52
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
4
Direct injuries
$790K
Property damage
Tornado in Rawlins County, Kansas: 52 recorded events between 1950 and 2024. The strongest on record measured F3. That places the county #352 nationally and #30 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Rawlins County, Kansas: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Rawlins County is the 1990s, when 15 of the county's 52 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Rawlins County archive, tornado makes up 6.2% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #352 for this hazard and #30 within Kansas, putting it in the 88.1 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for tornado in Rawlins County with 15 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
| Date | Scale | Path length | Max width | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971-10-17 | EF3 | 3.8 mi | 440 yd | Touched down here |
| 1951-05-14 | EF3 | 0.1 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1951-05-20 | EF3 | 0.1 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1958-04-27 | EF2 | 4.7 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 1956-07-05 | EF2 | 0.1 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1956-07-05 | EF2 | 0.1 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1951-08-24 | EF2 | 3.3 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 2021-05-26 | EF1 | 3.5 mi | 450 yd | Touched down here |
| 2007-04-23 | EF1 | 2.5 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
| 2007-04-23 | EF1 | 12.5 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 1951 | F3 | 0 | 4 | $3K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 6, 2024 | ACHILLES | EFU | $0 |
| May 11, 2023 | MC DONALD | EFU | $0 |
| May 11, 2023 | MC DONALD | EFU | $0 |
| May 26, 2021 | HERNDON | EFU | $0 |
| May 26, 2021 | HERNDON | EF1 | $0 |
| May 26, 2021 | LUDELL | EFU | $0 |
| Aug 12, 2019 | BEARDSLEY | EFU | $0 |
| Apr 20, 2014 | ATWOOD | EF0 | $0 |
| Apr 24, 2007 | ATWOOD | EF1 | $26K |
| Apr 24, 2007 | ATWOOD | EF1 | $305K |
Other hazards here
More from Rawlins County
- Hail 480
- Thunderstorm Wind 273
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Tornado developed near Roads C, 19 and dissipated near Roads M, 22 in Rawlins county. This was a high end EF1 tornado producing significant damage to a home, removing the roof and destroying many outbuildings, grain bins and trees near Roads C, 19. Other farms were affected with outbuilding and irrigation system damage.
Slow moving, weak tornado produced intermittent damage as it traveled north across mostly open fields before moving near the town of Herndon. Several irrigation circles were damaged and numerous trees were down and stripped of bark.
Apparent tornado touched down briefly at a farmstead just north of the Thomas county-Rawlins county line. Debris was blown from east to west with the line of storms moving from the northwest. One outbuilding destroyed and the tin and wood debris was blown into a second outbuilding causing considerable damage…plus shifting the building one foot to the west. The resident's home received only minor damage. A pickup truck was damaged including a broken windshield from debris. A nail was driven into a wooden window frame, and several long, wooden sticks were partially driven into a dirt road.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Rawlins County, Kansas?
52 tornado events are recorded in Rawlins County between 1950 and 2024, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Rawlins County?
The strongest tornado on record in Rawlins County measured F3.
Where does the tornado data for Rawlins County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Tornado in Rawlins County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/rawlins-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.