Gray County, Kansas
County storm and disaster record · FIPS 20069 · population 5,646 · 869 sq mi
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 1,002 records for Gray County, Kansas from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 492 days; the most frequent are hail reports (478 records). The most damaging was the May 26, 1996 tornado ($4.0 million in 2025 dollars). FEMA has issued 14 declarations naming the county since 1965, 12 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, and Wildfires” on May 21, 2025.
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
- 1,002on 492 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
- Deaths recorded
- 03 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $23Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
- Tornadoes
- 53strongest F3
- FEMA declarations
- 14latest 2025
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 Gray County most?
The most frequent records are hail reports: 478 since 1957. 65% of its hail reports since 1957 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.
| Hazard | Records | Days | First, last | Killed | Injured | Damage | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 478 | 242 | 1957-2025 | 0 | 0 | $3.9M | 23 of 105 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 284 | 160 | 1958-2025 | 0 | 0 | $8.1M | 44 of 105 |
| Winter storms | 96 | 75 | 1996-2026 | 0 | 0 | – | 53 of 105 |
| Tornadoes | 53 | 36 | 1955-2021 | 0 | 3 | $11M | 52 of 105 |
| High wind and dust storms | 41 | 36 | 1996-2026 | 0 | 0 | $5K | 30 of 105 |
| Heavy rain | 27 | 19 | 2005-2024 | 0 | 0 | – | 18 of 105 |
| Floods | 13 | 10 | 1999-2024 | 0 | 0 | – | 97 of 105 |
| Fog, smoke and funnel clouds | 5 | 5 | 2010-2019 | 0 | 0 | – | 36 of 105 |
| Drought | 3 | 3 | 1996-2003 | 0 | 0 | – | 91 of 105 |
| Extreme cold | 2 | 2 | 2000-2000 | 0 | 0 | – | 98 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 Gray County had?
NOAA records 53 tornadoes in Gray County from 1955 to 2021, the strongest rated F3, with 0 deaths and 3 injuries recorded in the county. That is 52nd 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 55 tornadoes whose track touched Gray 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 0 people.
| Date | Tornado | Rating | Path | Killed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-11-16 17:38, as SPC files it | Liberal | EF3 | 51.26 mi | 0 |
| 1996-05-26 15:35, as SPC files it | Ingalls | F3 | 28 mi | 0 |
| 1995-05-15 20:20, as SPC files it | Unnamed | F3 | 6 mi | 0 |
Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Kansas.
Every tornado record filed for Gray County (53)
| Date | Place | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-10-12 | Haggard, Gray County | EF1 1.94 mi x 75 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2021-03-13 | Haggard, Gray County | EF2 12.15 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $11K |
| 2019-05-26 | Cimarron Airport, Gray County | EF1 0.74 mi x 25 yd | 0 | 0 | $69K |
| 2019-05-06 | Montezuma, Gray County | EFU 4.74 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2018-05-29 | Ensign, Gray County | EF0 3.88 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2016-08-29 | Cimarron Airport, Gray County | EF0 0.24 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2015-11-16 | Ensign, Gray County | EF1 3 mi x 300 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2015-11-16 | Montezuma Airport, Gray County | EF2 14.42 mi x 1,800 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2015-06-29 | Ingalls, Gray County | EF0 0.16 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2015-06-22 | Cimarron, Gray County | EF0 0.55 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2015-05-27 | Cimarron Airport, Gray County | EF0 1 mi x 75 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2015-05-24 | Montezuma Airport, Gray County | EF1 7.8 mi x 800 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2015-05-07 | Montezuma, Gray County | EF1 0.24 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $50K |
