NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Wakeeney, 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 Wakeeney, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 136 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 136
- EF3 or stronger
- 10
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
5 deaths in all
What the records show for Wakeeney
The highest rating among the 136 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 23, 2008, came within 21 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on June 27, 1951, killed 5 people. Of the 136, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 83 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 61. The most recent tornado was on June 9, 2022. Wakeeney has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 54% of the 171 Kansas cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 171 times since 1961, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Of the 171 Kansas cities, 57% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Wakeeney.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Wakeeney
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s19
- 2000s63(3 EF3+)
- 1990s6(2 EF3+)
- 1980s8(2 EF3+)
- 1970s12
- 1960s6(2 EF3+)
- 1950s21(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 27, 1951 | F4 | 1 mi | 0.8 mi | 5 / 100 |
| May 23, 2008 | EF4 | 21 mi | 11.39 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 23, 2008 | EF3 | 20 mi | 9.01 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 9, 2005 | F3 | 7 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 16, 1998 | F3 | 23 mi | 26 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 25, 1990 | F3 | 22 mi | 37 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 1985 | F3 | 23 mi | 30 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 1985 | F3 | 14 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 24, 1969 | F3 | 9 mi | 47 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 13, 1968 | F3 | 8 mi | 140.4 mi | 0 / 5 |
| May 23, 2008 | EF2 | 13 mi | 8.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 23, 2008 | EF2 | 16 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 136, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Wakeeney
The Storm Prediction Center has 171 hail reports within 10 miles of Wakeeney since 1961, made on 111 separate days. Of these, 114 were 1 inch across or larger, and 13 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on June 19, 1978. The most recent report is from September 14, 2025. May has the most reports, 68.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Wakeeney
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Wakeeney, KS, 2 miles east of Wakeeney at 2,445 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 93°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 42°F and 17°F. May is the wettest at 4.0 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.6 inches; the year adds up to 23.9 inches over 41 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 66 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 134 nights a year. Snowfall averages 20.3 inches a year. That 23.9 inches is more than at 16 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (16%). Ellis, 17 miles east, has its own station (Cedar Bluff Dam, KS): 22.9 inches a year, 1.0 less than here, and a July average high of 92°F against 93°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42 | 17 | 0.6 | 1 | 4.3 |
| Feb | 46 | 20 | 0.9 | 2 | 4.3 |
| Mar | 57 | 29 | 1.3 | 3 | 3.2 |
| Apr | 66 | 38 | 2.0 | 4 | 1.3 |
| May | 76 | 49 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 88 | 60 | 3.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 93 | 66 | 3.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 90 | 63 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 82 | 54 | 1.8 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 69 | 41 | 1.6 | 3 | 1.1 |
| Nov | 55 | 28 | 0.9 | 2 | 1.8 |
| Dec | 44 | 20 | 0.9 | 2 | 4.3 |
| Year | 67 | 40 | 23.9 | 41 | 20.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Wakeeney, KS (2,445 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 Wakeeney
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 69 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Wakeeney: 59 thunderstorm wind reports, 6 heavy rain events, 2 flash floods and 2 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $306,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on August 10, 2017.
September 17, 2001: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Wakeeney — $300,000 damage.
NWS: “A microburst did major roof damage to several houses in the SouthWind country club area. Siding was also taken off several other homes in the neighborhood.”
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
Trego County, which includes Wakeeney, has been named in 13 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1993, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 flood, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on April 28, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Trego 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 $3.4 million a year, the 98th highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $814,000 (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 Wakeeney
- Ellis, KS17 mi
- Hays, KS32 mi
- Plainville, KS34 mi
- Oakley, KS51 mi
- Norton, KS56 mi
- Russell, KS56 mi
- Phillipsburg, KS62 mi
- Oberlin, KS66 mi
- Colby, KS67 mi
- Scott City, KS67 mi
- Hoisington, KS69 mi
- Larned, KS71 mi
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