Edwards County, Kansas

County storm and disaster record · FIPS 20047 · population 2,905 · 622 sq mi

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 687 records for Edwards County, Kansas from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 347 days; the most frequent are hail reports (359 records). The most damaging was the August 2, 1996 thunderstorm wind ($3.4 million in 2025 dollars). FEMA has issued 29 declarations naming the county since 1965, 27 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding” on September 1, 2026.

The record, 1950 to 2026

Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $100,000
  • $100,000 or more
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more, or a death
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
  • 1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
  • 1996: all 48 event types from 1996
Storm records
687on 347 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded
08 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$21Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Tornadoes
53strongest EF3
FEMA declarations
29latest 2026

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.

What hazards hit Edwards County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 359 since 1955. 55% of its hail reports since 1955 fell in May and June. The rank column places the county among Kansas's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Edwards County: records by hazard, 1950 to June 30, 2026
HazardRecordsDaysFirst, lastKilledInjuredDamageRank in state
Hail 359 156 1955-2025 0 0 $968K 33 of 105
Severe thunderstorm wind 135 90 1956-2025 0 1 $6.7M 72 of 105
Winter storms 76 67 1997-2026 0 0 – 19 of 105
Tornadoes 53 30 1952-2025 0 7 $13M 29 of 105
Heavy rain 24 16 1997-2024 0 0 – 9 of 105
High wind and dust storms 21 18 1996-2025 0 0 – 51 of 105
Floods 10 9 1996-2017 0 0 $383K 91 of 105
Drought 3 3 1996-2003 0 0 – 82 of 105
Extreme cold 3 3 2000-2025 0 0 – 65 of 105
Wildfires 2 2 2022-2026 0 0 – 9 of 105
Lightning 1 1 1997-1997 0 0 – 64 of 105

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Edwards County had?

NOAA records 53 tornadoes in Edwards County from 1952 to 2025, the strongest rated EF3, with 0 deaths and 7 injuries recorded in the county. That is 29th of 105 Kansas counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 59 tornadoes whose track touched Edwards County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 53: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 1 person, 0 of them in Edwards County.

The deadliest and strongest tornadoes that touched Edwards County, whole tracks
DateTornadoRatingPathKilled
2007-05-04 21:39, as SPC files itMacksvilleEF318.22 mi1
1955-06-04 17:00, as SPC files itKinsley to LarnedF472.2 mi0
2025-05-18 21:04, as SPC files itUnnamedEF315.84 mi0
2016-05-24 19:00, as SPC files itBelpreEF38.3 mi0
2012-04-14 19:27, as SPC files itGreensburgEF348.02 mi0
2008-05-23 20:16, as SPC files itBelpreEF318.2 mi0
2007-05-04 21:03, as SPC files itGreensburg to BelpreEF323.5 mi0
2004-03-27 13:13, as SPC files itUnnamedF310 mi0
1973-09-25 18:30, as SPC files itBelpreF318.5 mi0
1971-05-09 16:50, as SPC files itUnnamedF39 mi0
1970-06-13 21:00, as SPC files itKinsleyF37.3 mi0

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Kansas.

