Lincoln County, Kansas severe weather history spans 627 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 51.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #517 nationally and #58 in Kansas.
627
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$2.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Lincoln County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Lincoln County, Kansas severe weather history averages 9.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 197 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 69 events fall before 1990 and 558 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $1.1M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Lincoln County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 322 | 0 | $186K | 4.5 | 1957–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 234 | 0 | $1.1M | 87 | 1958–2025 |
| Tornado | 33 | 0 | $963K | F3 | 1956–2022 |
| Flash Flood | 15 | 0 | $263K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 12 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 2008–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 9 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2013–2023 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $13K | 0 | 2007–2021 |
Decade by decade
Lincoln County, Kansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
38 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 34 touched down inside it and 4 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956-07-15 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 7.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-10-29 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 28.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1952-08-07 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 4.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1970-05-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-04-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2007-05-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1995-05-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1970-05-11 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-05-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-06-23 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Lincoln County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 30, 1956 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Torrential rains, on the order of 2-4 inches per hour, caused flash flooding across approximately 108 square miles, primarily in Cedron and Orange townships as well as parts of Battle Creek, Hanover, and Grant townships. Land damage acreage: 26,250. Included in this affected acreage were 2,560 acres of milo and 640 acres of soybeans. Farm facilities damaged: 25 dams and 10 miles of fencing. Narrative provided by USDA Flash Situation Report.
Emergency management reported quite a bit of tree damage in and around Lincoln. Additionally, newspaper reports indicated a large 140,000 bushel grain bin was destroyed along with other grain storage damaged in Lincoln. Furthermore, some power poles were snapped just west of Lincoln. Information courtesy of the Lincoln Sentinel-Republican.
This tornado did light damage to three farmsteads, destroyed a few fences, but remained generally over open country. It passed just to the west of Hunter and was headed for Tipton until it dissipated about 1820 CST two miles southeast of Tipton.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
2,923
Population (ACS)
$97K
Median home value
15
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, AND WILDFIRES | DR |
| Aug 20, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Feb 17, 2022 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND STRAIGHT LINE WINDS | DR |
| Mar 29, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jun 20, 2019 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, FLOODING,LANDSLIDES,AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Lincoln 169
- Sylvan Grove 142
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Lincoln County, Kansas?
627 events are on record between 1956 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $2.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Lincoln County?
Hail, with 322 recorded events — 51.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Lincoln County?
38 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 34 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Lincoln County?
15 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Lincoln County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Lincoln County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Lincoln County as very low risk, placing it in the 14 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Lincoln County, Kansas severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Leavenworth County 762
- Linn County 283
- Lane County 482
- Logan County 837
- Labette County 604
- Lyon County 859
Cite this page
“Lincoln County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/lincoln-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.