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Anderson County, Kansas severe weather history spans 407 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 43.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,225 nationally and #99 in Kansas.
407
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
13
Direct injuries
$7.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Anderson County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Anderson County, Kansas severe weather history averages 5.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 142 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 42 events fall before 1990 and 365 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Anderson County, Kansas record is tornado, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $4.4M 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 Anderson County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 175 | 0 | $0 | 3 | 1956–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 139 | 0 | $169K | 78 | 1957–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 62 | 0 | $1.1M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 15 | 3 | $4.4M | F4 | 1954–2010 |
| Flood | 10 | 0 | $1.7M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 3 | 0 | $100K | 0 | 2003–2005 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2008 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 2006–2006 |
Decade by decade
Anderson County, Kansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
15 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 14 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964-04-12 | EF4 | 3 | 9 | 19.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-07-20 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 69.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2003-05-08 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 15.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1981-05-23 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-04-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-04-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1955-05-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 27.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2007-02-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 9.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1982-11-11 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-05-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Anderson County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 12, 1964 | Tornado | 3 | 9 | $250K | |
| May 9, 2003 | Tornado | COLONY | 0 | 3 | $1.1M |
| Apr 29, 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | GREELY | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A tornado formed 5 miles southeast of Colony and traveled a 15 mile path northeast before entering Linn county and dissipating. While in Anderson county the tornado injured 3 people, destroyed 7 homes and seriously damaged 2 others.
With persistent heavy rain and thunderstorms, Pottawatomie Creek reaches moderate flooding and continues to rise to record levels. Heavy rains continue intermittently for the rest of the month with widespread flooding developing. Flooding becomes more prevalent around Garnett and Colony by sunrise on the 30th with major streets and highways becoming impassable. By that evening…water rescues and emergency airlifts are being performed and all roads are closed going into Anderson County. Flooding continues into July.
Widespread flooding continues into early July. Numerous roads are still under water from heavy rain in late June. A state report said eight houses in the county received minor damage and another nine were affected by the flooding.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
7,834
Population (ACS)
$171K
Median home value
18
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 15, 2024 | 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 |
| Jun 20, 2019 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, FLOODING,LANDSLIDES,AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| May 28, 2019 | Severe Storm | TORNADOES AND FLOODING | EM |
| Feb 25, 2019 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Garnett 138
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Anderson County, Kansas?
407 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 3 direct deaths and $7.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Anderson County?
Hail, with 175 recorded events — 43.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Anderson County?
15 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 14 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Anderson County?
18 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Anderson County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Anderson County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Anderson County as very low risk, placing it in the 18 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Anderson 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
- Allen County 438
- Atchison County 270
- Barber County 742
- Barton County 1,099
- Bourbon County 446
- Brown County 460
Cite this page
“Anderson County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/anderson-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.