Decatur County, Kansas severe weather history spans 614 recorded events between 1952 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 58.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #551 nationally and #64 in Kansas.
614
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
7
Direct injuries
$9.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Decatur County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Decatur County, Kansas severe weather history averages 8.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 179 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 65 events fall before 1990 and 549 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $8.3M 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 Decatur County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 357 | 0 | $89K | 4.5 | 1958–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 188 | 0 | $894K | 91 | 1955–2025 |
| Tornado | 46 | 0 | $8.3M | F3 | 1952–2022 |
| Flash Flood | 12 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2019 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 1996–2022 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2001 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2016–2023 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 200 | 2005–2005 |
| Dust Storm | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2022–2022 |
Decade by decade
Decatur County, Kansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
53 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 47 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970-06-14 | EF3 | 0 | 5 | 17.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1965-05-04 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 5.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 2015-05-09 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 18.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1983-06-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 15.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-09-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-04-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2015-05-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 11.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-05-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 12.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-05-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 34.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-05-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 17.6 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Decatur County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 14, 1970 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $2.5M | |
| May 30, 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | CEDAR BLUFFS | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Aug 18, 1997 | Lightning | DRESDEN | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
An intense supercell thunderstorm produced this long track tornado which traveled 34 miles from extreme southern Decatur county into Red Willow county Nebraska. Dozens of utility poles were snapped and numerous outbuildings were destroyed.
The same supercell thunderstorm which produced the tornado across SW-C Decatur county developed a second tornado about 3 miles SW of Oberlin. This tornado moved north and and dissipated one mile SE of Cedar Falls, traveling along the west side of highway 83. This tornado remained mostly over open fields, but destroyed a number of irrigation pivots and damaged. The rear flank downdraft caused damage in several locations on highway 83, including grain bins at a feed lot and outbuildings at a farmstead.
Wind blew out windows, uprooted trees, knocked down signs and antennas. At least 4 roofs were blown off; a storage building and a mobile home was destroyed. A leg on a grain elevator was bent. At Leoville, spotter estimated 60 mph winds.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
2,726
Population (ACS)
$90K
Median home value
11
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 29, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jun 16, 2017 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Aug 10, 2010 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| Mar 9, 2010 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
| Jul 9, 2008 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING AND TORNADOES | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Oberlin 215
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Decatur County, Kansas?
614 events are on record between 1952 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $9.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Decatur County?
Hail, with 357 recorded events — 58.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Decatur County?
53 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 47 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Decatur County?
11 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Decatur County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Decatur County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Decatur County as very low risk, placing it in the 11 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Decatur 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
- Crawford County 657
- Dickinson County 851
- Cowley County 1,414
- Doniphan County 202
- Comanche County 623
- Douglas County 894
Cite this page
“Decatur County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/decatur-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.