Gray County, Kansas severe weather history spans 861 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 55.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #232 nationally and #20 in Kansas.
861
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
3
Direct injuries
$10.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Gray County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Gray County, Kansas severe weather history averages 12.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 292 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 67 events fall before 1990 and 794 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $4.9M 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 Gray County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 478 | 0 | $1.2M | 5.5 | 1957–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 284 | 0 | $4.9M | 96 | 1958–2025 |
| Tornado | 53 | 0 | $4.8M | F3 | 1955–2021 |
| Heavy Rain | 27 | 0 | $0 | 450 | 2005–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 8 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2019 |
| Flood | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2016 |
| High Wind | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–1997 |
Decade by decade
Gray County, Kansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
59 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 46 touched down inside it and 13 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-11-16 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 51.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1996-05-26 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 28.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1995-05-15 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-03-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-05-24 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 14.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-11-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 14.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1995-05-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1982-03-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 48.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1978-05-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 31.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1955-07-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Gray County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 16, 1995 | Tornado | 5 W Charleston | 0 | 3 | $400K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Rear flank downdraft damage over five miles wide and 12 miles long. Wind speeds estimated to be over 100 mph. Over 150 power poles were snapped off and 40 Pivot Sprinklers were damaged or destroyed, along with trees and fences.
Hail was accompanied by 70 to 90 mph winds and did extensive damage to vehicles, buildings, crops and wildlife. The largest stones were a bit bigger than a baseball with the majority golfball sized. At one location 2 miles southeast of Cimarron the siding was stripped off a house. Many fields of alfalfa and wheat were completely mowed down by the wind and hail. Numerous rabbits and birds were laying dead where cover had once stood. Also, there were 5 pivot irrigation sprinklers overturned and several trees uprooted. Trees that were not uprooted were completely stripped of leaves and even pine trees were stripped of their needles in some cases.
The thunderstorm that produced this NNW moving tornado became surface based as it moved across the surface warm front. Surface temperatures at the time may have been around 50 degrees. That is pretty unusual for this part of the world at night in March.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
5,701
Population (ACS)
$206K
Median home value
14
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, AND WILDFIRES | DR |
| Sep 24, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 28, 2024 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | 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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Cimarron 165
- Montezuma 161
- Ingalls 127
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Gray County, Kansas?
861 events are on record between 1955 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $10.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Gray County?
Hail, with 478 recorded events — 55.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Gray County?
59 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 46 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Gray County?
14 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Gray County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Gray County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Gray County as very low risk, placing it in the 37 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Gray 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
- Grant County 552
- Greeley County 480
- Graham County 696
- Greenwood County 552
- Gove County 754
- Hamilton County 621
Cite this page
“Gray County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/gray-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.