Every tornado record filed for Edwards County (53)
Every tornado recorded in Edwards County, newest first
DatePlaceCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2025-05-18 Lewis, Edwards County EF2 7.68 mi x 50 yd 0 0 –
2025-05-18 Kinsley Municipal Airport, Edwards County EF0 4.18 mi x 50 yd 0 0 –
2023-07-17 Ardell, Edwards County EF0 0.01 mi x 1 yd 0 0 –
2021-10-12 Trousdale, Edwards County EF1 6.58 mi x 100 yd 0 0 –
2021-10-12 Centerview, Edwards County EF1 6.32 mi x 100 yd 0 0 –
2019-06-18 Kinsley, Edwards County EF0 1.42 mi x 75 yd 0 0 –
2019-05-17 Lewis, Edwards County EF2 7.6 mi x 565 yd 0 0 –
2019-05-17 Offerle, Edwards County EF2 4.46 mi x 620 yd 0 0 –
2019-05-06 Lewis, Edwards County EFU 2.81 mi x 150 yd 0 0 –
2016-05-24 Centerview, Edwards County EF3 8.3 mi x 1,100 yd 0 0 –
2016-05-24 Hodges, Edwards County EF2 5.4 mi x 150 yd 0 0 –
2016-05-24 Hodges, Edwards County EF1 4.3 mi x 100 yd 0 0 –
2014-05-11 Ardell, Edwards County EF0 0.75 mi x 25 yd 0 0 –
2012-04-30 Kinsley, Edwards County EF0 0.3 mi x 75 yd 0 0 –
2012-04-14 Fellsburg, Edwards County EF3 25.2 mi x 1,720 yd 0 0 –
2012-04-14 Fellsburg, Edwards County EF1 9.34 mi x 100 yd 0 0 –
2009-06-15 Belpre, Edwards County EF1 2.8 mi x 870 yd 0 0 –
2009-06-15 Fellsburg, Edwards County EF1 3.4 mi x 350 yd 0 0 –
2009-06-15 Hodges, Edwards County EF1 2.75 mi x 125 yd 0 0 $2.1M
2009-06-15 Kinsley Municipal Airport, Edwards County EF0 3.86 mi x 100 yd 0 0 –
2009-06-15 Ardell, Edwards County EF0 2.62 mi x 100 yd 0 0 –
2008-05-23 Trousdale, Edwards County EF0 1.5 mi x 125 yd 0 0 –
2008-05-23 Offerle, Edwards County EF2 13.1 mi x 950 yd 0 0 –
2008-05-23 Kinsley Municipal Airport, Edwards County EF2 5.4 mi x 125 yd 0 0 –
2008-05-23 Belpre, Edwards County EF2 3.4 mi x 1,160 yd 0 1 –
2008-05-23 Trousdale, Edwards County EF2 5.2 mi x 1,935 yd 0 0 –
2007-05-23 Hodges, Edwards County EF0 1.29 mi x 50 yd 0 0 –
2007-05-23 Williams, Edwards County EF0 0.55 mi x 30 yd 0 0 –
2007-05-05 Trousdale, Edwards County EF1 3.5 mi x 300 yd 0 0 –
2007-05-05 Belpre, Edwards County EF0 2.44 mi x 75 yd 0 0 –
2007-05-05 Trousdale, Edwards County EF2 2.7 mi x 75 yd 0 0 –
2007-05-05 Centerview, Edwards County EF1 1.5 mi x 50 yd 0 0 –
2007-05-04 Trousdale, Edwards County EF1 1.2 mi x 200 yd 0 0 –
2007-05-04 Trousdale, Edwards County EF3 13.2 mi x 3,872 yd 0 1 $2.1M
2004-03-27 Kinsley, Edwards County F3 8.5 mi x 1,300 yd 0 0 $828K
2004-03-27 Kinsley, Edwards County F0 1.5 mi x 20 yd 0 0 –
2002-05-11 Kinsley, Edwards County F0 0.3 mi x 30 yd 0 0 –
2002-05-07 Offerle, Edwards County F0 0.5 mi x 50 yd 0 0 –
2002-05-07 Offerle, Edwards County F0 0.7 mi x 75 yd 0 0 –
2001-06-01 Belpre, Edwards County F0 0.1 mi x 30 yd 0 0 –
2001-06-01 Lewis, Edwards County F0 0.2 mi x 50 yd 0 0 –
2001-04-10 Offerle, Edwards County F0 7.4 mi x 100 yd 0 0 –
2000-03-23 Belpre, Edwards County F1 2 mi x 100 yd 0 0 –
2000-03-23 Lewis, Edwards County F1 12 mi x 100 yd 0 0 –
1973-09-25 Edwards County F3 18.5 mi x 60 yd 0 0 $250K step
1971-05-09 Edwards County F3 9 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $250K step
1970-06-13 Edwards County F3 7.3 mi x 33 yd 0 0 $250K step
1958-07-26 Edwards County F2 1 mi x 100 yd 0 0 –
1958-06-12 Edwards County F2 0 3 $25K step
1957-07-21 Edwards County F0 0 0 –
1956-10-29 Edwards County F1 0 2 $250K step
1952-08-07 Edwards County F1 0 0 –
1952-04-08 Edwards County F1 0 0 $250 step

