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Morris County, Kansas severe weather history spans 483 recorded events between 1953 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 56.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #937 nationally and #85 in Kansas.
483
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
8
Direct injuries
$8.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Morris County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Morris County, Kansas severe weather history averages 6.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 164 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 74 events fall before 1990 and 409 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Morris County, Kansas record is flash flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $6.6M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Morris County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 273 | 0 | $909K | 4 | 1956–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 127 | 0 | $194K | 100 | 1956–2025 |
| Tornado | 38 | 0 | $6.6M | F3 | 1953–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 32 | 1 | $524K | 0 | 1996–2022 |
| Flood | 7 | 0 | $51K | 0 | 1996–2015 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 75 | 1997–2007 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $500 | 0 | 1996–1996 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $20K | 0 | 2005–2005 |
Decade by decade
Morris County, Kansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
39 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 30 touched down inside it and 9 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985-08-17 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-06-06 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-04-02 | EF3 | 0 | 4 | 127.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1953-05-10 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 52.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 2023-04-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1995-06-07 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-03-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 55.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1974-03-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 108.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-06-17 | EF2 | 0 | 6 | 6.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1953-06-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.8 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Morris County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 1, 1996 | Flash Flood | COUNCIL GROVE | 1 | 0 | $30K |
| Jun 17, 1969 | Tornado | 0 | 6 | $250K | |
| Jun 8, 1995 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $12K | |
| Aug 1, 1986 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This tornado touched down 1 mile southwest of Delavan and moved north for 15 miles before exiting into Geary county 3 miles west of Skiddy. It produced primarily F0 damage along its path, however, F1 damage occurred on several farmsteads across northwest parts of the county, where several outbuildings were damaged or destroyed. Roofing material from one building was stuck in a fence a mile away to the north. The tornado remained on the ground across the border into southwest Geary county for 5 more miles, making the total path length 20 miles. The parent thunderstorm was a mini-supercell.
Large hail driven by high winds caused widespread roof, window and vehicle damage in and around the area. Two of the counties sheriff's cars and one Emergency Medical Transport vehicle received enough hail damage to render them out-of-sevice.
Winds estimated to 80 mph caused widespread and significant damage in Council Grove, nearby Council Grove Reservoir and across much of the county. Trees, power lines, signs, boats, marina and homes were all damaged in various degrees. Power was out in many areas for 12 to 18 hours.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
5,340
Population (ACS)
$130K
Median home value
27
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 30, 2026 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Dec 19, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 11, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Aug 20, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 15, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 28, 2024 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Morris County, Kansas?
483 events are on record between 1953 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $8.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Morris County?
Hail, with 273 recorded events — 56.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Morris County?
39 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 30 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Morris County?
27 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Morris County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Morris County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Morris County as very low risk, placing it in the 27 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Morris 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
- Montgomery County 796
- Morton County 555
- Mitchell County 578
- Nemaha County 513
- Miami County 412
- Neosho County 538
Cite this page
“Morris County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/morris-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.