Graham County, Kansas severe weather history spans 696 recorded events between 1950 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 51.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #407 nationally and #45 in Kansas.
696
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$10.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Graham County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Graham County, Kansas severe weather history averages 9.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 225 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 117 events fall before 1990 and 579 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $8.9M 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 Graham County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 358 | 0 | $7K | 4.5 | 1957–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 267 | 0 | $807K | 91 | 1955–2025 |
| Tornado | 41 | 0 | $8.9M | F2 | 1950–2022 |
| Flash Flood | 22 | 0 | $718K | 0 | 1997–2023 |
| Flood | 5 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 2016–2023 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $500 | 0 | 2022–2022 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2001 |
| Dust Storm | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2022–2022 |
Decade by decade
Graham County, Kansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
41 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 40 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-06-20 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 11.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-06-24 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 47.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2005-06-09 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1979-04-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-08-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 21.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-05-29 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1953-06-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-06-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-06-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1995-05-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Graham County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 29, 1987 | 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
A strong tornado developed just west of U.S. Highway 283 north of Hill City and moved northeast into southern Norton County. The tornado produced extensive damage, including irrigation pivots overturned, utility poles destroyed, and farm implements rolled/tossed nearly 3/4 of a mile. The worst damage occurred in northern Graham County just east of Highway 283. Storm chasers reported at least one satellite tornado rotating around this main tornadic circulation.
The flood waters moved into Hill City from the north, overwhelming the drainage tunnels under the town. Water was deep enough in town to move into businesses. |Residents in the trailer park on the south side of town had to evacuate. Two different families had to be water rescued due to their resistance to leave despite flood waters surrounding their home in both instances. One trailer house was carried away by the flood waters. A house in town, located near where the drainage tunnels empty, was engulfed with flood waters. The city park and playground equipment, where the drainage for town empties, was almost completely submerged in water. Over six inches of rainfall was measured in town.
Strong thunderstorm outflow winds produced a swath of damage across northern Graham County. Winds estimated at 90 mph broke approximately 55 utility poles from Roads 130 and V, northeast to Roads 250 and CC. In addition, six irrigation pivots were overturned, two outbuildings were damaged or destroyed and numerous tree limbs broken. Time of events is estimated from radar and local residents.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
2,389
Population (ACS)
$90K
Median home value
16
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, AND WILDFIRES | 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 |
| Jun 16, 2017 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Hill City 218
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Graham County, Kansas?
696 events are on record between 1950 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $10.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Graham County?
Hail, with 358 recorded events — 51.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Graham County?
41 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 40 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Graham County?
16 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Graham County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Graham County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Graham County as very low risk, placing it in the 4 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Graham 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
- Gove County 754
- Grant County 552
- Geary County 482
- Gray County 861
- Franklin County 588
- Greeley County 480
Cite this page
“Graham County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/graham-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.