipsburg
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s14(2 EF3+)
- 2000s17
- 1990s12(2 EF3+)
- 1980s20(2 EF3+)
- 1970s7
- 1960s13(1 EF3+)
- 1950s8(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 10, 1985 | F4 | 11 mi | 56 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 10, 1985 | F4 | 7 mi | 33 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 2011 | EF3 | 19 mi | 8.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 2011 | EF3 | 20 mi | 3.94 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 3, 1999 | F3 | 21 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 11, 1991 | F3 | 19 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 24, 1969 | F3 | 15 mi | 47 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 1957 | F3 | 21 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 1957 | F3 | 15 mi | 14.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 2011 | EF2 | 19 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 25, 1973 | F2 | 20 mi | 27.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 1973 | F2 | 17 mi | 4.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 95, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Phillipsburg
The Storm Prediction Center has 141 hail reports within 10 miles of Phillipsburg since 1955, made on 96 separate days. Of these, 104 were 1 inch across or larger, and 9 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on May 22, 1996. The most recent report is from September 14, 2025. May has the most reports, 43.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Phillipsburg
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Phillipsburg #2, KS, 3 miles south of Phillipsburg at 1,888 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 40°F and 16°F. May is the wettest at 4.3 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.5 inches; the year adds up to 25.5 inches over 45 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 65 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 140 nights a year. Snowfall averages 17.0 inches a year, most of it in February. That 25.5 inches is more than at 19 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (18%). Smith Center, 28 miles east, has its own station (Smith Ctr, KS): 26.2 inches a year, 0.7 more than here, and a July average high of 92°F against 93°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40 | 16 | 0.5 | 1 | 3.4 |
| Feb | 44 | 19 | 0.9 | 2 | 6.6 |
| Mar | 56 | 28 | 1.5 | 3 | 1.5 |
| Apr | 65 | 37 | 2.4 | 5 | 0.5 |
| May | 75 | 49 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 87 | 61 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 93 | 66 | 4.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 90 | 64 | 3.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 82 | 54 | 1.7 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 68 | 40 | 2.1 | 4 | 0.7 |
| Nov | 54 | 28 | 1.1 | 2 | 1.1 |
| Dec | 42 | 18 | 0.9 | 2 | 3.2 |
| Year | 66 | 40 | 25.5 | 45 | 17.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Phillipsburg #2, KS (1,888 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 Phillipsburg
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 79 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Phillipsburg: 70 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 flash floods, 4 heavy rain events and 1 flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $4.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 87 mph, on July 7, 2004.
July 31, 2024: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Phillipsburg — $1.1 million damage.
NWS: “A wind gust of 61 MPH was measured by a trained spotter. Wind was accompanied by quarter to golf ball size hail.”
May 26, 2002: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Phillipsburg — $800,000 damage.
April 5, 2005: flash flood 1 mile from the centre of Phillipsburg — $650,000 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
Phillips County, which includes Phillipsburg, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 2004, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 14 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, and Wildfires, on May 21, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Phillips County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for hail; Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes and lightning; Very Low for inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $9.6 million a year, the 43rd highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.4 million (35%), is from hail.
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 Phillipsburg
- Smith Center, KS28 mi
- Norton, KS32 mi
- Plainville, KS41 mi
- Holdrege, NE44 mi
- Minden, NE52 mi
- Ellis, KS62 mi
- Wakeeney, KS62 mi
- Hays, KS63 mi
- Kearney, NE64 mi
- Oberlin, KS64 mi
- Superior, NE68 mi
- Juniata, NE69 mi
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