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Shawnee County, Kansas severe weather history spans 1,457 recorded events between 1951 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 43.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #41 nationally and #4 in Kansas.
1,457
Recorded events
19
Direct deaths
626
Direct injuries
$302.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Shawnee County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Shawnee County, Kansas severe weather history averages 19.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 389 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 315 events fall before 1990 and 1,142 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Shawnee County, Kansas record is tornado, responsible for 18 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $283.0M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Shawnee County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 629 | 0 | $635K | 5.25 | 1955–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 625 | 0 | $5.4M | 86 | 1956–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 92 | 0 | $9.7M | 0 | 1996–2026 |
| Tornado | 51 | 18 | $283.0M | F5 | 1951–2024 |
| Lightning | 27 | 1 | $1.4M | 0 | 1996–2008 |
| Flood | 21 | 0 | $2.0M | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 9 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2011 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 2005–2006 |
| Wildfire | 1 | 0 | $250K | 35 | 1996–1996 |
Decade by decade
Shawnee County, Kansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
63 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 50 touched down inside it and 13 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966-06-08 | EF5 | 16 | 450 | 21.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-06-08 | EF4 | 6 | 177 | 37.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1960-05-19 | EF4 | 1 | 92 | 27.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-05-19 | EF4 | 0 | 12 | 20.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1983-05-06 | EF3 | 1 | 25 | 19.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-06-11 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 43.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-05-11 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 9.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-05-26 | EF3 | 0 | 4 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-04-02 | EF3 | 0 | 4 | 127.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2024-03-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.9 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Shawnee County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 9, 1966 | Tornado | 16 | 450 | $250.0M | |
| May 19, 1960 | Tornado | 1 | 91 | $2.5M | |
| May 6, 1983 | Tornado | 1 | 25 | $25.0M | |
| Aug 17, 2007 | Lightning | TOPEKA | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Nov 15, 1988 | Tornado | 0 | 22 | $2.5M | |
| Jul 19, 1981 | Tornado | 0 | 9 | $250K | |
| Oct 2, 2005 | Flash Flood | TOPEKA | 0 | 6 | $2.2M |
| Apr 27, 1984 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A woman was struck by lightning near the 2700 block on SW Villa West Dr. in Topeka. She was originally taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, and later passed away as a reult of these injuries. A second man was struck by a lightning bolt in an open air garage next to his home. The bolt struck his house, traveled through a cord, and into the light the man was holding. He was knocked unconscious, needed to be recussitated, and ended up with injuries to his arm.
Most homes in the town of Wakarusa inundated with flood waters from the Wakarusa River. Water rescues of 22 residents stranded on their rooftops were conducted by the fire department. The rescues were hampered by floating propane tanks. Numerous roads in the county were closed by flood waters. Topeka city schools and some surrounding schools canceled classes. 500 water rescues were made in Topeka…300 along the Shunganunga Creek alone. The Rossville nursing home evacuated it's residents as a caution of flooding due to Cross Creek. Lake Sherwood, southwest of Topeka, reported water three feet above the emergency spillway. Numerous county roads were closed due to the flooding. Lowland flooding continued in the vicinity of Topeka with moderate or greater flooding along the Kansas River.
A bow echo moved across Shawnee county and produced high winds in excess of 60 mph. The winds did extensive damage to many homes and businesses mainly in the northern half of Topeka. Preliminary damage estimates from officials in Shawnee county totaled 2 million dollars.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
178,025
Population (ACS)
$181K
Median home value
17
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 28, 2024 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
| Mar 29, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Mar 9, 2010 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
| Feb 1, 2008 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR |
| Dec 12, 2007 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Topeka 411
- Menoken 118
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Shawnee County, Kansas?
1,457 events are on record between 1951 and 2026, causing 19 direct deaths and $302.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Shawnee County?
Hail, with 629 recorded events — 43.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Shawnee County?
63 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 50 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Shawnee County?
17 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Shawnee County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Shawnee County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Shawnee County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 88 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Shawnee 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
- Seward County 711
- Sheridan County 593
- Sedgwick County 2,893
- Sherman County 1,450
- Scott County 685
- Smith County 507
Cite this page
“Shawnee County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/shawnee-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.