662
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
43
Direct injuries
$44.7M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Butler County, Kansas: 662 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 87. That places the county #40 nationally and #2 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Butler County, Kansas: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Butler County is the 2010s, when 233 of the county's 662 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 Butler County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 35.9% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #40 for this hazard and #2 within Kansas, putting it in the 98.8 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Butler County with 198 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.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 5, 1987 | 0 | 0 | 25 | $0 | |
| Jul 21, 2009 | EL DORADO RES | 65 | 0 | 4 | $50K |
| Jun 20, 1990 | 80 | 0 | 4 | $0 | |
| Jul 2, 2024 | ANDOVER | 60 | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Aug 11, 2003 | EL DORADO RES | 70 | 0 | 2 | $150K |
| Jul 12, 2011 | ROSE HILL | 56 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Apr 8, 2008 | POTWIN | 87 | 0 | 1 | $600K |
| Jul 7, 1994 | Whitewater | 54 | 0 | 1 | $5K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 5, 2026 | EL DORADO | 56 | $0 |
| Sep 1, 2025 | DOUGLASS | 70 | $0 |
| Aug 19, 2025 | EL DORADO RES | 63 | $0 |
| Jul 30, 2025 | TOWANDA | 61 | $0 |
| Jul 6, 2025 | EL DORADO | 61 | $0 |
| Jul 6, 2025 | EL DORADO | 61 | $0 |
| Jul 6, 2025 | EL DORADO | 61 | $0 |
| Jul 6, 2025 | EL DORADO | 56 | $0 |
| Jul 6, 2025 | EL DORADO | 57 | $0 |
| Jul 6, 2025 | BENTON | 70 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Butler County
- Hail 888
- Tornado 90
- Flash Flood 86
- Heavy Rain 66
- Flood 48
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A large swatch of damaging winds moved across the area from Benton to Rosalia including the city of El Dorado with winds measured at 80 mph at the Jefferson elementary school in El Dorado. Numerous large trees were knocked down in Benton, with a mobile home trailer rolled over east of town. The Damaging winds destroyed the historic stone silo bearing the name of the town of Towanda. The damaging winds estimated at 70 to 80 mph moved into El Dorado damaging roofs to numerous businesses in downtown and knocking down numerous large trees. Two or three schools in El Dorado had their roofs partially peeled off. The refinery in El Dorado had some large storage tanks dented. The damaging winds continued to move east downing almost every one of the large transmission lines along US 54 highway from El Dorado to Rosalia.
El Dorado was also hit hard with thunderstorm winds greater than 80 miles an hour. Twenty homes on the west side of tow sustained superficial damage. The marina at El Dorado Lake was damaged. Total damage was estimated at $500,000.
Straight line winds caused extensive damage to a business. The business was a large span, morton type building with metal siding and roofs. Four large garage doors were blown in and the roof was partially removed. Cold storage lockers in the parking lot were thrown 20 to 40 feet. Some power lines were also knocked down. No injuries occurred, due to the plant employees being sent home earlier in the day due to a power ouutage.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Butler County, Kansas?
662 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Butler County between 1955 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Butler County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Butler County measured 87.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Butler 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
“Thunderstorm Wind in Butler County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/butler-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.