Kearny County, Kansas severe weather history spans 703 recorded events between 1951 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 62.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #398 nationally and #43 in Kansas.
703
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$5.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Kearny County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Kearny County, Kansas severe weather history averages 9.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 253 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 43 events fall before 1990 and 660 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $4.2M 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 Kearny County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 439 | 0 | $570K | 4.25 | 1956–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 177 | 0 | $4.2M | 88 | 1966–2025 |
| Tornado | 45 | 0 | $758K | F3 | 1951–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 27 | 0 | $0 | 450 | 2004–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 10 | 0 | $100K | 0 | 1997–2023 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $1K | 0 | 2007–2009 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2016 |
Decade by decade
Kearny 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: 44 touched down inside it and 3 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967-06-23 | EF3 | 1 | 30 | 35.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1951-05-20 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 12.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-05-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 117.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1954-06-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1951-05-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-05-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-05-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-04-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 9.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-06-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 2001-04-10 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Kearny County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 22, 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | LAKIN | 0 | 2 | $3.5M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Thunderstorm winds were estimated to be from 90 to 100 mph. A mobile home was destroyed and another was heavily damaged. Two occupants of the destroyed trailer were injured, on seriously. There were also 16 pivot irrigation sprinklers overturned in a 4 mile radius of this location. In addition, 20 power poles were snapped and a large grain bin was destroyed. Large hay bales were blown around and all windows in the machinery and vehicles were blown out.
Widespread stratiform rain fell producing 5 to 10 inches. Flooding washed out a bridge on highway 25 between Lakin and Leoti. A watershed lake filled up to capacity…one that had not had water in it for over 30 years. Rainfall of 2 to 5 inches was widespread across the entire county and other parts of southwest and west central Kansas.
High winds and hail of unknown size broke house windows and beat to a pulp fifth wheel travel trailer. Also the wheat crop was completely thrashed. Four inch diameter tree branches were brought down and an pivot irrigation sprinkler was overturned.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
3,864
Population (ACS)
$201K
Median home value
11
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 24, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Oct 26, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| 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 16, 2017 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Lakin 337
- Deerfield 146
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Kearny County, Kansas?
703 events are on record between 1951 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $5.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Kearny County?
Hail, with 439 recorded events — 62.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Kearny County?
47 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 44 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Kearny County?
11 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Kearny County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Kearny County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Kearny County as very low risk, placing it in the 8 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Kearny 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
- Johnson County 1,380
- Kingman County 766
- Jewell County 565
- Kiowa County 627
- Jefferson County 853
- Labette County 604
Cite this page
“Kearny County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/kearny-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.