NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Salina, 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 Salina, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 110 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 110
- EF3 or stronger
- 12
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
4 deaths in all
What the records show for Salina
The highest rating among the 110 tornadoes within 25 miles is EF4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 25, 2016, came within 15 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on September 25, 1973, killed 3 people. Of the 110, 12 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 47 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 34. The most recent tornado was on April 1, 2025. Of the 171 Kansas cities on this site, 70% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Salina. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 218 times since 1955, with stones up to 3.5 inches. Salina has more hail reports within 10 miles than 59% of the 171 Kansas cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Salina
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s22(5 EF3+)
- 2000s20(1 EF3+)
- 1990s21(1 EF3+)
- 1980s10
- 1970s12(3 EF3+)
- 1960s8(2 EF3+)
- 1950s12
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 25, 2016 | EF4 | 15 mi | 25.09 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Apr 14, 2012 | EF4 | 8 mi | 50.28 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 25, 1973 | F3 | 4 mi | 169.7 mi | 3 / 42 |
| May 1, 2018 | EF3 | 16 mi | 15.78 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 6, 2016 | EF3 | 8 mi | 6.48 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 28, 2013 | EF3 | 14 mi | 2.33 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 2008 | EF3 | 3 mi | 16.45 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 24, 1990 | F3 | 23 mi | 60 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 25, 1973 | F3 | 15 mi | 69.9 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 30, 1972 | F3 | 22 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jun 21, 1969 | F3 | in town | 2 mi | 0 / 60 |
| Jun 21, 1964 | F3 | 16 mi | 8.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 110, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Salina
The Storm Prediction Center has 218 hail reports within 10 miles of Salina since 1955, made on 121 separate days. Of these, 149 were 1 inch across or larger, and 18 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.5 inches, fell on June 11, 2008. The most recent report is from September 3, 2025. May has the most reports, 66.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Salina
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Salina Municipal Airport, KS, 3 miles southwest of Salina at 1,269 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 41°F and 20°F. May is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 29.7 inches over 51 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 68 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 116 nights a year. That 29.7 inches is more than at 32 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (31%). Minneapolis, 22 miles north, has its own station (Minneapolis, KS): 31.8 inches a year, 2.1 more than here, and the same July average high, 93°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41 | 20 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Feb | 46 | 24 | 0.9 | 2 |
| Mar | 57 | 33 | 1.8 | 4 |
| Apr | 67 | 42 | 2.7 | 6 |
| May | 77 | 53 | 5.0 | 7 |
| Jun | 88 | 64 | 3.8 | 6 |
| Jul | 93 | 69 | 3.9 | 6 |
| Aug | 90 | 67 | 3.7 | 6 |
| Sep | 82 | 58 | 2.7 | 4 |
| Oct | 69 | 45 | 2.2 | 4 |
| Nov | 55 | 32 | 1.2 | 3 |
| Dec | 43 | 23 | 1.1 | 2 |
| Year | 67 | 44 | 29.7 | 51 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Salina Municipal Airport, KS (1,269 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 Salina
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 189 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Salina: 135 thunderstorm wind reports, 23 heavy rain events, 18 floods, 12 flash floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $12.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 113 mph, on June 8, 2026. May has had the most flash floods, 7 of 12. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 70 have had fewer than Salina.
July 10, 2000: thunderstorm wind in Salina — 1 injured, $50,000 damage.
NWS: “Microburst winds tore a roof off a barn. One man injured, sustaining fractured right elbow and head injury that required ten stitches.”
July 10, 2000: thunderstorm wind in Salina — 1 injured, $5,000 damage.
NWS: “Severe thunderstorm winds blew truck off I-70. Driver injured.”
May 24, 2007: flood in Salina — $6.5 million damage.
NWS: “Numerous, slow-moving thunderstorms produced widespread 4 to 7 inch rainfall amounts across primarily the northwestern two-thirds of Saline County from the evening hours on May 23rd, to the early morning hours on May 24th. Excessive runoff from this heavy rain caused widespread countywide flooding for days.”
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 Salina's ZIP code 67401 have filed 191 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $4.3 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Midwest Flooding in 1993: 18 claims (9% of all) and $117,000. The year with the most claims was 2007, with 102. 10% 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, 56 have fewer than Salina.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Midwest Flooding1993 | 18 | $117,000 |
Saline County, which includes Salina, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 13 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on September 1, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Saline County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes; Relatively Moderate for hail, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $32.4 million a year, the 9th highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $11.0 million (34%), 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 Salina
- Lindsborg, KS17 mi
- Minneapolis, KS22 mi
- Abilene, KS23 mi
- Galva, KS32 mi
- Mcpherson, KS32 mi
- Ellsworth, KS33 mi
- Herington, KS39 mi
- Hillsboro, KS40 mi
- Inman, KS43 mi
- Clay Center, KS43 mi
- Junction City, KS44 mi
- Moundridge, KS44 mi
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