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Coffey County, Kansas severe weather history spans 504 recorded events between 1950 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 48.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #861 nationally and #83 in Kansas.
504
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
26
Direct injuries
$6.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Coffey County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Coffey County, Kansas severe weather history averages 6.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 161 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 76 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 Coffey County, Kansas record is lightning, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $3.2M 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 Coffey County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 242 | 0 | $1.0M | 4.5 | 1956–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 184 | 0 | $294K | 81 | 1959–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 33 | 0 | $1.5M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 26 | 0 | $3.2M | F4 | 1950–2024 |
| Lightning | 7 | 2 | $163K | 0 | 1996–2012 |
| Flood | 6 | 0 | $440K | 0 | 2007–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2009 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 2003–2007 |
Decade by decade
Coffey County, Kansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
25 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 24 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956-04-02 | EF4 | 2 | 29 | 108.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1973-11-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1964-05-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1955-09-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-04-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-10-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-05-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1958-07-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-07-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1951-06-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Coffey County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 8, 2012 | Lightning | WAVERLY | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 10, 2011 | Lightning | BURLINGTON ARPT | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 1, 1986 | Hail | 0 | 18 | $0 | |
| Apr 3, 1956 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $25K | |
| Aug 7, 1984 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 3 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A Kansas man died after being struck by a bolt of lightning. It happened just after 8:15 p.m. Saturday in Coffey County near Waverly.||Coffey County officials say Ronald Nicholas, 68, was outside in his front yard when he was hit. He was hosting a family gathering to celebrate the Fourth of July when the accident happened.||Officials say the storm was not directly over Nicholas' home. He was killed by a stray bolt of lightning from a nearby storm.
The Emporia Gazette reported that Patty Gilliam, a Spanish teacher from Emporia High School died on Wednesday, September 14, 2011 from injuries sustained from a lightning strike that occurred on Saturday September 10, 2011. She was riding her bicycle across John Redmond Dam when she was struck by lightning which was produced from passing thunderstorms. She was listed as 48 years old.
With heavy rain and thunderstorms, the Neosho River reaches a moderate flood stage and continues to flood with intermittent heavy rains continuing through the end of the month. By the morning of the 30th, some major highways are flooded. By the evening of the 30th, Leroy is landlocked by flooded roads. Flooding continues into July.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
8,308
Population (ACS)
$157K
Median home value
19
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 11, 2025 | 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 |
| Jul 20, 2015 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Burlington 128
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Coffey County, Kansas?
504 events are on record between 1950 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths and $6.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Coffey County?
Hail, with 242 recorded events — 48.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Coffey County?
25 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 24 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Coffey County?
19 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Coffey County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Coffey County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Coffey County as very low risk, placing it in the 35 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Coffey 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
- Cloud County 754
- Comanche County 623
- Clay County 525
- Cowley County 1,414
- Clark County 691
- Crawford County 657
Cite this page
“Coffey County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/coffey-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.