Finney County, Kansas severe weather history spans 1,315 recorded events between 1950 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 47.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #60 nationally and #9 in Kansas.
1,315
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
44
Direct injuries
$99.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Finney County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Finney County, Kansas severe weather history averages 17.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 401 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 184 events fall before 1990 and 1,131 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Finney County, Kansas record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is hail, with $63.1M 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 Finney County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 625 | 0 | $63.1M | 5.5 | 1955–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 544 | 1 | $4.7M | 96 | 1958–2025 |
| Tornado | 99 | 1 | $31.5M | F3 | 1950–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 27 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 11 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Flood | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2021 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $83K | 0 | 1997–1999 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2016–2018 |
Decade by decade
Finney County, Kansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
100 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 95 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967-06-23 | EF3 | 1 | 30 | 35.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1995-05-16 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-06-16 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 34.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1951-05-20 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 12.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2009-04-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-05-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 31.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-05-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 117.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1973-06-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-10-17 | EF2 | 0 | 7 | 5.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-05-07 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Finney County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 24, 1967 | Tornado | 1 | 30 | $25.0M | |
| Aug 20, 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | GARDEN CITY | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Oct 18, 1971 | Tornado | 0 | 7 | $25K | |
| Apr 30, 2009 | Tornado | PLYMELL | 0 | 1 | $1.3M |
| Apr 30, 2009 | Tornado | PLYMELL | 0 | 1 | $240K |
| Apr 17, 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | TENNIS | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Mar 15, 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | GARDEN CITY | 0 | 1 | $5K |
| Jun 23, 1999 | Lightning | GARDEN CITY | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A downburst rolled two trailer homes, demolishing them both. An occupant in one of the trailers did not survive. Also, there were other trailers in the area that had broken windows or siding torn off. A fence was also blown down.
Widespread golfball to softball size hail produced a tremendous amount of damage but miraculously there were no injuries. Almost every house in Garden City sustained damage and all vehicles left in the elements received hail dents or broken windows. Several stories of hail bouncing through rooms were received. The severity of the storm was also unique in that it occurred well after midnight.
This tornado started out moving southeast but then curved back to the southwest towards the end of it's life. It unfortunately went through a cattle dairy and killed over 200 head as a tremendous amount of tin churned through the air. There was one male that received injury when a door blew in. There were 8 pivot irrigation sprinklers damaged or destroyed, along with power poles, trees, roof and window damage.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
38,084
Population (ACS)
$201K
Median home value
11
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 24, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Oct 26, 2023 | 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 16, 2017 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jun 25, 2009 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Garden City 432
- Kalvesta 120
- Holcomb 108
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Finney County, Kansas?
1,315 events are on record between 1950 and 2025, causing 2 direct deaths and $99.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Finney County?
Hail, with 625 recorded events — 47.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Finney County?
100 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 95 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Finney County?
11 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Finney County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Finney County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Finney County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 64 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Finney 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
- Ellsworth County 685
- Ford County 1,772
- Ellis County 1,026
- Franklin County 588
- Elk County 345
- Geary County 482
Cite this page
“Finney County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/finney-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.