Wichita County, Kansas severe weather history spans 484 recorded events between 1950 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 67.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #932 nationally and #84 in Kansas.
484
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
5
Direct injuries
$2.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Wichita County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Wichita County, Kansas severe weather history averages 6.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 128 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 37 events fall before 1990 and 447 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is hail, with $1.6M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Wichita County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 328 | 0 | $1.6M | 3.5 | 1957–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 102 | 0 | $661K | 91 | 1963–2025 |
| Tornado | 37 | 0 | $405K | F3 | 1950–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 13 | 0 | $10 | 0 | 1996–2021 |
| Flood | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2013 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2006 |
Decade by decade
Wichita County, Kansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
33 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 32 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999-06-22 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-05-13 | EF3 | 0 | 5 | 140.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-07-12 | EF2 | 1 | 0 | 20.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1951-06-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 48.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-05-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2010-05-10 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-05-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1951-05-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1950-06-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 29.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-06-13 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Wichita County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 13, 1968 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $25K | |
| Apr 22, 2022 | Hail | LEOTI | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Damage from the straight-line winds were surveyed along N County Road 20 from north of E County Road J to just south of E County Road L. Damage included three irrigation pivots turned over, the top of a mature tree snapped off, the top of two grain bins was damage along with augers going to five grain bins being damaged, the sliding doors being blown in on two metal machine sheds and another sliding door being blown out, along with a couple sheets of tin on the roof being blown loose and a hole being punched through the side of one of them, minor gutter damage to a house, a small shed was completely destroyed and single car garage was blown completely off its foundation.
Damage was reported along E County Road H from the intersection of N County Road 19 to N County Road 20. Damage included an small, old grain bin being blown off its foundation, a pole barn style garage being completely destroyed, the wooden cross member and top of an electric line being broken off, a small shed being completely destroyed, the roof of a machine shed nearly completely removed, and two other pole barn style machine sheds being completely destroyed. Near the location of one of the machine sheds an antenna tower was bent, leaning against a building next to the tower.
A feed yard northwest of Leoti, KS suffered damage from strong thunderstorm outflows. About 20% of the feed warehouse roof was removed. Two smaller wood-frame metal-skin sheds were heavily damaged. Four by eight foot hay bales were blown a short distance. Three irrigation pivots just south of the feed yard were overturned. All debris was blown from SSW to NNE.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
2,091
Population (ACS)
$99K
Median home value
8
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 26, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, 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 16, 2017 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Dec 12, 2007 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Leoti 187
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Wichita County, Kansas?
484 events are on record between 1950 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $2.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Wichita County?
Hail, with 328 recorded events — 67.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Wichita County?
33 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 32 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Wichita County?
8 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Wichita County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Wichita County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Wichita County as very low risk, placing it in the 8 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Wichita 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
- Washington County 615
- Wilson County 434
- Wallace County 655
- Woodson County 271
- Wabaunsee County 574
- Wyandotte County 442
Cite this page
“Wichita County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/wichita-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.