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Elk County, Kansas severe weather history spans 345 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 46.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,520 nationally and #101 in Kansas.
345
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
8
Direct injuries
$30.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Elk County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Elk County, Kansas severe weather history averages 4.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 145 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 37 events fall before 1990 and 308 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Elk County, Kansas record is tornado, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $27.0M 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 Elk County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 159 | 0 | $29K | 3 | 1960–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 88 | 0 | $408K | 70 | 1956–2025 |
| Tornado | 31 | 2 | $3.1M | F4 | 1956–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 26 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 24 | 0 | $27.0M | 0 | 2002–2024 |
| Flood | 12 | 0 | $600 | 0 | 2007–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2014 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 2001–2001 |
Decade by decade
Elk County, Kansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
31 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 30 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 |
| 1991-04-26 | EF3 | 1 | 2 | 14.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1958-11-17 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 8.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-04-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-04-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 20.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-06-03 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 22.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-11-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 17.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-06-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-04-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-04-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Elk County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1956 | Tornado | 1 | 6 | $2.5M | |
| Apr 27, 1991 | Tornado | 1 | 2 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Extremely heavy rainfall from the end of June into early July caused flash flooding throughout Elk County. The flooding damaged or destroyed around 400 houses. This led 12 to 42 million dollars in damage. An awesome 21.49 inches of rain fell during the month of June. Much of this fell during the last few days of the month.
High water flowed across Highway 160 in several locations from Elk Falls, through Moline to Grenola. Depths reached 3 feet in some locations, prompting the closure of Highway 160. A trained spotter measured 5.20 inches of rain in Moline from 1600 to 1948 CST.
Widespread 14 to 17 inch rainfall amounts occurred across Elk County from June 27th through July 1st, producing widespread, significant flooding. Please refer to this event in the July 2007 StormData publication for complete details.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
2,453
Population (ACS)
$69K
Median home value
20
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, AND WILDFIRES | DR |
| Jul 15, 2024 | 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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Howard 123
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Elk County, Kansas?
345 events are on record between 1956 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths and $30.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Elk County?
Hail, with 159 recorded events — 46.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Elk County?
31 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 30 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Elk County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Elk County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Elk County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Elk County as very low risk, placing it in the 15 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Elk 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
- Edwards County 579
- Ellis County 1,026
- Douglas County 894
- Ellsworth County 685
- Doniphan County 202
- Finney County 1,315
Cite this page
“Elk County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/elk-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.