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Saline County, Kansas severe weather history spans 812 recorded events between 1951 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 47.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #281 nationally and #26 in Kansas.
812
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
75
Direct injuries
$72.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Saline County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Saline County, Kansas severe weather history averages 10.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2020s, with 186 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 174 events fall before 1990 and 638 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $53.4M 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 Saline County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 388 | 0 | $1.4M | 3.5 | 1955–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 281 | 0 | $6.2M | 87 | 1955–2025 |
| Tornado | 50 | 0 | $53.4M | F3 | 1951–2025 |
| Flood | 30 | 0 | $11.4M | 0 | 2006–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 30 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2020–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 25 | 0 | $391K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Lightning | 6 | 0 | $100K | 0 | 2002–2012 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2021 |
Decade by decade
Saline County, Kansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
48 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 45 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-04-14 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 50.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1973-09-25 | EF3 | 3 | 42 | 169.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2018-05-01 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 15.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-10-06 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 6.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-06-11 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 16.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-06-21 | EF3 | 0 | 60 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-10-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-06-24 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-04-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-04-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 15.8 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Saline County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 22, 1969 | Tornado | 0 | 60 | $25.0M | |
| Jul 12, 1987 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 7 | $0 | |
| Sep 25, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 6 | $25.0M | |
| Jul 11, 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | SALINA | 0 | 1 | $50K |
| Jul 11, 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | SALINA | 0 | 1 | $5K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Heavy rains over several days from intense thunderstorms caused significant river flooding throughout the county. The hardest hit area was Salina where the Smoky Hill River and the Mulberry Creek combined to cause nearly 5 million dollars in damage. According the Salina Journal, 239 structures had minor flood damage, ranging from a few inches of water in basements to as much as 6 feet of water in basements. 18 structures sustained some structural damage and 9 structures were destroyed. There was also about 1.75 million dollars in damage to public roads bridges and structures. The Mulberry Creek crested at 27.22 feet late in the evening on May 7th. The Smoky Hill River crested at 20.99 feet at Mentor on the evening of May 8th. At New Cambria on the Smoky Hill River, the crested during the afternoon hours of May 7th.
Widespread damage was noted to several homes, businesses, and trees along the tornadoes path. One cabinet making business had a 10000 square foot section of roof removed, with a total of 20000 square feet of damage to the structure as a sprinkler main broke pouring water onto the factory floor. Several homes sustained damage due to garage doors collapsing in the wind and ultimately lifting the roofs off of the homes. One home sustained slightly more damage than the rest, as two exterior walls were also blown out.
Tennis ball to baseball sized hail fell across the Salina Municipal Airport and continued across the Kansas State Campus at Salina. There were hail smashed car windshields in the parking lot and pummeled the tar composite roof hangers, some dating back to World War 2.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
53,668
Population (ACS)
$180K
Median home value
18
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 30, 2026 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Dec 19, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | 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 20, 2019 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, FLOODING,LANDSLIDES,AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Salina 223
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Saline County, Kansas?
812 events are on record between 1951 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $72.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Saline County?
Hail, with 388 recorded events — 47.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Saline County?
48 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 45 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Saline County?
18 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Saline County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Saline County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Saline County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 66 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Saline 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
- Russell County 1,079
- Scott County 685
- Rush County 707
- Sedgwick County 2,893
- Rooks County 552
- Seward County 711
Cite this page
“Saline County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/saline-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.