Live
Active alerts for this county
Heat Advisory
Republic; Washington; Marshall; Nemaha; Brown; Cloud; Clay; Riley; Pottawatomie; Jackson; Jefferson; Ottawa; Dickinson; Geary; Morris; Wabaunsee; Shawnee; Douglas; Lyon; Osage; Franklin; Coffey; Anderson
Washington County, Kansas severe weather history spans 615 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 63.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #548 nationally and #63 in Kansas.
615
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
12
Direct injuries
$28.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Washington County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Washington County, Kansas severe weather history averages 8.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 179 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 92 events fall before 1990 and 523 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Washington County, Kansas record is tornado, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $27.0M 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 Washington County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 393 | 0 | $18K | 4 | 1956–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 163 | 0 | $606K | 85 | 1955–2025 |
| Tornado | 36 | 2 | $27.0M | F3 | 1955–2019 |
| Flash Flood | 13 | 0 | $81K | 0 | 1998–2016 |
| Flood | 5 | 0 | $610K | 0 | 2007–2026 |
| Lightning | 4 | 0 | $36K | 0 | 1996–2002 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2004–2004 |
Decade by decade
Washington County, Kansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
45 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 37 touched down inside it and 8 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957-05-20 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 44.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1973-09-25 | EF3 | 3 | 42 | 169.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1991-04-26 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 24.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-09-25 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 69.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1966-05-11 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 5.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2006-04-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 17.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-05-09 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-04-26 | EF2 | 0 | 6 | 3.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-07-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1964-04-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.4 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Washington County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 26, 1973 | Tornado | 2 | 6 | $25.0M | |
| Apr 26, 1991 | Tornado | 0 | 6 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This tornado touched down at 420pm cst 5 miles north of Barnes and was on the ground for 17 miles before crossing the state line into Gage County, Nebraska 3.5 miles east-northeast of Hollenberg, Kansas…or about 3 miles south and 0.5 miles west of Odell, Nebraska. It was caused by a supercell thunderstorm and was sighted by many storm chasers and storm spotters. Most of the damage with this tornado was rated as F0 or F1. However, strong F2 damage was noted near the intersection of Highways 36 and 148, where one brick home had the roof torn off and some of the exterior walls knocked down. The occupants of the home were in the basement and had to be helped from the damaged home by emergency personel. Four outbuildings were also damaged at this location. Elsewhere, the tornado caused damage to one other home and five additional outbuildings as well as many trees, and one home was completely destroyed just southeast of Hanover.
The first visible sign of a tornado was located 4.5 miles north |of Hanover, near the intersection of 27th and zenith road in |Washington county. The tornado snapped two power poles, one |snapped at the base and another at midpoint, near the Washington |and Marshall county line along 27th road where it exited Washington County at around 13:26 LST. The tornado then tracked into Marshall County at 27th and county line road and damaged several tree branches along its path into Marshall County.
Three bridges along Myers Creek still under water. Low water crossings still flooded. Concord Road is closed due to high water coming out of Myers Creek and Mill Creek. Deer Road and 20th Road are closed due to Mill and Myers Creeks being out of their banks.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
5,533
Population (ACS)
$117K
Median home value
20
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 13, 2023 | Fire | HADDAM FIRE | FM |
| 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 |
| Jul 20, 2015 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Washington County, Kansas?
615 events are on record between 1955 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths and $28.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Washington County?
Hail, with 393 recorded events — 63.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Washington County?
45 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 Washington County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Washington County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Washington County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Washington County as very low risk, placing it in the 16 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Washington 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
- Wallace County 655
- Wichita County 484
- Wabaunsee County 574
- Wilson County 434
- Trego County 643
- Woodson County 271
Cite this page
“Washington County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/washington-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.