NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit St John, 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 St John, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 185 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 23 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 185
- EF3 or stronger
- 23
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
7 deaths in all
What the records show for St John
The highest rating among the 185 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on June 4, 1955, came within 18 miles. The deadliest, an EF2 on May 24, 2011, killed 2 people. Of the 185, 14 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 95 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 87. The most recent tornado was on May 18, 2025. St John has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 97% of the 171 Kansas cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 186 times since 1958, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 171 Kansas cities, 51% have more hail reports within 10 miles than St John.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of St John
By decade
- 2020s6(3 EF3+)
- 2010s23(4 EF3+)
- 2000s66(5 EF3+)
- 1990s28(1 EF3+)
- 1980s3
- 1970s11(2 EF3+)
- 1960s9(3 EF3+)
- 1950s39(5 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 4, 1955 | F4 | 18 mi | 72.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 4, 1950 | F4 | 16 mi | 34.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 23, 2008 | EF3 | 24 mi | 21.9 mi | 2 / 2 |
| May 4, 2007 | EF3 | 3 mi | 17.4 mi | 1 / 0 |
| May 4, 2007 | EF3 | 13 mi | 18.22 mi | 1 / 2 |
| May 18, 2025 | EF3 | 16 mi | 32.65 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 2025 | EF3 | 19 mi | 11.45 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 2025 | EF3 | 22 mi | 15.84 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 16, 2017 | EF3 | 18 mi | 26.64 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 24, 2016 | EF3 | 21 mi | 8.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 14, 2012 | EF3 | in town | 39.67 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 14, 2012 | EF3 | 5 mi | 48.02 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 185, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in St John
The Storm Prediction Center has 186 hail reports within 10 miles of St John since 1958, made on 101 separate days. Of these, 116 were 1 inch across or larger, and 14 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 3 inches (tea cup size), was reported on 2 days, most recently June 5, 2008. The most recent report is from September 8, 2025. May has the most reports, 55.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in St John
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Hudson, KS, 10 miles northeast of St John at 1,867 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 94°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 44°F and 21°F. May is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 28.9 inches over 46 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 77 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 112 nights a year. Snowfall averages 18.1 inches a year, most of it in January. That 28.9 inches is more than at 29 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (28%). Larned, 21 miles northwest, has its own station (Larned, KS): 27.2 inches a year, 1.7 less than here, and a July average high of 91°F against 94°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44 | 21 | 0.8 | 2 | 5.1 |
| Feb | 49 | 23 | 1.1 | 2 | 3.5 |
| Mar | 59 | 32 | 2.0 | 4 | 3.0 |
| Apr | 69 | 42 | 2.5 | 5 | 0.5 |
| May | 78 | 53 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 89 | 63 | 4.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 94 | 68 | 4.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 91 | 66 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 84 | 58 | 1.9 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 71 | 44 | 2.3 | 4 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 57 | 32 | 1.2 | 2 | 1.6 |
| Dec | 45 | 23 | 1.1 | 2 | 4.2 |
| Year | 69 | 44 | 28.9 | 46 | 18.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Hudson, KS (1,867 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 St John
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 65 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of St John: 55 thunderstorm wind reports, 6 heavy rain events, 3 floods and 1 flash flood. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $503,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on July 31, 2003.
June 30, 1999: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of St John — 1 injured, $300,000 damage.
NWS: “One trailer home was completely destroyed and the occupant received minor cuts and bruises, but lucky to be alive according to the Emergency Manager. Trees were down all over the place and several roofs received quite a bit of damage.”
July 30, 1999: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of St John — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “A microburst that lasted three minutes caused tremendous damage in the small community. Every building in the town had 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
Stafford County, which includes St John, has been named in 27 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 24 of them major disasters (by incident: 17 severe storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on September 1, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Stafford County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail; Relatively Low for tornadoes 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 $8.1 million a year, the 51st highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.2 million (15%), 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 St John
- Larned, KS21 mi
- Great Bend, KS24 mi
- Pratt, KS26 mi
- Ellinwood, KS26 mi
- Sterling, KS35 mi
- Hoisington, KS38 mi
- Lyons, KS40 mi
- Kingman, KS46 mi
- South Hutchinson, KS47 mi
- Hutchinson, KS47 mi
- Medicine Lodge, KS51 mi
- Haven, KS55 mi
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