Ellsworth County, Kansas severe weather history spans 685 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 54.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #421 nationally and #47 in Kansas.
685
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$13.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Ellsworth County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Ellsworth County, Kansas severe weather history averages 9.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 220 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 97 events fall before 1990 and 588 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $5.9M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Ellsworth County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 376 | 0 | $917K | 4.25 | 1956–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 207 | 0 | $1.8M | 85 | 1955–2025 |
| Tornado | 50 | 0 | $5.9M | F3 | 1954–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 19 | 0 | $4.9M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 19 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 2008–2023 |
| Flood | 14 | 0 | $500 | 0 | 2007–2024 |
Decade by decade
Ellsworth County, Kansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
53 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 45 touched down inside it and 8 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-04-14 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 50.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1990-05-24 | EF3 | 0 | 6 | 26.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1964-04-22 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 59.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1956-04-02 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 5.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1956-04-02 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 20.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1972-04-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-04-25 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-04-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 7.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-06-11 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2007-05-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.5 mi | Crossed in |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Numerous, slow-moving thunderstorms produced widespread 4 to 7 inch rainfall amounts across primarily the southeastern three-quarters of Ellsworth County from the late afternoon hours on May 23rd, to the early morning hours on May 24th. This caused widespread countywide flash flooding. Several rural and city roads were closed due to high water, and several roads countywide were damaged. Numerous homes and businesses received various magnitudes of flood damage. Some evacuations were needed along area rivers and streams, as well as along portions of Kanopolis Reservoir. Thankfully there were no injuries. Combined public and private damages were likely around $4-5 million.
Major roof damage, with some roofs completely blown off homes. Windows blown out off both homes and vehicles. In cases where roofs were blown off homes, the resultant water damage from rains was extensive. Area newspapers contributed greatly to this report.
Low water crossings were closed around Wilson due to high water. Widespread flooding was reported across the county. 2.55 inches of rain was reported by the Ellsworth police in just a few hours. No damage was reported to any structures.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
6,360
Population (ACS)
$115K
Median home value
19
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 20, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| 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 |
| Mar 6, 2017 | Fire | ELLSWORTH-LINCOLN-RUSSELL FIRE COMPLEX | FM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Ellsworth 252
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Ellsworth County, Kansas?
685 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $13.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Ellsworth County?
Hail, with 376 recorded events — 54.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Ellsworth County?
53 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 45 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Ellsworth County?
19 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Ellsworth County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Ellsworth County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Ellsworth County as very low risk, placing it in the 15 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Ellsworth 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
- Ellis County 1,026
- Finney County 1,315
- Elk County 345
- Ford County 1,772
- Edwards County 579
- Franklin County 588
Cite this page
“Ellsworth County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/ellsworth-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.