Lane County, Kansas severe weather history spans 482 recorded events between 1953 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 62.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #940 nationally and #86 in Kansas.
482
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
3
Direct injuries
$2.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Lane County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Lane County, Kansas severe weather history averages 6.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 192 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 35 events fall before 1990 and 447 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is hail, with $1.8M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Lane County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 299 | 0 | $1.8M | 5 | 1962–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 119 | 0 | $399K | 87 | 1969–2025 |
| Tornado | 45 | 0 | $158K | F3 | 1953–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 12 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2021 |
| Flood | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2015 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2000 |
| Flash Flood | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–1996 |
Decade by decade
Lane County, Kansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
51 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 40 touched down inside it and 11 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972-04-30 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 13.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-04-30 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-05-13 | EF3 | 0 | 5 | 140.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1962-06-16 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 34.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2015-11-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 16.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1979-08-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1964-05-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1962-06-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1951-06-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 48.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2011-10-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.8 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Lane County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 30, 1972 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $3K | |
| Aug 1, 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | DIGHTON ARPT | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Extensive damage was done to major transmission lines and power poles. As many as 30,000 meters were without power and some were out for over 2 days. Numerous trees were uprooted and the Lane county road and bridge building lost it's roof. Other buildings sustained some structural damage.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
1,461
Population (ACS)
$127K
Median home value
11
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Oct 22, 2013 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Dighton 151
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Lane County, Kansas?
482 events are on record between 1953 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $2.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Lane County?
Hail, with 299 recorded events — 62.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Lane County?
51 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 Lane County?
11 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Lane County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Lane County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Lane County as very low risk, placing it in the 2 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Lane 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
- Labette County 604
- Leavenworth County 762
- Kiowa County 627
- Lincoln County 627
- Kingman County 766
- Linn County 283
Cite this page
“Lane County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/lane-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.