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Johnson County, Kansas severe weather history spans 1,380 recorded events between 1952 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 47.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #50 nationally and #8 in Kansas.
1,380
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
30
Direct injuries
$21.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Johnson County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Johnson County, Kansas severe weather history averages 18.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 380 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 258 events fall before 1990 and 1,122 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Johnson County, Kansas record is flash flood, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $9.0M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Johnson County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 657 | 0 | $1.9M | 4.5 | 1959–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 567 | 1 | $2.6M | 85 | 1955–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 84 | 3 | $9.0M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 45 | 0 | $7.5M | F4 | 1952–2024 |
| Flood | 15 | 0 | $75K | 0 | 1996–2017 |
| Heavy Rain | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2024 |
| Lightning | 5 | 0 | $650K | 0 | 2000–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2011 |
Decade by decade
Johnson County, Kansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
47 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 39 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 | EF5 | 44 | 207 | 69.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1952-05-22 | EF4 | 0 | 3 | 26.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1977-05-04 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 31.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1966-04-19 | EF3 | 0 | 4 | 7.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-05-31 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 6.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1977-05-04 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-04-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-07-09 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 7.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1954-05-31 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-05-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.6 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Johnson County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 5, 1998 | Flash Flood | OVERLAND PARK | 2 | 0 | $8.0M |
| Aug 31, 2003 | Flash Flood | OVERLAND PARK | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 26, 1991 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 0 | $0 | |
| Sep 22, 1993 | Hail | Shawnee | 0 | 12 | $50K |
| Jun 8, 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Spring Hill | 0 | 4 | $0 |
| Apr 19, 1966 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $2.5M | |
| May 17, 1995 | Tornado | Edgerton to | 0 | 2 | $10K |
| Jul 9, 1969 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
On the evening of March 6, a squall line with damaging winds moved through the Johnson County Executive Airport, and produced significant damage to hangars and aircraft enclosed in the hangars. Several planes were flipped after the building shredded apart by the strong straight line winds. NWS survey inspected the site and due to damage being spread in a unidirectional fashion the cause of the damage was deemed to be straight line winds ranging between 80 and 90 mph.
Several homes were flooded in Olathe and Mission Hills, and fire and rescue units responded to 74 emergency calls during the morning of June 28. Unofficial reports were received of 4 inches of rain in an hour, and a storm total of 7.8 inches was received at 131st and Kenneth Road. Near Stanley, flood waters from the Blue River were over the 151st Street bridge. Sections of Interstate 35 were closed due to high water.
Severe thunderstorms produced hail up to the size of baseballs and 60 knot winds throughout parts of western and southern Johnson County. Hail broke numerous windows and heavily damaged roofs and automobiles. Damage was also reported in Clare.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
620,631
Population (ACS)
$391K
Median home value
12
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 26, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Mar 29, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Nov 7, 2017 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Dec 12, 2007 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | EM |
| Sep 10, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Olathe 152
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Johnson County, Kansas?
1,380 events are on record between 1952 and 2026, causing 4 direct deaths and $21.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Johnson County?
Hail, with 657 recorded events — 47.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Johnson County?
47 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 39 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Johnson County?
12 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Johnson County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Johnson County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Johnson County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 95 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Johnson 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
- Jewell County 565
- Kearny County 703
- Jefferson County 853
- Kingman County 766
- Jackson County 456
- Kiowa County 627
Cite this page
“Johnson County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/johnson-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.