NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Smith Center, 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 Smith Center, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 88 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 88
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Smith Center
The highest rating among the 88 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on March 13, 1990, came within 23 miles. Of the 88, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 29 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 34. The most recent tornado was on April 16, 2024. Of the 171 Kansas cities on this site, 91% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Smith Center. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 104 times since 1965, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 171 Kansas cities, 91% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Smith Center.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Smith Center
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s10(1 EF3+)
- 2000s18
- 1990s24(1 EF3+)
- 1980s6(1 EF3+)
- 1970s11
- 1960s6
- 1950s12(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 13, 1990 | F4 | 23 mi | 131 mi | 0 / 8 |
| May 10, 1985 | F4 | 11 mi | 56 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 4, 1955 | F4 | 24 mi | 61.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 2013 | EF3 | 14 mi | 5.74 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 15, 1957 | F3 | 7 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 1957 | F3 | 12 mi | 14.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 6, 2015 | EF2 | 23 mi | 12.58 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 5, 2007 | EF2 | 23 mi | 7.5 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Sep 18, 1986 | F2 | 22 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 25, 1973 | F2 | 2 mi | 27.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 1973 | F2 | 14 mi | 4.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 13, 1973 | F2 | 13 mi | 17.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 88, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Smith Center
The Storm Prediction Center has 104 hail reports within 10 miles of Smith Center since 1965, made on 86 separate days. Of these, 68 were 1 inch across or larger, and 10 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 3 inches (tea cup size), was reported on 2 days, most recently May 22, 1999. The most recent report is from September 19, 2025. May has the most reports, 40.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Smith Center
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Smith Ctr, KS, 2 miles southeast of Smith Center at 1,820 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 39°F and 16°F. July is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.6 inches; the year adds up to 26.2 inches over 48 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 61 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 136 nights a year. Snowfall averages 18.3 inches a year, most of it in February. That 26.2 inches is more than at 21 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (20%). Phillipsburg, 28 miles west, has its own station (Phillipsburg #2, KS): 25.5 inches a year, 0.7 less than here, and a July average high of 93°F against 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 39 | 16 | 0.6 | 2 | 4.4 |
| Feb | 44 | 19 | 0.7 | 2 | 5.9 |
| Mar | 55 | 28 | 1.5 | 3 | 2.3 |
| Apr | 66 | 38 | 2.1 | 5 | 0.7 |
| May | 76 | 50 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 87 | 61 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 92 | 66 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 89 | 63 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 82 | 54 | 2.0 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 68 | 41 | 1.9 | 4 | 0.5 |
| Nov | 53 | 28 | 1.2 | 2 | 1.5 |
| Dec | 41 | 19 | 0.8 | 2 | 3.0 |
| Year | 66 | 40 | 26.2 | 48 | 18.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Smith Ctr, KS (1,820 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 Smith Center
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 64 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Smith Center: 55 thunderstorm wind reports, 5 heavy rain events, 3 flash floods and 1 flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $5.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on August 9, 2014.
August 9, 2014: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Smith Center — $1.1 million damage.
NWS: “Wind gusts were estimated to be between 70 and 80 MPH and were accompanied by golf ball size hail.”
May 26, 2002: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Smith Center — $1.1 million damage.
May 29, 2015: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Smith Center — $515,000 damage.
NWS: “Wind gusts were estimated to be between 60 and 70 MPH. Penny sized hail accompanied the wind.”
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
Smith County, which includes Smith Center, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1993, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 flood, 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 Smith 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 $8.3 million a year, the 49th highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.1 million (38%), 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 Smith Center
- Phillipsburg, KS28 mi
- Superior, NE42 mi
- Beloit, KS45 mi
- Minden, NE49 mi
- Plainville, KS49 mi
- Holdrege, NE54 mi
- Juniata, NE57 mi
- Hastings, NE59 mi
- Norton, KS60 mi
- Belleville, KS62 mi
- Concordia, KS63 mi
- Russell, KS64 mi
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