Pawnee County, Kansas severe weather history spans 765 recorded events between 1950 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 59.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #325 nationally and #29 in Kansas.
765
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
5
Direct injuries
$6.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Pawnee County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Pawnee County, Kansas severe weather history averages 10.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 281 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 59 events fall before 1990 and 706 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 $4.0M 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 Pawnee County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 457 | 0 | $115K | 4 | 1955–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 209 | 0 | $4.0M | 100 | 1956–2025 |
| Tornado | 45 | 0 | $2.2M | F4 | 1950–2019 |
| Heavy Rain | 31 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2025 |
| Flood | 16 | 0 | $100 | 0 | 2007–2020 |
| Flash Flood | 4 | 0 | $1K | 0 | 2007–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2017–2024 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $80K | 0 | 2003–2003 |
Decade by decade
Pawnee County, Kansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
54 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 40 touched down inside it and 14 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-05-18 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1955-06-04 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 72.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1950-05-04 | EF4 | 0 | 1 | 34.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-05-16 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 26.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-03-27 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1973-09-25 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 18.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1972-04-30 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 17.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-10-29 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 14.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-05-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2019-05-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.9 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Pawnee County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 7, 1984 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 3 | $0 | |
| Aug 3, 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | LARNED | 0 | 1 | $3.2M |
| May 5, 1950 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This tornado was well documented by storm chasers, spotters and a research team with portable doppler radar. The tornado did turn north towards the end of it's life cycle. Low end EF4 damage was done to a home along US156. The roof and walls were blown away of this well constructed house. Several large tanks were carried a long distance. There were 2 people inside but they escaped injury by taking shelter. Video shows that sub-vortices within the tornado may have actually had a little stronger wind. The Doppler on wheels that was observing the tornado had near surface measured wind speeds of 165 to 185 MPH.
Several outbuildings were destroyed by this tornado. It was video taped by folks that were about 2 miles away and they could hardly believe what they were seeing. In fact, several times they doubted it was a tornado but it was clearly a tornado that traveled 5.1 miles north-northeast and heavily damaged two well built and new outbuildings.
This tornado developed east of the original Rozel tornado and moved north and then back west as outflow pushed the surface contact before it completely roped out. Damage was done to power poles and a few trees. A damage survey was completed.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
6,144
Population (ACS)
$93K
Median home value
28
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, AND WILDFIRES | DR |
| Sep 24, 2024 | 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 |
| Apr 28, 2024 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
| Oct 26, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| May 25, 2022 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Larned 230
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Pawnee County, Kansas?
765 events are on record between 1950 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $6.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Pawnee County?
Hail, with 457 recorded events — 59.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Pawnee County?
54 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 40 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Pawnee County?
28 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Pawnee County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Pawnee County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Pawnee County as very low risk, placing it in the 32 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Pawnee 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
- Ottawa County 673
- Phillips County 585
- Osborne County 583
- Pottawatomie County 740
- Osage County 864
- Pratt County 1,000
Cite this page
“Pawnee County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/pawnee-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.