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
Jefferson County, Kansas severe weather history spans 853 recorded events between 1951 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 44.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #241 nationally and #22 in Kansas.
853
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
24
Direct injuries
$34.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Jefferson County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Jefferson County, Kansas severe weather history averages 11.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 322 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 96 events fall before 1990 and 757 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Jefferson County, Kansas record is lightning, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $28.9M 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 Jefferson County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 378 | 0 | $1.2M | 4 | 1956–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 353 | 0 | $1.2M | 92 | 1956–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 55 | 0 | $3.2M | 0 | 1996–2026 |
| Tornado | 37 | 0 | $28.9M | F4 | 1951–2022 |
| Flood | 16 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 12 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2002–2011 |
| Lightning | 1 | 1 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2009 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 2007–2007 |
Decade by decade
Jefferson County, Kansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
46 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 37 touched down inside it and 9 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966-06-08 | EF5 | 16 | 450 | 21.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1960-05-19 | EF4 | 1 | 92 | 27.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1984-04-26 | EF3 | 0 | 9 | 32.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-06-11 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 43.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1964-04-12 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 33.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1960-05-19 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 11.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-05-19 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 13.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-04-02 | EF3 | 0 | 4 | 127.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1991-04-26 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 25.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-04-26 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 10.0 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Jefferson County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 25, 2009 | Lightning | NEWMAN | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| May 7, 2007 | Heavy Rain | GRANTVILLE | 0 | 6 | $50K |
| Apr 27, 1991 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $25K | |
| May 26, 2016 | Hail | MERIDEN | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Oct 2, 2005 | Flash Flood | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 2 | $2.0M |
| Jun 30, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | PERRY | 0 | 2 | $700K |
| May 27, 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | PERRY LAKE | 0 | 2 | $150K |
| Apr 27, 1991 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $2.5M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A group of seven motorcyclists riding together as members of the group Bikers Against Child Abuse were struck by lightning just before 5pm on the 25th. One biker was killed by the strike, and the rider next to him was injured and taken to the hospital, but released later that evening. The other 5 were not injured.
Heavy rains caused flash flooding . Two people were stranded by the flash flooding near McLouth and had to be rescued by boat. Three feet of water was in the Valley Falls High School gymnasium for a time. Eight homes had extensive flood damage.
A tornado touched down just north of Williamstown and moved east until it crossed into Leavenworth county at 2040 cst. Windows were blown out of a house north of Williamstown. East of Williamstown it struck a farmstead where 2 homes were damaged, 5 pole barns destroyed and 2 others damaged. Metal from an outbuilding was carried 100 feet and hung in a tree 10 feet above ground.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
18,349
Population (ACS)
$217K
Median home value
19
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| May 28, 2019 | Severe Storm | TORNADOES AND FLOODING | EM |
| Jul 20, 2015 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Mar 9, 2010 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Oskaloosa 105
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Jefferson County, Kansas?
853 events are on record between 1951 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $34.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Jefferson County?
Hail, with 378 recorded events — 44.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Jefferson County?
46 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 37 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Jefferson County?
19 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Jefferson County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Jefferson County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Jefferson County as very low risk, placing it in the 20 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Jefferson 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
- Jackson County 456
- Jewell County 565
- Hodgeman County 708
- Johnson County 1,380
- Haskell County 453
- Kearny County 703
Cite this page
“Jefferson County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/jefferson-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.