| 2015-05-07 | Montezuma, Gray County | EF0 0.19 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2015-05-07 | Montezuma, Gray County | EF0 0.19 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2015-05-07 | Copeland, Gray County | EF0 0.25 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2011-05-24 | Ingalls Municipal Airport, Gray County | EF0 0.44 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2010-05-19 | Ingalls, Gray County | EF0 0.24 mi x 30 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2010-05-19 | Cimarron, Gray County | EF0 0.43 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2010-05-19 | Cimarron, Gray County | EF0 0.17 mi x 30 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2010-05-19 | Ingalls Municipal Airport, Gray County | EF0 0.28 mi x 30 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2010-05-19 | Charleston, Gray County | EF0 0.13 mi x 30 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2010-05-19 | Charleston, Gray County | EF0 0.45 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2009-04-18 | Cimarron Airport, Gray County | EF0 0.69 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2009-04-18 | Cimarron Airport, Gray County | EF0 0.53 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2008-05-23 | Ingalls, Gray County | EF0 0.7 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2007-03-28 | Ensign, Gray County | EF1 10.4 mi x 200 yd | 0 | 0 | $228K |
| 2007-03-28 | Ensign, Gray County | EF0 7.2 mi x 125 yd | 0 | 0 | $4K |
| 2006-10-26 | Montezuma, Gray County | F0 1.3 mi x 30 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2006-10-26 | Montezuma, Gray County | F0 0.5 mi x 30 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2005-10-19 | Ensign, Gray County | F0 0.2 mi x 30 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2005-04-05 | Copeland, Gray County | F0 0.3 mi x 20 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2005-04-05 | Montezuma, Gray County | F0 2.6 mi x 75 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2005-04-05 | Montezuma, Gray County | F0 3.1 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2002-06-10 | Montezuma, Gray County | F0 0.3 mi x 30 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2000-10-27 | Ingalls, Gray County | F0 0.2 mi x 80 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1996-09-18 | Cimarron, Gray County | F0 2.5 mi x 30 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1996-05-26 | Cimarron, Gray County | F1 3 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $122K |
| 1996-05-26 | Cimarron, Gray County | F1 10 mi x 400 yd | 0 | 0 | $1.6M |
| 1996-05-26 | Sublette, Gray County | F3 22 mi x 900 yd | 0 | 0 | $4.0M |
| 1995-05-15 | 5 W Charleston, Gray County | F3 6 mi x 900 yd | 0 | 3 | $775K |
| 1995-05-15 | 5 W Charleston, Gray County | F2 3 mi x 300 yd | 0 | 0 | $339K |
| 1993-04-30 | Ingalls, Gray County | F0 0.1 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1990-04-25 | Gray County | F1 25 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $25K step |
| 1982-03-19 | Gray County | F2 24 mi x 67 yd | 0 | 0 | $250K step |
| 1981-05-16 | Gray County | F1 20.8 mi x 33 yd | 0 | 0 | $250K step |
| 1980-05-28 | Gray County | F1 5.6 mi x 33 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1978-05-30 | Gray County | F2 16.9 mi x 33 yd | 0 | 0 | $250K step |
| 1976-04-14 | Gray County | F1 22.3 mi x 33 yd | 0 | 0 | $250K step |
| 1965-05-25 | Gray County | F0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1958-06-12 | Gray County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 1956-05-30 | Gray County | F0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1955-07-13 | Gray County | F2 0.3 mi x 33 yd | 0 | 0 | $3K 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 Gray County?
The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the March 13, 2021 tornado ($11,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).
