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Riley County, Kansas severe weather history spans 675 recorded events between 1950 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 46.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #438 nationally and #49 in Kansas.
675
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
57
Direct injuries
$111.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Riley County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Riley County, Kansas severe weather history averages 9.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 202 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 119 events fall before 1990 and 556 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Riley County, Kansas record is lightning, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $79.5M 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 Riley County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 316 | 0 | $5.4M | 4.5 | 1956–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 259 | 0 | $6.8M | 100 | 1958–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 43 | 0 | $18.1M | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Tornado | 29 | 0 | $79.5M | F3 | 1950–2024 |
| Lightning | 21 | 1 | $862K | 0 | 1997–2008 |
| Heavy Rain | 5 | 0 | $341K | 0 | 1996–2007 |
| Flood | 2 | 0 | $338K | 0 | 1999–2007 |
Decade by decade
Riley County, Kansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
34 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 28 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-06-11 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 8.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-06-08 | EF3 | 0 | 50 | 13.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2022-06-11 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1979-10-18 | EF2 | 0 | 11 | 71.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1954-04-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 2005-11-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1993-03-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-06-30 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-06-30 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-05-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Riley County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 11, 1999 | Lightning | MANHATTAN | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 9, 1966 | Tornado | 0 | 50 | $2.5M | |
| Sep 3, 2018 | Flash Flood | KEATS | 0 | 3 | $17.2M |
| May 15, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | ZEANDALE | 0 | 2 | $25K |
| Jul 28, 2002 | Lightning | MANHATTAN | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 1, 1950 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Two surveys were done by NWS for this damage. It appears that a very short path narrow tornado occurred embedded on the northeast flank of small enhanced downburst that created widespread damaging north to northwest winds. Several homes were heavily damaged with the debris field blown to the northeast or approximately perpendicular to the movement. It appears the tornado was narrow and only 25-50 yards at the widest.
A bow echo moved east across Riley county producing strong winds and large hail. Winds reached a speed of 82 mph at the Manhattan airport. The strong winds knocked out power and did widespread damage in Manhattan to many homes and businesses. The Walmart store had severe roof damage that resulted in store closure for several days until repairs could be made. Total damage estimates from Riley county officials were 5 million dollars.
The tornado entered Riley county from Geary county 2 miles westsouthwest of Ogden and crossed Fort Riley Army Base. The tornado moved north for approximately one mile in Riley county before dissipating two miles west of Ogden. The tornado caused siding, window, roof, tree, and car damage in the Ellis Heights housing area on the base with 32 homes in all receiving minor damage. The parent thunderstorm was a mini-supercell.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
71,946
Population (ACS)
$237K
Median home value
17
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| May 28, 2019 | Severe Storm | TORNADOES AND FLOODING | EM |
| Oct 19, 2018 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Manhattan 244
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Riley County, Kansas?
675 events are on record between 1950 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $111.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Riley County?
Hail, with 316 recorded events — 46.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Riley County?
34 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 28 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Riley County?
17 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Riley County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Riley County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Riley County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 58 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Riley 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
- Rice County 645
- Rooks County 552
- Republic County 646
- Rush County 707
- Reno County 1,397
- Russell County 1,079
Cite this page
“Riley County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/riley-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.