Meade County, Kansas severe weather history spans 747 recorded events between 1952 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 64.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #352 nationally and #33 in Kansas.
747
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$9.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Meade County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Meade County, Kansas severe weather history averages 10.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 266 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 69 events fall before 1990 and 678 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $6.6M 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 Meade County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 481 | 0 | $118K | 4.75 | 1958–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 169 | 0 | $1.8M | 102 | 1958–2025 |
| Tornado | 57 | 0 | $6.6M | F3 | 1952–2019 |
| Heavy Rain | 22 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 14 | 0 | $1.0M | 0 | 1996–2019 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2009 |
| Flood | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2015–2015 |
Decade by decade
Meade County, Kansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
58 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 50 touched down inside it and 8 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-05-17 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 29.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-11-16 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 51.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1973-09-25 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 5.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2005-06-09 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1994-04-09 | EF2 | 0 | 8 | 25.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1958-06-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1955-06-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-05-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-11-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-05-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 13.2 mi | Touched down here |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The tornado entered Meade County from Seward County at 1545 CST 4 SW of Plains and moved ENE at 35 miles an hour striking the southern part of the town of Meade at around 1600 CST. It ended one mile SE of Meade after doing extensive damage to Meade High School, power lines, and several agri-based businesses in southern Meade Township. Damage estimates were around $1.3 million.
Rainfall of nearly 10 inches caused very severe flash flooding. Water came across highway 23 and washed an old concrete truck full of concrete across the highway and into an adjacent draw about 400 yards away. The drum of concrete had been there for decades. Also, water washed out a bridge and a resident of nearly 90 years had never seen so much water. The majority of the rain fell in a 3 hour period.
This tornado moved in from Seward County. It appeared to be much stronger and wider, visually. But the cloud bases were extremely low. The tornado turned north and then northwest as is dissipated, based on the survey. Many persons did not see the tornado due to nearby stratus and fog.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
3,903
Population (ACS)
$149K
Median home value
15
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 24, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| May 25, 2022 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | 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
- Meade 222
- Fowler 128
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Meade County, Kansas?
747 events are on record between 1952 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $9.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Meade County?
Hail, with 481 recorded events — 64.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Meade County?
58 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 50 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Meade County?
15 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Meade County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Meade County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Meade County as very low risk, placing it in the 16 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Meade 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
- Marshall County 634
- Miami County 412
- Marion County 709
- Mitchell County 578
- McPherson County 991
- Montgomery County 796
Cite this page
“Meade County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/meade-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.