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Butler County, Kansas severe weather history spans 1,844 recorded events between 1950 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 48.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #20 nationally and #2 in Kansas.
1,844
Recorded events
30
Direct deaths
217
Direct injuries
$357.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Butler County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Butler County, Kansas severe weather history averages 24.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 611 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 167 events fall before 1990 and 1,677 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Butler County, Kansas record is tornado, responsible for 28 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $291.3M 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 Butler County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 888 | 0 | $16.7M | 6 | 1956–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 662 | 0 | $44.7M | 87 | 1955–2026 |
| Tornado | 90 | 28 | $291.3M | F5 | 1950–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 86 | 1 | $4.2M | 0 | 1999–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 66 | 0 | $20K | 0 | 2008–2024 |
| Flood | 48 | 1 | $121K | 0 | 2007–2025 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $150K | 0 | 2000–2023 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2006 |
Decade by decade
Butler County, Kansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
94 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 85 touched down inside it and 9 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991-04-26 | EF5 | 17 | 225 | 46.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1958-06-10 | EF4 | 15 | 5 | 9.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-04-29 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 12.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1980-10-15 | EF3 | 0 | 4 | 13.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1991-04-26 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 21.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1987-07-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-05-30 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 25.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1965-09-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 43.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1963-05-25 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-11-27 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 23.2 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Butler County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 10, 1958 | Tornado | 15 | 5 | $2.5M | |
| Apr 26, 1991 | Tornado | 13 | 150 | $250.0M | |
| Aug 20, 2016 | Flash Flood | ROSE HILL | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Mar 10, 2009 | Flood | EL DORADO | 1 | 0 | $10K |
| Jul 5, 1987 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 25 | $0 | |
| Jul 21, 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | EL DORADO RES | 0 | 4 | $50K |
| Apr 27, 1991 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $250K | |
| Jun 20, 1990 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 4 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Heavy rainfall caused ponding of water on North Main Street in El Dorado. This ponding of water caused a car to slide off the road into a rain swollen culvert. The heavy runoff carried the car 65 feet into a six by six culvert, where the driver became trapped and eventually drowned as water filled the car.
Water was flowing across many area roads. Several swift water rescues were performed. In a couple of cases, the vehicles were swept of off the roadway. Four individuals were in those vehicles and two were found and rescued. One other individual had been swept downstream and appeared to rescuers as he walked out of a soybean field. Unfortunately, one person was not found until later and had perished.
A highly visible tornado tracked across portions of Andover, Kansas, during the early evening hours of April 29th, 2022. The tornado went through a highly populated portion of town, including 2 different subdivisions. Also a health club took a direct hit, but no injuries occurred due to actions taken by the health club. Only 1 direct injury occurred from the tornado, with 3 indirect injuries occurred during search and rescue operations. Total damaged house or destroyed structures in Andover and rural Butler County were 205. Of the damaged properties, approximately 180 were residences and the rest were businesses or city buildings. Damage estimates were around $37 million.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
68,287
Population (ACS)
$218K
Median home value
28
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 11, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 28, 2024 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | 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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- El Dorado 313
- Augusta 227
- Rose Hill 178
- Andover 173
- Douglass 124
- El Dorado Res 124
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Butler County, Kansas?
1,844 events are on record between 1950 and 2026, causing 30 direct deaths and $357.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Butler County?
Hail, with 888 recorded events — 48.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Butler County?
94 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 85 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Butler County?
28 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Butler County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Butler County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Butler County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 74 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Butler 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
- Brown County 460
- Chase County 380
- Bourbon County 446
- Chautauqua County 475
- Barton County 1,099
- Cherokee County 743
Cite this page
“Butler County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/butler-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.