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Edwards County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the July 23, 2025 thunderstorm wind ($6,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

Delayed report. Emergency management reported damage to roofs, garage doors, and trees down in town. Time estimated by radar.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1273538)
The 12 most recent records kept for Edwards County
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-04-16 WildfireEdwards County · forecast zone Edwards 0 0 –
2026-01-09 Heavy SnowEdwards County · forecast zone Edwards 0 0 –
2025-07-23 Thunderstorm WindKinsley Municipal Airport, Edwards County 70 kt wind 0 0 $6K
2025-05-28 HailOfferle, Edwards County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2025-05-18 TornadoLewis, Edwards County EF2 7.68 mi x 50 yd 0 0 –
2025-05-18 TornadoKinsley Municipal Airport, Edwards County EF0 4.18 mi x 50 yd 0 0 –
2025-04-24 HailNettleton, Edwards County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2025-04-24 HailNettleton, Edwards County 2.50 in hail 0 0 –
2025-04-24 HailNettleton, Edwards County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2025-04-16 HailArdell, Edwards County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2025-03-19 High WindEdwards County · forecast zone Edwards 56 kt wind 0 0 –
2025-03-04 High WindEdwards County · forecast zone Edwards 58 kt wind 0 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

Records with deaths or injuries in Edwards County, most deaths first
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
1958-06-12 TornadoEdwards County F2 0 3 $25K step
1956-10-29 TornadoEdwards County F1 0 2 $250K step
2011-06-18 Thunderstorm WindArdell, Edwards County A truck driver from an overturned semi on Highway 50 had several deep cuts and gashes. 61 kt wind 0 1 –
2008-05-23 TornadoBelpre, Edwards County This tornado moved out of Stafford county and did EF2 damage to a house and barn just west of the Stafford/Edwards county line. A Female received a serious injury when she was blown down the stairs. Pivot sprinklers and trees received EF1-2 damage. The tornado started in the southeast part of Edwards county, moved ... EF2 3.4 mi x 1,160 yd 0 1 –
2007-05-04 TornadoTrousdale, Edwards County This 2.2 wide monster moved out of Kiowa county at 2231 CST. It caused high end EF3 damage to farms, trees, machinery, pivot sprinklers and power lines. It killed dozens of cattle and horses. As the tornado dissipated, it curved back to the west. EF3 13.2 mi x 3,872 yd 0 1 $2.1M

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

The costliest records in Edwards County since 1993, damage in 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
1996-08-02 Thunderstorm WindLewis, Edwards County 0 0 $3.4M
1996-08-02 Thunderstorm WindKinsley, Edwards County 0 0 $3.0M
2007-05-04 TornadoTrousdale, Edwards County EF3 13.2 mi x 3,872 yd 0 1 $2.1M
2009-06-15 TornadoHodges, Edwards County EF1 2.75 mi x 125 yd 0 0 $2.1M
1995-05-22 HailKinsley, Edwards County 2.50 in hail 0 0 $968K
2004-03-27 TornadoKinsley, Edwards County F3 8.5 mi x 1,300 yd 0 0 $828K
1996-08-21 FloodEdwards County · forecast zone Edwards 0 0 $376K
2020-06-21 Thunderstorm WindBelpre, Edwards County 70 kt wind 0 0 $114K

Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $250K, in the dollars of the day) holds: October 29, 1956 (tornado, Edwards County); June 13, 1970 (tornado, Edwards County); May 9, 1971 (tornado, Edwards County).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Edwards County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Edwards County: records per decade (the 2020s to June 30, 2026)
Hazard1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020-26
Hail44511871336550
Severe thunderstorm wind5171027472810
Winter storms––––10381414
Tornadoes6030028115
Heavy rain––––11076
High wind and dust storms––––4953

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

55% of its hail reports since 1955 fell in May and June. The two busiest months are in violet.

