Hutchinson, KS Tornado History — 130 Tornadoes Since 1950
How many tornadoes has Hutchinson, KS had?
Hutchinson has had 130 tornadoes on record within 25 miles since 1950, including 13 violent (EF3+) tornadoes.
When was the most recent tornado near Hutchinson?
The most recent tornado within 25 miles of Hutchinson was an EF3 on May 18, 2025.
When is tornado season in Hutchinson?
May is historically the peak month for tornadoes near Hutchinson, with 56 on record. Spring through early summer (April–June) generally sees the highest activity across most of the central and southern United States.
At a Glance
Recent Tornado Activity Near Hutchinson
The last 20 years of confirmed tornadoes within 25 miles — 41 total, averaging 2.0 per year over this window.
Preliminary tornado reports near Hutchinson since December 29, 2025
These is a preliminary report, not confirmed tornadoes. It has not yet been through an NWS damage survey, and is not counted in the confirmed totals above.
Preliminary reports are revised, merged, and sometimes withdrawn — historically about 23% are consolidated downward once surveys complete. Ratings are omitted until a survey assigns one.
Confirmed records above are complete through December 29, 2025. NOAA publishes the confirmed archive annually, so tornadoes after that date appear here first and move into the totals above once finalized.
Within 25 miles of Hutchinson. Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center preliminary storm reports, updated daily.
Tornadoes by Decade
Tornadoes by Enhanced Fujita Rating
F0–F5 ratings (pre-2007) are grouped with their EF equivalents. The Enhanced Fujita scale replaced the original Fujita scale in February 2007.
Tornadoes by Month
Casualties on Record Near Hutchinson
8 fatalities have been recorded within 25 miles of Hutchinson since 1950, across 4 events. 140 injuries have been reported across all events. 1973 was the deadliest year on record.
The deadliest single event was a F3 on September 25, 1973, which caused 3 fatalities along a 169.7-mile track.
Notable Tornadoes Near Hutchinson
About Tornadoes in Hutchinson
This overview was written August 10, 2026. The tornado counts and notable-event figures elsewhere on this page reflect the latest data and may differ from this summary.
South-central Kansas sits where the Great Plains' rival air masses meet: humid, unstable air streaming north from the Gulf of Mexico and hot, dry air sliding east off the High Plains. When these collide along the dryline beneath a vigorous spring jet stream, thunderstorms can begin rotating quickly, and the flat, open wheat country offers little to slow them down. Hutchinson, spread along the Arkansas River in Reno County, lies squarely within this corridor, and its severe-weather season typically builds through spring before lingering into early summer.
What distinguishes Hutchinson's tornado history is its span across generations, a continuity preserved in the archive of the NOAA Storm Prediction Center. The earliest chapter came on June 9, 1950, when an F4 killed one person, injured five, and tore a seventeen-mile path near the city. A later generation faced the F5 of March 13, 1990, which plowed a forty-eight-mile track, injured sixty people, and claimed one life. The following spring brought another blow, an F4 on March 27, 1991 that left five people injured. The present generation has its own entry: on May 19, 2025, an EF3 traveled roughly thirty-three miles with a funnel close to a mile across. The event list elsewhere on this page fills in the decades between, from the 1950s through the 2020s.