44
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
5
Direct injuries
$5.5M
Property damage
Tornado in Brown County, Kansas: 44 recorded events between 1950 and 2023. The strongest on record measured F3. That places the county #513 nationally and #55 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Brown County, Kansas: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Brown County is the 1960s, when 9 of the county's 44 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 Brown County archive, tornado makes up 9.6% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #513 for this hazard and #55 within Kansas, putting it in the 82.4 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for tornado in Brown 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967-06-11 | EF3 | 43.9 mi | 10 yd | Crossed in |
| 1959-05-18 | EF3 | 0.5 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1950-05-05 | EF3 | 17.3 mi | 440 yd | Crossed in |
| 2023-05-12 | EF2 | 1.5 mi | 500 yd | Touched down here |
| 2005-06-04 | EF2 | 3.0 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1998-06-13 | EF2 | 1.0 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1993-05-06 | EF2 | 8.0 mi | 300 yd | Touched down here |
| 1984-06-07 | EF2 | 18.0 mi | 300 yd | Touched down here |
| 1974-03-07 | EF2 | 108.4 mi | 220 yd | Crossed in |
| 1973-04-19 | EF2 | 0.2 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 7, 1984 | F2 | 0 | 5 | $2.5M |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 13, 2023 | RESERVE | EF0 | $0 |
| May 13, 2023 | HAMLIN | EF2 | $0 |
| Oct 8, 2018 | HAMLIN | EF0 | $0 |
| May 16, 2015 | ROBINSON | EF0 | $0 |
| Jun 4, 2014 | WILLIS | EF1 | $0 |
| Jun 6, 2008 | SYCAMORE SPGS | EF0 | $0 |
| Aug 24, 2007 | EVEREST | EF0 | $0 |
| Apr 15, 2006 | ROBINSON | F0 | $25K |
| Apr 15, 2006 | WILLIS | F1 | $150K |
| Apr 15, 2006 | HORTON | F0 | $100K |
Other hazards here
More from Brown County
- Hail 205
- Thunderstorm Wind 168
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The tornado began near Highway 75 about eight miles south of Fairview and moved northnortheast damaging about half dozen farmsteads before dissipating southeast of Fairview. The tornado was not on the ground continuously along its path. Debris from the tornado was reported in the sky west of Hiawatha.
Three farmsteads or businesses sustained damage with a total of 15 buildings damaged or destroyed. Several cars were rolled and a combine was moved a considerable distance. A salvage yard was near one of the houses damaged by the tornado. A hubcap from the salvage yard had become airborne and was impaled in the sheet rock in the living room of the house.
This F1 tornado crossed into Brown County from Nemaha County about 2.5 miles west-southwest of Fairview, where it damaged one farmstead. The path width was estimated to be 100 yards with the tornado being on the ground in Brown County for less than 1 mile. The damage in Brown County was estimated at $150,000. The tornado formed in a bow echo that produced an otherwise wide swath of wind damage.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Brown County, Kansas?
44 tornado events are recorded in Brown County between 1950 and 2023, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Brown County?
The strongest tornado on record in Brown County measured F3.
Where does the tornado data for Brown 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 Brown County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/brown-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.