Morton County, Kansas severe weather history spans 555 recorded events between 1951 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 62.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #703 nationally and #75 in Kansas.
555
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$3.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Morton County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Morton County, Kansas severe weather history averages 7.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 177 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 37 events fall before 1990 and 518 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Morton County, Kansas record is tornado, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $2.8M 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 Morton County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 347 | 0 | $260K | 4.5 | 1957–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 156 | 0 | $115K | 87 | 1963–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 24 | 0 | $250K | 435 | 2003–2021 |
| Tornado | 20 | 1 | $2.8M | F3 | 1951–2016 |
| Flash Flood | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2018 |
| Flood | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2013–2016 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2009 |
Decade by decade
Morton County, Kansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
23 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 21 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972-05-09 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 2.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-04-06 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 6.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-05-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 117.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-05-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 16.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1951-05-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1951-06-23 | EF1 | 1 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-04-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-05-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-06-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 22.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1975-07-10 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Morton County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 24, 1951 | Tornado | 1 | 0 | $25K | |
| Apr 6, 2001 | Tornado | ROLLA | 0 | 2 | $100K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Rapidly moving tornado completely destroyed a mobile home. Female occupant ended up in some bushes and had a broken arm. Male occupant had debris in his eye. Their truck was rolled into trees and nearby outbuildings were demolished. Location of this home was north of Rolla. Elsewhere, 20 power poles were taken down, damage was done to buildings in Rolla with a garage losing its roof. Several silos were damaged or destroyed in the path of the tornado.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
2,611
Population (ACS)
$96K
Median home value
8
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Jul 29, 2011 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Dec 12, 2007 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Richfield 180
- Elkhart 120
- Rolla 118
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Morton County, Kansas?
555 events are on record between 1951 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $3.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Morton County?
Hail, with 347 recorded events — 62.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Morton County?
23 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 21 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Morton County?
8 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Morton County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Morton County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Morton County as very low risk, placing it in the 5 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Morton 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
- Morris County 483
- Nemaha County 513
- Montgomery County 796
- Neosho County 538
- Mitchell County 578
- Ness County 708
Cite this page
“Morton County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/morton-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.