Rush County, Kansas severe weather history spans 707 recorded events between 1950 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 63.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #394 nationally and #42 in Kansas.
707
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
8
Direct injuries
$5.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Rush County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Rush County, Kansas severe weather history averages 9.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 261 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 48 events fall before 1990 and 659 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is hail, with $3.8M 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 Rush County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 449 | 0 | $3.8M | 6 | 1958–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 140 | 0 | $919K | 87 | 1967–2025 |
| Tornado | 53 | 0 | $716K | F3 | 1950–2023 |
| Heavy Rain | 37 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2021 |
| Flash Flood | 18 | 0 | $0 | 70 | 1996–2021 |
| Flood | 7 | 0 | $12K | 0 | 2006–2021 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $500 | 0 | 1998–1998 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2019–2019 |
Decade by decade
Rush County, Kansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
52 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 49 touched down inside it and 3 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 | 17.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1968-06-18 | EF3 | 0 | 8 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-05-25 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-05-25 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-05-25 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-04-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-04-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1964-06-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1951-06-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-05-25 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.8 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Rush County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 19, 1968 | Tornado | 0 | 8 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Widespread severe weather continued from eastern Colorado, spreading across Rush county during the midnight hour. One person escaped injury by crawling out of bed! Golf ball size hail driven by 70 mph wind smashed through the window and window blind and passed by a man's head as he lay in bed. After the event, hail and glass shreds covered the bed. Loss to wildlife and some livestock across the county was heavy. There was a report of several dead cattle and many injured cow and horses. One-hundred thousand acres of wheat were mowed down, 3,500 acres of corn damaged and 4,000 acres of alfalfa destroyed (first cutting). $480,000 in damage was done to farm equipment across the county (included in the $2.48m)
The hail broke out 20 windows at the Rush county courthouse. Two patrol cars had their windshields broken out. Windows were also broken out of the St. Michaels Catholic Church…along with numerous homes and businesses.
This tornado starting moving north then turned back to the northwest and finally west before dissipating. It did damage mainly to trees and power lines. During the damage survey there was evidence of significant ground and vegetation scouring.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
2,947
Population (ACS)
$84K
Median home value
21
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, AND WILDFIRES | DR |
| Aug 20, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| 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 |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Rush County, Kansas?
707 events are on record between 1950 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $5.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Rush County?
Hail, with 449 recorded events — 63.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Rush County?
52 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 49 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Rush County?
21 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Rush County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Rush County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Rush County as very low risk, placing it in the 5 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Rush 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
- Rooks County 552
- Russell County 1,079
- Riley County 675
- Saline County 812
- Rice County 645
- Scott County 685
Cite this page
“Rush County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/rush-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.