NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Yates 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 Yates Center, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 84 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 84
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Yates Center
The strongest of the 84 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 2, 1956; its path came within 15 miles, and it killed 2 people. Of the 84, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 34 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 24. The most recent tornado was on June 29, 2024. Of the 171 Kansas cities on this site, 92% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Yates Center. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 85 times since 1961, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 171 Kansas cities, 96% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Yates Center.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Yates Center
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s4(1 EF3+)
- 2000s22(1 EF3+)
- 1990s7(1 EF3+)
- 1980s12
- 1970s7
- 1960s11
- 1950s13(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2, 1956 | F4 | 15 mi | 108.3 mi | 2 / 29 |
| Jun 26, 2018 | EF3 | 24 mi | 9.15 mi | 0 / 8 |
| May 8, 2003 | F3 | 1 mi | 23 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 26, 1991 | F3 | 12 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 20, 1956 | F3 | 24 mi | 69.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 26, 2024 | EF2 | 5 mi | 6.71 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 16, 2024 | EF2 | 15 mi | 2.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 26, 1991 | F2 | 16 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 7, 1986 | F2 | in town | 22.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 15, 1982 | F2 | 2 mi | 30 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 15, 1982 | F2 | 23 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 4, 1973 | F2 | 12 mi | 5.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 84, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Yates Center
The Storm Prediction Center has 85 hail reports within 10 miles of Yates Center since 1961, made on 53 separate days. Of these, 56 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 3 days, most recently March 12, 2006. The most recent report is from June 29, 2024. June has the most reports, 35.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Yates Center
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Yates Ctr, KS, in Yates Center at 1,112 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 89°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 42°F and 21°F. May is the wettest at 5.9 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.1 inches; the year adds up to 41.9 inches over 60 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 41 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 108 nights a year. Snowfall averages 9.0 inches a year, most of it in January. That 41.9 inches is more than at 91 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (88%). Humboldt, 17 miles east, has its own station (Humboldt, KS): 42.3 inches a year, 0.4 more than here, and a July average high of 90°F against 89°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42 | 21 | 1.1 | 3 | 3.1 |
| Feb | 47 | 24 | 1.6 | 4 | 1.8 |
| Mar | 57 | 33 | 2.7 | 5 | 1.0 |
| Apr | 67 | 43 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| May | 75 | 55 | 5.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 85 | 64 | 5.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 89 | 68 | 5.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 89 | 66 | 3.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 81 | 58 | 4.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 46 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 57 | 34 | 2.3 | 4 | 0.6 |
| Dec | 45 | 25 | 1.8 | 3 | 2.3 |
| Year | 67 | 45 | 41.9 | 60 | 9.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Yates Ctr, KS (1,112 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 Yates Center
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 76 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Yates Center: 55 thunderstorm wind reports, 14 flash floods, 4 heavy rain events and 3 floods. They killed 1 person and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $550,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on June 14, 2001. June has had the most flash floods, 5 of 14. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 82 have had fewer than Yates Center.
April 13, 2007: heavy rain event in Yates Center — 1 killed, $5,000 damage.
NWS: “A fatal car accident happend at 10:45 pm when a pickup truck hydroplaned and crashed into a car. A 51 year old passanger of the car was killed.”
June 14, 2001: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Yates Center — 2 injured, $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Flat bed-trailer overturned, barn destroyed, livestock trailer picked up and thrown, barrel rolled 1 1/2 blocks and destroyed and 2-story house displaced from foundation with most of top floor removed.”
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
Woodson County, which includes Yates Center, has been named in 25 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 20 of them major disasters (by incident: 18 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 fire, 1 flood). 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 Woodson County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $2.8 million a year, the 104th highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.1 million (40%), 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 Yates Center
- Humboldt, KS17 mi
- Iola, KS19 mi
- Chanute, KS21 mi
- Burlington, KS23 mi
- Fredonia, KS24 mi
- Neodesha, KS31 mi
- Eureka, KS32 mi
- Garnett, KS38 mi
- Cherryvale, KS42 mi
- Emporia, KS45 mi
- Parsons, KS45 mi
- Independence, KS45 mi
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