Osage County, Kansas

What hazards hit Osage County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 459 since 1958. 48% of its hail reports since 1958 fell in April and May. 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.

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 Osage County had?

NOAA records 51 tornadoes in Osage County from 1951 to 2026, the strongest rated F4, with 17 deaths and 4 injuries recorded in the county. That is 17th 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 51 tornadoes whose track touched Osage County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 51, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 25 people, 17 of them in Osage County.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Kansas.

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 Osage County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the May 24, 2008 lightning (1 death and 3 injuries).

Four men were camping at Pomona Lake State Park. A thunderstorm rolled through, and lightning struck the tent in which the men were sleeping. The three men in the tent were injured, but the fourth man standing outside the tent near a tree was killed. It was reported that he was killed as he headed toward more sturdy shelter.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 102013)

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

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: 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 Osage 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).

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

What time of year?

48% of its hail reports since 1958 fell in April and May. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Osage County

FEMA's register lists 26 declarations that include Osage County: 22 major disasters, 4 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (16) and biological (2).

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 Osage County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 66 flood or flash flood records for Osage County from 1996 to 2024, on 48 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Osage County ranks 2245th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $171,000 on 14 claims filed in Osage County; the most in one year was 7 in 2007. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

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 Osage County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Osage County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $10.8 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.

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

Counties that share a border with Osage County

1. Shawnee County 1,652
2. Douglas County 1,068
3. Lyon County 1,047
4. Osage County 1,025
5. Franklin County 740
6. Wabaunsee County 736
7. Coffey County 657

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 Osage CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Osage County's FEMA declarations (CSV)26 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis