Live
Active alerts for this county
Heat Advisory
Republic; Washington; Marshall; Nemaha; Brown; Cloud; Clay; Riley; Pottawatomie; Jackson; Jefferson; Ottawa; Dickinson; Geary; Morris; Wabaunsee; Shawnee; Douglas; Lyon; Osage; Franklin; Coffey; Anderson
Geary County, Kansas severe weather history spans 482 recorded events between 1951 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 43.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #940 nationally and #86 in Kansas.
482
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
16
Direct injuries
$5.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Geary County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Geary County, Kansas severe weather history averages 6.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 130 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 69 events fall before 1990 and 413 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $3.3M 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 Geary County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 211 | 0 | $108K | 82 | 1956–2025 |
| Hail | 207 | 0 | $271K | 3 | 1955–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 32 | 0 | $1.6M | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Tornado | 20 | 0 | $3.3M | F2 | 1951–2019 |
| Lightning | 9 | 0 | $96K | 0 | 1996–2005 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2022–2022 |
| Flood | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2014–2014 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 2005–2005 |
Decade by decade
Geary County, Kansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
22 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 16 touched down inside it and 6 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-06-11 | EF3 | 1 | 3 | 15.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1966-06-08 | EF3 | 0 | 50 | 13.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-03-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 55.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1954-04-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-11-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 20.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2005-11-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-09-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 12.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1997-07-13 | EF1 | 0 | 3 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1986-05-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 15.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1957-06-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Geary County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 20, 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | MILFORD | 0 | 5 | $0 |
| Jul 2, 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Milford Lake | 0 | 4 | $5K |
| Jul 14, 1997 | Tornado | JUNCTION CITY | 0 | 3 | $200K |
| May 19, 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | MILFORD | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jun 29, 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | (FRI)MARSHALL AAF FT | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| May 17, 1995 | Hail | Junction 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
The tornado mentioned above entered Geary county at 4:34 pm 5 miles southsouthwest of Milford and moved northeast across Lake Milford before dissipating 3 miles east of the town of Milford. A powerline substation was destroyed along with a 5,100 square foot maintenance facility near Lake Milford. A farmstead along the path of the tornado suffered considerable damage.
This tornado touched down on Fort Riley Army Base approximately 3 miles northeast of Junction City and moved north for one mile before crossing into Riley county approximately 4 miles northeast of Junction City. It produced F1 damage to trees and headstones in the Fort Riley cemetery area. The Fort was without power for several hours. The parent thunderstorm was a mini-supercell.
High winds estimated well over 65 mph caused widespread damage to Junction City and most of the county. Numerous downed trees, tree limbs and power lines occurred. At one time, an estimated 15,000 people were without power in Geary and Riley Counties. Significant damage was also reported at Ft. Riley Military base and Milford Lake where four injuries occurred.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
35,815
Population (ACS)
$173K
Median home value
15
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 24, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 28, 2024 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | 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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Junction City 182
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Geary County, Kansas?
482 events are on record between 1951 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $5.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Geary County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 211 recorded events — 43.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Geary County?
22 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 16 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Geary County?
15 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Geary County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Geary County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Geary County as very low risk, placing it in the 41 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Geary 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
- Franklin County 588
- Gove County 754
- Ford County 1,772
- Graham County 696
- Finney County 1,315
- Grant County 552
Cite this page
“Geary County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/geary-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.