NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Russell, 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 Russell, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 151 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 151
- EF3 or stronger
- 10
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Russell
The highest rating among the 151 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 21, 2001, came within 21 miles. Of the 151, 22 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 97 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 64. The most recent tornado was on May 19, 2024. Russell has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 71% of the 171 Kansas cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 211 times since 1956, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Russell has more hail reports within 10 miles than 56% of the 171 Kansas cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Russell
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s32(1 EF3+)
- 2000s57(1 EF3+)
- 1990s17(2 EF3+)
- 1980s10(1 EF3+)
- 1970s5
- 1960s11(2 EF3+)
- 1950s11(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 21, 2001 | F4 | 21 mi | 5 mi | 1 / 28 |
| May 7, 1993 | F4 | 19 mi | 25.5 mi | 1 / 6 |
| May 16, 2017 | EF3 | 22 mi | 26.64 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Oct 16, 1998 | F3 | 24 mi | 26 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Oct 16, 1980 | F3 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 13, 1968 | F3 | 24 mi | 140.4 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Aug 31, 1964 | F3 | 22 mi | 8.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 29, 1956 | F3 | 13 mi | 28.7 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Oct 11, 1954 | F3 | 11 mi | 8.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 7, 1952 | F3 | 21 mi | 4.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 28, 2019 | EF2 | 17 mi | 24.41 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 2016 | EF2 | 23 mi | 6.88 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 151, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Russell
The Storm Prediction Center has 211 hail reports within 10 miles of Russell since 1956, made on 134 separate days. Of these, 141 were 1 inch across or larger, and 13 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on May 16, 1995. The most recent report is from May 19, 2024. May has the most reports, 86.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Russell
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Russell Municipal Airport, KS, 3 miles east of Russell at 1,864 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 42°F and 19°F. May and July are the wettest at 4.0 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.6 inches; the year adds up to 25.0 inches over 44 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 63 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 130 nights a year. That 25.0 inches is more than at 17 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (17%). Hoisington, 22 miles south, has its own station (Great Bend 3W, KS): 27.5 inches a year, 2.5 more than here, and a July average high of 91°F against 93°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42 | 19 | 0.6 | 1 |
| Feb | 46 | 22 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Mar | 57 | 31 | 1.3 | 3 |
| Apr | 67 | 40 | 2.2 | 4 |
| May | 76 | 52 | 4.0 | 7 |
| Jun | 88 | 62 | 3.3 | 5 |
| Jul | 93 | 67 | 4.0 | 6 |
| Aug | 90 | 65 | 3.3 | 5 |
| Sep | 82 | 57 | 2.2 | 3 |
| Oct | 69 | 43 | 1.7 | 3 |
| Nov | 55 | 30 | 1.0 | 2 |
| Dec | 43 | 21 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Year | 67 | 42 | 25.0 | 44 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Russell Municipal Airport, KS (1,864 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 Russell
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 246 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Russell: 224 thunderstorm wind reports, 10 floods, 8 heavy rain events, 3 flash floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $797,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 113 mph, on April 6, 2001.
July 7, 2004: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Russell — 2 injured, $25,000 damage.
NWS: “Five semi-trailers overturned on I-70, with two of the drivers taken to a hospital.”
September 4, 2018: flood 2 miles from the centre of Russell — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “A number of rural roads and low water crossings were flooded. Some roads reported washed out culverts.”
June 6, 1996: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Russell — $100,000 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
Russell County, which includes Russell, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 15 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 1 fire). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on September 1, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Russell County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Very Low for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $5.8 million a year, the 79th highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.4 million (24%), 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 Russell
- Hoisington, KS22 mi
- Hays, KS25 mi
- Plainville, KS34 mi
- Great Bend, KS35 mi
- Ellsworth, KS35 mi
- Ellinwood, KS39 mi
- Ellis, KS40 mi
- Larned, KS50 mi
- Lyons, KS50 mi
- Wakeeney, KS56 mi
- Beloit, KS58 mi
- Sterling, KS59 mi
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