Doniphan County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Doniphan County: 0.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the county boundary (or inside the county).
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by NASA (1).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Dec 10, 2007Ice Storm, Doniphan$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Up to an inch of ice was reported across the county. Numerous tree branches and power lines were reported down. Power was out for many residents up to a week.

2. Jul 18, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several barns were destroyed, including the historic Round Barn landmark. Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated up to 70 mph.

3. May 26, 2000Lightning$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning struck a historic building, most recently used as a dance studio, in downtown Wathena. The fire that followed rendered the building a total loss, but did not spread to any other buildings.

4. Mar 13, 2019Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Once the Missouri River started flooding on March 9, it remained in flood through the remainder of the month. The gauge in St. Joseph, Missouri reached 32.12 feet on March 22 (preliminarily a new record). The flooding was caused by several rounds of heavy snow across the Northern Plains through the winter months, followed by a rapid warm-up and several days of heavy rain. The Missouri River Basin across the Northern Plains flooded with catastrophic consequences as numerous dams and levees failed. As the water flowed into the Missouri River upstream of Buchanan County, the river swelled and ultimately overwhelmed the levees along the river. Local fields were also submerged, which…

5. Jan 30, 2002Heavy Snow, Doniphan$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A long-lived major ice and snow storm blasted much of eastern Kansas, January 29th through January 31st. Ice accumulations of 1 to 2 inches were observed with snow accumulations of 6 to 10 inches in Atchison and Doniphan counties. The results of the storm were devasting to many communities. A tremendous amount of people were without power for extended periods of times, due to downed trees and tree limbs crippling power supplies in the affected areas.

6. Jun 13, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$35,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds blew down a tree which fell on and totaled a trailer in Wathena.

7. Apr 27, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$15,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Roof blown off a metal machine shed. Two other metal sheds were destroyed and a barn and residence had roof damage.

8. Aug 9, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$10,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A roof was reported to have been blown off a home. Several power poles and trees were also blown down.

9. Jun 14, 2004Thunderstorm Wind$10,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Powerlines blown down. Large tree toppled on house.

10. Jun 19, 2010Thunderstorm Wind$10,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Multiple trailers were damaged by thunderstorm wind gusts, estimated up to 70 mph, near the Lake Contrary area.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

107°F2 times, most recently Jul 30, 1980

All-time low

−25°FJan 12, 1974

Warmest night

87°FJul 27, 1970

Coldest day

−4°FJan 14, 2024

Wettest day

4.74 inSep 13, 2016

Snowiest day

8.5 inMar 2, 1978

Hottest year

2024mean 57.2°F

Coldest year

1979mean 50.3°F

Wettest year

197355.60 in

Driest year

201119.46 in

Station St. Joseph Rosecrans Mem Airport (USW00013993), 807 ft elevation, 8.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 2026; 98.6% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

Neighbouring counties

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USW00013993.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.