Pratt County, Kansas severe weather history spans 1,000 recorded events between 1951 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 57.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #142 nationally and #14 in Kansas.
1,000
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
10
Direct injuries
$27.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Pratt County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Pratt County, Kansas severe weather history averages 13.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 359 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 74 events fall before 1990 and 926 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Pratt County, Kansas record is tornado, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $21.4M 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 Pratt County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 576 | 0 | $195K | 6 | 1956–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 288 | 0 | $3.8M | 110 | 1956–2026 |
| Tornado | 75 | 3 | $21.4M | F3 | 1951–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 35 | 0 | $0 | 400 | 1998–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 15 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 5 | 0 | $2.5M | 0 | 2010–2018 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $20K | 0 | 1996–2002 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2016 |
Decade by decade
Pratt County, Kansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
72 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 64 touched down inside it and 8 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-05-23 | EF3 | 2 | 2 | 21.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-05-18 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 32.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-05-18 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 11.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-03-26 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 26.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-09-25 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 58.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1965-05-25 | EF3 | 0 | 8 | 25.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1951-04-30 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 12.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2006-04-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2002-05-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 22.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2002-05-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 19.6 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Pratt County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 24, 2008 | Tornado | SAWYER | 2 | 2 | $0 |
| May 5, 2007 | Tornado | HOPEWELL | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| May 26, 1965 | Tornado | 0 | 7 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This tornado moved across out of southeast Edwards county at 2148 CST and grew into a large tornado of a little more than a mile wide. A male was killed near Hopewell as a basement wall collapsed on him when his home was demolished. Very little of the home was left visible.
This very large tornado moved southeast across much of Pratt. Damage was rated a STRONG F2. There were 14 homes destroyed, 15 with major damage and 230 with minor damage. Over 50 Pivot sprinklers were damaged or destroyed. Despite the very heavy damage, there were no injuries thanks in part to adequate warnings.
Heavy rainfall and runoff caused extensive flooding along the Ninnescah river flooding the city park, Memorial lake and the Kansas Department of Wildlife offices and rearing ponds. At the lake, several vehicles, tents and campers were inundated by flood waters. At the fish hatchery at the KDWP offices, many of the ponds were breached washing fingerling fish and brood fish out into the swollen river.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
9,127
Population (ACS)
$115K
Median home value
19
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 22, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| 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 |
| Feb 25, 2019 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Oct 19, 2018 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Pratt 325
- Preston 115
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Pratt County, Kansas?
1,000 events are on record between 1951 and 2026, causing 3 direct deaths and $27.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Pratt County?
Hail, with 576 recorded events — 57.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Pratt County?
72 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 64 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Pratt County?
19 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Pratt County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Pratt County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Pratt County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 55 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Pratt 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
- Pottawatomie County 740
- Rawlins County 844
- Phillips County 585
- Reno County 1,397
- Pawnee County 765
- Republic County 646
Cite this page
“Pratt County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/pratt-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.