The thunderstorm that produced this NNW moving tornado became surface based as it moved across the surface warm front. Surface temperatures at the time may have been around 50 degrees. That is pretty unusual for this part of the world at night in March.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 951430)
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-02-17 | High WindGray County · forecast zone Gray | 63 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-01-16 | High WindGray County · forecast zone Gray | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-01-09 | Heavy SnowGray County · forecast zone Gray | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-09 | Heavy SnowGray County · forecast zone Gray | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-09 | Heavy SnowGray County · forecast zone Gray | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-09 | Heavy SnowGray County · forecast zone Gray | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-08-03 | Thunderstorm WindEnsign, Gray County | 56 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2025-08-03 | Thunderstorm WindCimarron, Gray County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2025-08-03 | Thunderstorm WindCharleston, Gray County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2025-08-03 | Thunderstorm WindCimarron Airport, Gray County | 61 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2025-06-08 | HailCimarron, Gray County | 0.88 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2025-05-18 | HailIngalls, Gray County | 1.00 in hail | 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
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995-05-15 | Tornado5 W Charleston, Gray County Tornado formed one-half mile south of 2215 CDT entry. Three minor injuries when a modular home was destroyed. Other damage to several barns, sheds, implements, trees, fences, and five pivot sprinklers. | F3 6 mi x 900 yd | 0 | 3 | $775K |
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-05-26 | TornadoSublette, Gray County | F3 22 mi x 900 yd | 0 | 0 | $4.0M |
| 1995-05-15 | Thunderstorm WindCharleston, Gray County | 0 | 0 | $3.9M | |
| 2009-06-12 | HailCimarron, Gray County | 3.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | $2.1M |
| 1996-05-26 | TornadoCimarron, Gray County | F1 10 mi x 400 yd | 0 | 0 | $1.6M |
| 1998-05-06 | HailMontezuma, Gray County | 1.75 in hail | 0 | 0 | $1.3M |
| 2009-06-14 | Thunderstorm WindCopeland, Gray County | 70 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1.0M |
| 2018-05-28 | Thunderstorm WindCharleston, Gray County | 70 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $823K |
| 1995-05-15 | Tornado5 W Charleston, Gray County | F3 6 mi x 900 yd | 0 | 3 | $775K |
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: April 14, 1976 (tornado, Gray County); May 30, 1978 (tornado, Gray County); May 16, 1981 (tornado, Gray 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 Gray 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).
| Hazard | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 2 | 5 | 10 | 20 | 108 | 183 | 114 | 36 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 1 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 57 | 82 | 89 | 35 |
| Winter storms | – | – | – | – | 12 | 37 | 21 | 26 |
| Tornadoes | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 2 |
| High wind and dust storms | – | – | – | – | 5 | 14 | 8 | 14 |
| Heavy rain | – | – | – | – | 0 | 9 | 14 | 4 |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).
What time of year?
65% of its hail reports since 1957 fell in May and June. The two busiest months are in violet.
The values, month by month
Jan 44 · Feb 27 · Mar 41 · Apr 61 · May 245 · Jun 281 · Jul 121 · Aug 84 · Sep 29 · Oct 27 · Nov 14 · Dec 28 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.
Federal disaster declarations for Gray County
FEMA's register lists 14 declarations that include Gray County: 11 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (7) and biological (2).
| Declared | Number | Type | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-05-21 | DR-4869 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, and Wildfires |
| 2024-09-24 | DR-4824 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding |
| 2024-04-28 | DR-4774 | Winter Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
| 2022-05-25 | DR-4654 | Snowstorm | Severe Winter Storms and Straight-Line Winds |
| 2022-02-17 | DR-4640 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms and Straight Line Winds |
| 2020-03-29 | DR-4504 | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| 2020-03-13 | EM-3481 | Biological | Covid-19 |
| 2019-06-20 | DR-4449 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding,Landslides,and Mudslides |
| 2015-07-20 | DR-4230 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding |
| 2007-12-12 | EM-3282 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storms |
| 2007-01-07 | DR-1675 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
| 2005-09-10 | EM-3236 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation |
| 1973-05-02 | DR-378 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding |
| 1965-06-23 | DR-201 | Flood | Flooding |
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.
FEMA's modeled risk for Gray County
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Gray County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $11.4 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.
| Hazard | Risk rating | Expected annual loss | Modeled frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drought | Relatively High | $3.8M | 77 modeled event-days a year |
| Hail | Relatively High | $3.1M | 11 a year (modeled) |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | $1.5M | 3.3 a year (modeled) |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | $1.0M | about once a year (modeled) |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Low | $63K | once in about 2 years (modeled) |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Low | $383K | 4.8 a year (modeled) |
| Wildfire | Very Low | $24K | once in about 2,253 years (modeled) |
| Earthquake | Very Low | $30K | once in about 1,818 years (modeled) |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.
Counties that share a border with Gray County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.
Next
- Tornadoes in KansasEvery Kansas tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
- Hail in KansasThe state's hail reports, by county, year and month
- The Kansas recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
- FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Gray CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
- Download Gray County's FEMA declarations (CSV)14 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis