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Pottawatomie County, Kansas severe weather history spans 740 recorded events between 1951 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 54.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #359 nationally and #36 in Kansas.
740
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
8
Direct injuries
$9.1M
Property damage
The record
What the Pottawatomie County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Pottawatomie County, Kansas severe weather history averages 10.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 233 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 86 events fall before 1990 and 654 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 $5.5M 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 Pottawatomie County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 405 | 0 | $66K | 4 | 1957–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 255 | 0 | $5.5M | 86 | 1957–2025 |
| Tornado | 37 | 0 | $2.3M | F3 | 1951–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 27 | 0 | $741K | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Lightning | 9 | 0 | $273K | 0 | 1998–2008 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 2001–2010 |
| Heavy Rain | 3 | 0 | $100K | 0 | 2005–2007 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2003 |
Decade by decade
Pottawatomie County, Kansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
42 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 36 touched down inside it and 6 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960-05-19 | EF4 | 0 | 12 | 20.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1978-05-31 | EF3 | 3 | 1 | 37.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-04-30 | EF3 | 1 | 4 | 2.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-06-11 | EF2 | 2 | 0 | 17.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1979-10-18 | EF2 | 0 | 11 | 71.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1979-10-18 | EF2 | 0 | 5 | 54.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-03-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 108.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1968-04-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 38.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1965-06-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-04-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 11.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Pottawatomie County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 18, 1979 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $250K | |
| Jun 14, 1985 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 2 | $0 | |
| Mar 24, 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | MANHATTAN | 0 | 1 | $50K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Winds clocked to 99 mph at the Jeffrey Power Plant near Emmett, and estimated to between 65 and 100 mph elsewhere caused widespread and severe damage across the entire county. Numerous trees, roofs, windows and power lines were damaged or destroyed from the high wind. Power was out in many areas for more than 48 hours. At the Jeffrey Power Plant, 33 empty rail cars were blown from off the track with coal loading machinery and buildings damaged. The plant had to briefly shut down. Damage to the plant was estimated at $2 to $2.5 million. Heavy rain accompanied the storm and flooded some areas. Cleanup continued for days. Total dollar loss for the county, including the Jeffrey Plant, was $4 to $5 million.
The tornado moved through the northern part of the county causing damage at nine different locations. Most damage was to outbuildings and barns although three homes were damaged in Duluth along with numerous utility poles and cable. The tornado had multiple vortices at times.
Tornado occurred at the Elbo lake community east of Manhattan. Many large trees were damaged or blown over…powerlines were downed…a boat blown across the lake and at least four buildings sustained damage…primarily from trees falling on them.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
26,204
Population (ACS)
$246K
Median home value
19
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 15, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | 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 |
| May 28, 2019 | Severe Storm | TORNADOES AND FLOODING | EM |
| Jul 20, 2015 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Wamego 102
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Pottawatomie County, Kansas?
740 events are on record between 1951 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $9.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Pottawatomie County?
Hail, with 405 recorded events — 54.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Pottawatomie County?
42 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 36 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Pottawatomie County?
19 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Pottawatomie County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Pottawatomie County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Pottawatomie County as very low risk, placing it in the 31 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Pottawatomie 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
- Phillips County 585
- Pratt County 1,000
- Pawnee County 765
- Rawlins County 844
- Ottawa County 673
- Reno County 1,397
Cite this page
“Pottawatomie County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/pottawatomie-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.