Phillips County, Kansas severe weather history spans 585 recorded events between 1950 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 56.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #628 nationally and #69 in Kansas.
585
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
4
Direct injuries
$16.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Phillips County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Phillips County, Kansas severe weather history averages 7.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 178 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 73 events fall before 1990 and 512 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is hail, with $6.4M 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 Phillips County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 328 | 0 | $6.4M | 4.5 | 1955–2024 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 183 | 0 | $2.8M | 87 | 1970–2025 |
| Tornado | 40 | 0 | $6.1M | F4 | 1950–2013 |
| Flash Flood | 14 | 0 | $640K | 0 | 2005–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 10 | 0 | $120K | 0 | 2003–2018 |
| Flood | 5 | 0 | $77K | 0 | 1996–2019 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2007 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $75K | 0 | 1996–1996 |
Decade by decade
Phillips County, Kansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
41 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 37 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985-05-10 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 33.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1985-05-10 | EF4 | 0 | 2 | 56.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-06-20 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 8.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1969-06-24 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 47.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1957-06-15 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 14.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1952-06-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-05-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2007-05-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-04-11 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-04-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Phillips County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 11, 1984 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 2 | $0 | |
| Jun 30, 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | LONG IS | 0 | 1 | $1.0M |
| May 11, 1985 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $2.5M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Hail reaching the size of baseballs resulted in significant damage to vehicles and homes in the area. Numerous windows and windshields were damaged or destroyed. There was extensive crop damage. Tree limbs up to 5 inches in diameter were downed, but an estimated wind speed was not available.
A line of thunderstorms with damaging wind gusts generally in the 60 to 80 MPH range, but including an 86 MPH gust measured by the Phillipsburg Airport AWOS at 10:37 p.m. CDT, moved across Phillips County. A sustained wind speed of 67 MPH was also recorded by the AWOS. This wind was accompanied by large hail of unknown size, which resulted in windows being broken out of a vehicle in Phillipsburg. Numerous trees were damaged, with some being uprooted, and large limbs were downed.
This tornado moved into northwest Phillips County approximately 5 miles west of Long Island, after affecting the Almena area in Norton County, shifting to the northeast before lifting approximately 4 miles northwest of Long Island. A few farm outbuildings sustained damage.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
4,813
Population (ACS)
$97K
Median home value
19
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, AND WILDFIRES | 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 |
| 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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Phillipsburg 141
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Phillips County, Kansas?
585 events are on record between 1950 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $16.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Phillips County?
Hail, with 328 recorded events — 56.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Phillips County?
41 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 37 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Phillips County?
19 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Phillips County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Phillips County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Phillips County as very low risk, placing it in the 41 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Phillips 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
- Pawnee County 765
- Pottawatomie County 740
- Ottawa County 673
- Pratt County 1,000
- Osborne County 583
- Rawlins County 844
Cite this page
“Phillips County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/phillips-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.