238
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
12
Direct injuries
$5.3M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Franklin County, Kansas: 238 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 87. That places the county #755 nationally and #38 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Franklin County, Kansas: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Franklin County is the 2000s, when 72 of the county's 238 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Franklin County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 40.5% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #755 for this hazard and #38 within Kansas, putting it in the 75.9 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Franklin County with 72 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 19, 1987 | 0 | 0 | 10 | $0 | |
| Jun 28, 1999 | OTTAWA | 61 | 0 | 1 | $70K |
| Oct 5, 1990 | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 17, 2026 | OTTAWA | 56 | $0 |
| Apr 17, 2026 | OTTAWA MUNI ARPT | 51 | $0 |
| Apr 17, 2026 | HOMEWOOD | 52 | $0 |
| Apr 17, 2026 | WILLIAMSBURG | 57 | $0 |
| Jul 17, 2025 | OTTAWA | 52 | $0 |
| Jun 3, 2025 | WELLSVILLE | 61 | $0 |
| Jul 13, 2024 | OTTAWA MUNI ARPT | 50 | $0 |
| Jun 29, 2024 | RICHMOND | 52 | $0 |
| Jun 29, 2024 | SILKVILLE | 61 | $0 |
| Jun 8, 2024 | RICHTER | 70 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Franklin County
- Hail 250
- Flash Flood 46
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The Ottawa Herald narrated three thunderstorm wind damage reports along the path of this cell through the city of Ottawa. The first story, at the beginning of the damage path, lightning struck a tree which was then blown onto a vehicle sitting in a driveway with two passengers inside. The tree also took down powerlines. A tree was also blown down at another residence, which crushed the resident's gas line. A third story noted that a ten inch diameter tree fell on and crushed the hood of a car.
Spotter reported that a corner of his roof had been torn off. Twelve to fifteen trees up to fifteen inches in diameter were reported to have been uprooted. Power poles were snapped and lying along Highway 59. The spotter's neighbor had a 24 inch diameter tree uprooted.
Wind damage was reported across northwestern portions of the county. The roof was blown off of a home at the intersection of Florida Road and Woodson Road. A barn roof was reported to have been blown off by strong winds near the intersection of Stafford Road and Florida Road. A tree fell onto a house on Labette Road to the west of Oattawa. Power outages were reported across the western part of the county.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Franklin County, Kansas?
238 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Franklin County between 1956 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Franklin County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Franklin County measured 87.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Franklin County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Thunderstorm Wind in Franklin County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/franklin-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.