The values, month by month

Jan 23 · Feb 19 · Mar 36 · Apr 90 · May 188 · Jun 138 · Jul 66 · Aug 44 · Sep 30 · Oct 17 · Nov 16 · Dec 20 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Edwards County

FEMA's register lists 29 declarations that include Edwards County: 26 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (20) and flood (3).

Declarations including Edwards County, newest first
DeclaredNumberTypeTitle
2026-09-01DR-4940Severe StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2026-09-01DR-4943Severe StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2025-12-19DR-4897Severe StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding
2025-07-22DR-4883Severe StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2025-05-21DR-4869Severe StormSevere Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, and Wildfires
2024-04-28DR-4774Winter StormSevere Winter Storm
2023-10-26DR-4747Severe StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2022-05-25DR-4654SnowstormSevere Winter Storms and Straight-Line Winds
2022-02-17DR-4640Severe StormSevere Storms and Straight Line Winds
2020-03-29DR-4504BiologicalCovid-19 Pandemic
2020-03-13EM-3481BiologicalCovid-19
2019-06-20DR-4449Severe StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding,Landslides,and Mudslides
2017-02-24DR-4304Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Storm
2015-07-20DR-4230Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding
2013-10-22DR-4150Severe StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2012-05-24DR-4063Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding
2009-06-24DR-1848Severe StormSevere Winter Storm and Record and Near Record Snow
2008-07-09DR-1776Severe StormSevere Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes
2008-02-01DR-1741Severe StormSevere Winter Storms
2007-12-12EM-3282Severe StormSevere Winter Storms
2007-07-02DR-1711Severe StormSevere Storms and Flooding
2007-05-06DR-1699Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2007-01-07DR-1675Severe StormSevere Winter Storm
2006-01-26DR-1626Severe StormSevere Winter Storm
2005-09-10EM-3236HurricaneHurricane Katrina Evacuation
1993-07-22DR-1000FloodSevere Storms & Flooding
1973-09-28DR-403Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding
1973-05-02DR-378FloodSevere Storms & Flooding
1965-06-23DR-201FloodFlooding

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Edwards County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 10 flood or flash flood records for Edwards County from 1996 to 2017, on 9 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Edwards County ranks 2358th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $1,669 on 10 claims filed in Edwards County; the most in one year was 2 in 1995. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

The values, year by year

1983: 1 · 1985: 1 · 1987: 1 · 1988: 1 · 1989: 1 · 1995: 2 · 2015: 1 · 2017: 2; the other years: 0.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Edwards County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Edwards County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $7.1 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

National Risk Index ratings for Edwards County (December 2025 release), by FEMA's rating, then score
HazardRisk ratingExpected annual lossModeled frequency
DroughtRelatively High$2.3M66 modeled event-days a year
HailRelatively Moderate$1.2M11 a year (modeled)
Cold WaveRelatively Low$1.3M3.2 a year (modeled)
Ice StormRelatively Low$50Kabout once a year (modeled)
Strong WindRelatively Low$295K5.1 a year (modeled)
WildfireVery Low$58Konce in about 1,415 years (modeled)
TornadoVery Low$386Kabout once a year (modeled)
EarthquakeVery Low$18Konce in about 1,590 years (modeled)

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Edwards County

  1. Ford County 2,131
  2. Pratt County 1,104
  3. Pawnee County 875
  4. Hodgeman County 830
  5. Stafford County 808
  6. Kiowa County 744
  7. Edwards County 687

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

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