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
Dickinson County, Kansas severe weather history spans 851 recorded events between 1950 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 54.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #245 nationally and #23 in Kansas.
851
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
18
Direct injuries
$55.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Dickinson County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Dickinson County, Kansas severe weather history averages 11.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 238 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 123 events fall before 1990 and 728 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Dickinson County, Kansas record is tornado, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $46.3M 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 Dickinson County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 463 | 0 | $1.3M | 4.5 | 1962–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 277 | 0 | $5.9M | 83 | 1956–2026 |
| Tornado | 44 | 1 | $46.3M | F3 | 1950–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 37 | 1 | $1.3M | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Lightning | 11 | 0 | $168K | 0 | 1997–2007 |
| Flood | 10 | 0 | $800K | 0 | 1996–2016 |
| Funnel Cloud | 7 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2002–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $100K | 0 | 2005–2006 |
Decade by decade
Dickinson County, Kansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
49 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 43 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-05-25 | EF4 | 0 | 8 | 25.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 2008-06-11 | EF3 | 1 | 3 | 15.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-04-30 | EF3 | 0 | 6 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1964-06-21 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 8.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-06-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1964-06-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-12-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1952-08-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1951-05-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1950-07-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Dickinson County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 12, 2008 | Tornado | ENTERPRISE | 1 | 3 | $20.2M |
| Jun 3, 2005 | Flash Flood | HOPE | 1 | 0 | $300K |
| May 1, 1972 | Tornado | 0 | 6 | $250K | |
| May 26, 2016 | Tornado | SOLOMON | 0 | 5 | $0 |
| Jun 30, 1957 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $3K | |
| Sep 8, 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | HOLLAND | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Six inches of fast flowing water over roads 6 miles south of Hope. One fatality occurred when a 37 year old man was swept away by rapidly flowing water after he exited his truck when the right front tire dropped off a low water bridge.
Extremely strong thunderstorm winds caused extensive tree damage, blew the roof off of an implement company and dropped it on several large tractors and combines, and blew an above ground pool full of water off of it's foundation.
Large hail driven by high winds caused widespread roof, window and vehicle damage in and around the area. At the three Chapman schools, nearly 100 windows and 10 skylights were knocked out. In addition, widespread roof damage occurred at the schools and other buildings around the town. School was cancelled for at least one day. Many county rural roads were under water and closed from heavy rains.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
18,445
Population (ACS)
$147K
Median home value
16
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Oct 22, 2013 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 26, 2013 | Snowstorm | SNOWSTORM | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Abilene 143
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Dickinson County, Kansas?
851 events are on record between 1950 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths and $55.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Dickinson County?
Hail, with 463 recorded events — 54.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Dickinson County?
49 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 43 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Dickinson County?
16 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Dickinson County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Dickinson County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Dickinson County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 49 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Dickinson 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
- Decatur County 614
- Doniphan County 202
- Crawford County 657
- Douglas County 894
- Cowley County 1,414
- Edwards County 579
Cite this page
“Dickinson County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/dickinson-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.