141
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
4
Direct injuries
$2.8M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Rooks County, Kansas: 141 recorded events between 1958 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 87. That places the county #1,647 nationally and #82 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Rooks County, Kansas: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Rooks County is the 2020s, when 39 of the county's 141 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Rooks County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 25.5% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #1,647 for this hazard and #82 within Kansas, putting it in the 47.7 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Rooks County with 39 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 5, 2004 | WEBSTER RES | 61 | 0 | 3 | $75K |
| Jul 2, 1994 | Stockton | 61 | 0 | 1 | $50K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 18, 2025 | STOCKTON | 51 | $0 |
| Aug 18, 2025 | PLAINVILLE | 57 | $0 |
| Aug 10, 2025 | STOCKTON | 51 | $0 |
| Aug 10, 2025 | PALCO | 56 | $0 |
| Jul 31, 2024 | WEBSTER RES | 56 | $25K |
| May 2, 2024 | PLAINVILLE | 72 | $0 |
| Apr 16, 2024 | WEBSTER | 52 | $0 |
| Oct 3, 2023 | CODELL | 51 | $0 |
| Oct 3, 2023 | CODELL | 54 | $0 |
| Aug 6, 2023 | CODELL | 70 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Rooks County
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A 71 MPH wind gust was measured by a mesonet site located near Plainville. Emergency management and media confirmed considerable tree damage in Plainville, along with a roof blown off of a former lumberyard and all but the bottom section of a county communications tower toppled to the ground. Three transformers were struck by lightning and power lines were downed. An NWS cooperative observer located 4 miles west-northwest of Plainville reported multiple tree limbs downed and chimney damage to their home. A semi-truck was blown over approximately 5 miles south of Plainville.
A line of thunderstorms producing damaging wind speeds moved through Rooks County, with a wind gust of 64 MPH measured by the AWOS at Rooks County Regional Airport. At Webster State Park, a number of campers were blown over and one cabin suffered roof damage.
Wind estimated to 70 mph tore down power lines, branches. A horse barn at the fairgrounds lost a roof. One person was injured by flying debris at the fairgrounds. Funnel clouds were observed east of Codell with this storm.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Rooks County, Kansas?
141 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Rooks County between 1958 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Rooks County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Rooks County measured 87.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Rooks County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Thunderstorm Wind in Rooks County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/rooks-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.