Ford County, Kansas severe weather history spans 1,772 recorded events between 1951 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 55.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #21 nationally and #3 in Kansas.
1,772
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
13
Direct injuries
$27.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Ford County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Ford County, Kansas severe weather history averages 23.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 620 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 159 events fall before 1990 and 1,613 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is hail, with $14.4M 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 Ford County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 980 | 0 | $14.4M | 5 | 1955–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 529 | 0 | $7.3M | 104 | 1955–2025 |
| Tornado | 115 | 0 | $3.4M | F4 | 1951–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 82 | 0 | $1K | 0 | 2003–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 41 | 0 | $2.1M | 275 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 17 | 0 | $40K | 0 | 1997–2018 |
| Funnel Cloud | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2013–2017 |
| Strong Wind | 2 | 0 | $0 | 52 | 1998–1998 |
Decade by decade
Ford County, Kansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
115 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 104 touched down inside it and 11 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955-06-04 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 72.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-05-17 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 29.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2016-05-24 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 14.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-05-24 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 1.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-05-23 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 20.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 2002-05-07 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-09-25 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 8.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-05-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 14.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-05-24 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 16.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-05-24 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Ford County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 8, 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | DODGE CITY | 0 | 6 | $0 |
| Aug 14, 2018 | Flood | HOWELL | 0 | 1 | $5K |
| May 24, 2016 | Tornado | DODGE CITY | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| May 24, 2016 | Tornado | BLOOM | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 9, 2009 | Hail | WILROADS GARDENS | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 26, 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | SPEARVILLE | 0 | 1 | $120K |
| May 29, 1997 | Flood | DODGE CITY | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Aug 27, 1989 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The tornado moved out of Clark County at 1952 LST. One farm that received EF3 damage was unoccupied at the time as the residents left their safe spot (basement) and drove 1 1/2 miles east. They left the basement, that did not have any debris in it, on the advice of a storm chaser that was following the tornado. They (Grandparents and three grand children) were very fortunate that they were not injured, if not worse.
The second tornado to form started 6.3 miles northwest of Fowler at 1011 PM and traveled a total of 17 miles dissipating at 1040 PM 7 miles southwest of the Dodge City Post Office. It did EF1 damage to five pivot irrigation sprinklers, trees and some outbuildings…in addition to moving a 3000 gallon tank about 1/2 of a mile.
A second downburst was recorded by radar and verified by ground survey south of Dodge City and south of another damage area. In this area, three pivot irrigation sprinklers were overturned, several power poles were broken and a 1/4 mile stretch of cedar trees were uprooted. The damage area was about 3/4 mile wide and 2 1/2 miles long.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
34,074
Population (ACS)
$151K
Median home value
16
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 28, 2024 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
| Oct 26, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| May 25, 2022 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | 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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Dodge City 626
- Bloom 141
- Bucklin 125
- Howell 103
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Ford County, Kansas?
1,772 events are on record between 1951 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $27.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Ford County?
Hail, with 980 recorded events — 55.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Ford County?
115 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 104 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Ford County?
16 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Ford County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Ford County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Ford County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 52 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Ford 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
- Finney County 1,315
- Franklin County 588
- Ellsworth County 685
- Geary County 482
- Ellis County 1,026
- Gove County 754
Cite this page
“Ford County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/ford-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.