Kansas extreme cold
Every recorded extreme cold record since 1996 · 105 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 691 extreme cold records in Kansas from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 28 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the February 6, 2021 extreme cold/wind chill in Sedgwick County: 3 deaths across 2 records. Kansas ranks 28th of 51 states and territories by count and 37th of 50 per square mile.
Extreme cold in Kansas, 1996 to 2026
Cold records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $1 million
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- Records
- 6911996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 28average
- Deaths
- 55 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $58Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 2000100 records
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.
Are extreme cold records common in Kansas?
Kansas averages about 28 extreme cold records a year since 2000, 28th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2000 (100). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Kansas records 85 extreme cold records since 1996, 37th of 50 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.
Which counties in Kansas have the most extreme cold records?
Per square mile, Wyandotte County leads Kansas: 10 days with a extreme cold record since 1996, 65.9 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Wichita County has the most cold records (19 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is the cold season in Kansas?
48% of its extreme cold records since 1996 fell in December and January. The busiest month is December (190 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 141 · Feb 185 · Mar 14 · Apr 90 · May 10 · Jun 14 · Jul 0 · Aug 0 · Sep 27 · Oct 19 · Nov 1 · Dec 190 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest extreme cold records in Kansas?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-02-06 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillSedgwick County · forecast zone Sedgwick One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A historic cold outbreak overspread all of the Plains on February 6th and lasted through February 18th. A persistent Arctic airmass like this hasn't affected the region since the 1980s. There were days where the high temperature did not make it out of the single digits. The Arctic surge made it all the way down to ... | 3 | 0 | – | |
| 2016-12-18 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillBarber County · forecast zone Barber The coroner reported that a 52 year old male froze to death sometime between midnight and 12 PM on the 18th. The location was near Manter. The individual apparently was under the influence of drugs and got locked out of his home and was not able to get back inside. Low temperatures were around 20 below zero. | 1 | 1 | – | |
| 2011-02-01 | Cold/Wind ChillMontgomery County · forecast zone Montgomery Extreme cold temperatures moved across the county during the overnight hours of February 2nd and early on February 3rd. Wind chill readings dropped as low as minus 20 degees during the evening of February 2nd, with the low temperatures falling to minus 8 degrees in Coffeyville, Kansas and minus 7 in Independence, ... | 1 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.
The costliest extreme cold records in Kansas
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-04-07 | Frost/FreezeCherokee County · forecast zone Cherokee One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $54M | |
| 2007-04-03 | Frost/FreezeJewell County · forecast zone Jewell One storm episode: 6 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $2.1M | |
| 2007-04-04 | Cold/Wind ChillDouglas County · forecast zone Douglas | 0 | 0 | $712K | |
| 2010-11-18 | Frost/FreezeSedgwick County · forecast zone Sedgwick | 0 | 4 | $20K | |
| 2025-02-17 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillGreeley County · forecast zone Greeley | 0 | 0 | $11K |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are extreme cold records becoming more frequent in Kansas?
Kansas's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.
| Decade | Kansas | United States | Kansas's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 131 | 5,539 | 2.4% |
| 2000s | 260 | 14,792 | 1.8% |
| 2010s | 106 | 18,162 | 0.6% |
| 2020-26 | 194 | 15,329 | 1.3% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent extreme cold records in Kansas
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-02-20 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillCrawford County · forecast zone Crawford | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-02-20 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillCherokee County · forecast zone Cherokee | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-02-20 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillBourbon County · forecast zone Bourbon | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-02-19 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillMeade County · forecast zone Meade | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-02-18 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillLinn County · forecast zone Linn | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-02-18 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillMiami County · forecast zone Miami | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-02-18 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillJohnson County · forecast zone Johnson | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-02-18 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillWyandotte County · forecast zone Wyandotte | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-02-18 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillLeavenworth County · forecast zone Leavenworth | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-02-18 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillDoniphan County · forecast zone Doniphan | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-02-18 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillAtchison County · forecast zone Atchison | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-02-18 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillRush County · forecast zone Rush | 0 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.
Next
- Wyandotte County: the county's whole recordThe Kansas county with the most extreme cold records per square mile
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