Greenwood County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Greenwood 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.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

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.

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jan 30, 2002Ice Storm, Greenwood$25.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The same winter storm that all but paralized south-central Kansas hit southeast Kansas early on the morning of the 30th and lasted well into the morning of the 31st. Freezing rain was almost solely responsible for ice accumulations of 1-2 inches that caused widespread tree and power line damage. The resulting power outages affected nearly all of the region and lasted, in some cases, nearly a week.

2. Jun 26, 2018Tornado$13.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A large circulation around tree top level moved into the southwest side of town causing minimal damage initially to trees and one business, before descending fully to the ground, as it moved northeast across town. The tornado fully came down to the ground, on the northeast side of town, intensifying, and causing significant damage to homes and businesses. The worst damage, rated EF-3, occurred just south of the high school, with one home having only interior walls remaining standing. Eight injuries were reported due to the tornado, with three of the injuries occurring in one house.

3. Jul 7, 2016Tornado$3.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down just northwest of the Eureka Country Club and moved southeast across the town. As the tornado moved through town, it destroyed 31 homes, 23 homes had major damage, and another 32 had minor damage. A total of 152 structures were damaged in some way. The tornado was rated an EF2, due the damage caused across town, with the hardest hit areas, just to the west of the Eureka nursing home. NO serious injuries or deaths occurred with the tornado. Eyewitness accounts suggest that residents received ample warning lead time, due to the information being received through the alert function of their mobile devices.

4. Mar 27, 2009Winter Storm, Greenwood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A wintry mix of sleet and freezing rain affected the county from the early to mid morning hours on the 27th through the early morning hours on the 28th. The wintry mix eventually changed over to all snow from west to east during the morning hours on the 28th, and persisted into the afternoon hours. Widespread ice accumulations ranged from one-quarter to three quarters of an inch, with isolated 1 inch amounts. Total sleet and snow accumulations on top of the ice ranged from 1 to 3 inches. Stout north to northeast winds resulted in some blowing snow and reduced visibilities during the morning and afternoon hours on the 28th. The weight of the ice downed more than 80 power poles in…

5. Dec 11, 2007Ice Storm, Greenwood$1.9 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   One to one and a half inches of ice accumulated across mainly northern Greenwood County during the ice storm. This resulted in approximately 100 downed power poles and 400 downed lines. Damage to the electrical infrastructure is estimated at $1.9 million. There was also widespread damage to trees but the cost of the damage is unknown.

6. Mar 28, 2012Hail$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hail stone diameters ranged from golfball size to just over three-inches in Madison. Widespread roof and car damage likely occurred. This was the first (and largest) round of large hail to hit Madison within a two-hour period. Property damage amounts are rough estimates.

7. Nov 1, 1998Flood, Greenwood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread heavy rains of 6-10 inches inundated South-Central and Southeast Kansas from the evening of October 30th thru November 1st while 4-8 inches drenched Central Kansas. As a result, record flooding occurred along the following rivers:Whitewater River: At Towanda: crest: 30.53 feet on 11/01/98. (Old record: 29.73 feet on 06/08/79). At Augusta: crest: 34.95 feet on 11/01/98. (Old record: 32.70 feet on 06/08/79).Arkansas River: At Derby: crest: 16.60 feet on 11/01/98. (Old record: 16.19 feet on 07/15/93). At Arkansas City, 28.89 feet on 11/03/98. (Old record: 27.62 feet on 05/11/93).Walnut River: At Arkansas City: crest: 32.45 feet on 11/03/98. (Old record: 29.22 feet on…

8. Jan 1, 1999Winter Storm, Greenwood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A winter storm crossing the Southern Plains produced widespread sleet and freezing rain across Southeast Kansas resulting in significant ice accumulations of 1/2-1 inch over most of the region. Damage to trees and power lines was extensive, resulting in widespread power outages and making travel extremely dangerous.

9. Jul 7, 2016Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down in open country and then moved southeast. Towards the end of the tornadoes life, a home was hit and completely destroyed with all walls being compromised. The walls were not adequately secured to the foundation, therefore, a lower rating was provided. Otherwise, significant tree damage including snapped trunks were widespread along the river valley. A corn crop was also completely decimated. The odd track is due to this mesocyclone dissipating and a new one developing to the southeast and it became influenced by the airflow around the new circulation. This carousal affect also led to such a wide damage path near the end of its life.

10. Jul 9, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$100,000

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

120°FJul 18, 1936

All-time low

−22°FJan 19, 1943

Warmest night

87°F2 times, most recently Aug 17, 1956

Coldest day

0°F2 times, most recently Dec 23, 2022

Wettest day

6.96 in2 times, most recently Jul 1, 2007

Snowiest day

15.2 inFeb 8, 1980

Hottest year

1921mean 60.6°F

Coldest year

1912mean 51.9°F

Wettest year

196160.13 in

Driest year

195618.87 in

Snowiest season

44.0 in1972-73

Station Eureka 1E (USC00142622), 1,100 ft elevation, 3.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1909 to September 30, 2026; 97.5% 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 USC00142622.
• 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.
• 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.