Live
Active alerts for this county
Heat Advisory
Republic; Washington; Marshall; Nemaha; Brown; Cloud; Clay; Riley; Pottawatomie; Jackson; Jefferson; Ottawa; Dickinson; Geary; Morris; Wabaunsee; Shawnee; Douglas; Lyon; Osage; Franklin; Coffey; Anderson
Clay County, Kansas severe weather history spans 525 recorded events between 1951 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 53.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #795 nationally and #80 in Kansas.
525
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
31
Direct injuries
$56.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Clay County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Clay County, Kansas severe weather history averages 7.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 139 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 97 events fall before 1990 and 428 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Clay County, Kansas record is tornado, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $53.6M 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 Clay County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 280 | 0 | $133K | 4 | 1961–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 164 | 0 | $541K | 76 | 1955–2026 |
| Tornado | 44 | 1 | $53.6M | F3 | 1951–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 31 | 0 | $1.8M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2011 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $15K | 0 | 1997–1997 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2025–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–1998 |
Decade by decade
Clay County, Kansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
45 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 39 touched down inside it and 6 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973-09-25 | EF3 | 3 | 42 | 169.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1951-05-25 | EF3 | 1 | 0 | 4.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-09-25 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 69.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1979-10-18 | EF2 | 0 | 11 | 71.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1973-09-25 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-09-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-06-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1964-04-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-05-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-05-04 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.8 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Clay County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 25, 1951 | Tornado | 1 | 0 | $250K | |
| Sep 25, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 20 | $25.0M | |
| Oct 18, 1979 | Tornado | 0 | 11 | $2.5M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
East of Industry near the Clay/Dickinson county line…flood water 6 inches deep washing out Indian HIll road in Clay County. Several locations where up to 6 inches of water flowing over roads near the Dickinson County line.
This tornado formed from a supercell thunderstorm 2 miles west of Clay Center at 3:40pm cst and travelled 9 miles before lifting 2 miles south-southwest of Garfield Center at 3:52pm cst. The tornado was up to 1/2 mile wide at times and damaged numerous outbuildings, trees, roofs, and irrigation pivots along its path. It was rated as a strong F1 tornado.
This tornado formed 5 miles northeast of Longford at 3:14pm cst and travelled 4 miles before lifting 9 miles northeast of Longford at 3:19pm cst. It was an F0 tornado with a path width of 100 yards that caused damage to 3 outbuildings and downed a large tree. It formed from a supercell thunderstorm. The tornado was reported as being on the ground briefly at the same time as the tornado 4 miles east-northeast of Longford by a storm chaser.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
8,048
Population (ACS)
$156K
Median home value
17
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 20, 2019 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, FLOODING,LANDSLIDES,AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Oct 19, 2018 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 20, 2015 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Clay Center 134
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Clay County, Kansas?
525 events are on record between 1951 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $56.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Clay County?
Hail, with 280 recorded events — 53.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Clay County?
45 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 39 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Clay County?
17 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Clay County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Clay County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Clay County as very low risk, placing it in the 16 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Clay 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
- Clark County 691
- Cloud County 754
- Cheyenne County 873
- Coffey County 504
- Cherokee County 743
- Comanche County 623
Cite this page
“Clay County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/clay-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.