NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Pittsburg, 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 Pittsburg, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 125 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 13 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 125
- EF3 or stronger
- 13
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
20 deaths in all
What the records show for Pittsburg
The highest rating among the 125 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 4, 2003, came within 8 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on May 4, 2003, killed 5 people. Of the 125, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 46 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 35. The most recent tornado was on April 20, 2025. Of the 171 Kansas cities on this site, 54% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Pittsburg. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 151 times since 1960, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Of the 171 Kansas cities, 69% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Pittsburg.
Compare Pittsburg's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Pittsburg
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s11(1 EF3+)
- 2000s29(4 EF3+)
- 1990s14
- 1980s22(4 EF3+)
- 1970s10(1 EF3+)
- 1960s17
- 1950s16(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 4, 2003 | F4 | 8 mi | 33 mi | 4 / 30 |
| Apr 3, 1956 | F4 | 24 mi | 41.8 mi | 0 / 59 |
| May 4, 2003 | F3 | 17 mi | 25 mi | 5 / 34 |
| May 4, 2003 | F3 | 15 mi | 86 mi | 5 / 47 |
| Mar 15, 1982 | F3 | 10 mi | 70 mi | 2 / 8 |
| Mar 15, 1982 | F3 | 22 mi | 30 mi | 1 / 6 |
| May 5, 1971 | F3 | 24 mi | 13.1 mi | 1 / 60 |
| May 22, 2019 | EF3 | 19 mi | 9.22 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 2000 | F3 | 12 mi | 34 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 26, 1983 | F3 | 2 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Mar 15, 1982 | F3 | 7 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 17, 1958 | F3 | 17 mi | 30.2 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 125, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Pittsburg
The Storm Prediction Center has 151 hail reports within 10 miles of Pittsburg since 1960, made on 93 separate days. Of these, 95 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on May 6, 2003. The most recent report is from June 8, 2025. April has the most reports, 34.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Pittsburg
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Pittsburg, KS, 1 mile south of Pittsburg at 908 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 70°F; January is the coolest, at 43°F and 24°F. May is the wettest at 7.1 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.8 inches; the year adds up to 47.9 inches over 68 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 57 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 91 nights a year. Snowfall averages 9.5 inches a year, most of it in January. That 47.9 inches is more than at 102 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (99%). Girard, 11 miles northwest, has its own station (Girard, KS): 45.6 inches a year, 2.3 less than here, and the same July average high, 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43 | 24 | 1.8 | 4 | 3.4 |
| Feb | 48 | 28 | 2.1 | 4 | 1.0 |
| Mar | 59 | 37 | 3.2 | 6 | 1.6 |
| Apr | 68 | 46 | 5.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 76 | 56 | 7.1 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 86 | 65 | 6.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 90 | 70 | 4.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 90 | 68 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 82 | 60 | 5.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 48 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 57 | 36 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.6 |
| Dec | 46 | 28 | 2.3 | 4 | 2.9 |
| Year | 68 | 47 | 47.9 | 68 | 9.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Pittsburg, KS (908 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 Pittsburg
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 259 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Pittsburg: 161 thunderstorm wind reports, 56 flash floods, 23 floods and 19 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 6, and the NWS estimated $9.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 120 mph, on February 28, 2012. May has had the most flash floods, 17 of 56. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 157 have had fewer than Pittsburg.
June 3, 2008: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Pittsburg — 3 injured, $10,000 damage.
July 1, 1999: thunderstorm wind in Pittsburg — 2 injured, $30,000 damage.
July 7, 2016: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Pittsburg — 1 injured, $10,000 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Pittsburg's ZIP code 66762 have filed 140 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1985, and were paid $1.7 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1994, with 29. 5% 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, 50 have fewer than Pittsburg.
Crawford County, which includes Pittsburg, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 20 of them major disasters (by incident: 14 severe storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 tornadoes). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on September 1, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Crawford County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for inland flooding; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $27.3 million a year, the 11th highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $11.4 million (42%), 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 Pittsburg
- Frontenac, KS3 mi
- Girard, KS11 mi
- Oronogo, MO16 mi
- Carl Junction, MO18 mi
- Columbus, KS19 mi
- Webb City, MO22 mi
- Galena, KS22 mi
- Jasper, MO22 mi
- Lamar, MO24 mi
- Joplin, MO26 mi
- Baxter Springs, KS27 mi
- Carthage, MO27 mi
All Kansas cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Pittsburg with another place →