Jewell County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

River crests

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 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.

Costliest events since 1996

1. May 29, 2008Tornado$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado moved out of Mitchell County and into Jewell County about 4 miles west of Highway 14. As the tornado moved northeast and was southwest of the town of Jewell, it hit three farmsteads and severely damaged the homes and outbuildings at these locations. One of the homes was completely destroyed and other had a machine shed also destroyed. Trees and power poles and lines were also damaged along its path. The tornado entered the southwest side of community of Jewell and moved across the west side of town. Several homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed. The Jewell Caf�� and the Bourbon Trucking Company were destroyed. The town���s water tower was also blown…

2. Oct 25, 1997Winter Storm, Jewell$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An autumn snowstorm dumped an early surprise on north central Kansas the final weekend of October. Wind driven snow amounts totaled in excess of one foot by storms' end.The storms' origin began in the southwest United States with a strong upper level low pressure riding along the southern jet stream. As the storm turned northeast, rainfall began in north central Kansas Friday night. Two to three inches of rain fell on the area before beginning the changeover to snow late Saturday afternoon..The snow became heavy Saturday night, and as low pressure intensified, north winds increased to 30 to 45 mph causing near blizzard conditions. Many roads west of Smith Center and Osborne became…

3. Jun 22, 2003Flash Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A torrent of rain was unleashed on the eastern half of Jewell county on June 22. Over 9 inches of rain fell at Lovewell Reservoir. Flash flooding was reported near the campground just downstream on the White Rock Creek. Two men escaped injury despite being stranded by flood waters. The men were attempting to reach a house on fire around 3 am. The men were driving a road grader. The grader was swept off a bridge by the raging flood waters. The two men sat on a wheel of the grader until 6 am before the water receded enough to rescue them safely. No one was home in the house the men were trying to reach, but it was destroyed by the fire. The flooding caused severe county road and…

4. May 6, 2015Tornado$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado started west of Mankato, traveling north and passing approximately 1 mile to the west of Burr Oak before turning more to the northeast and lifting. One woman was injured at her home approximately 4 miles south-southwest of Burr Oak. This tornado was rated an EF2, with an estimated peak wind speed of 130 MPH.||Along the path of this tornado, at least 4 homes sustained damage, including roof, window and siding damage. One home lost a large section of its roof. A garage was destroyed, with the vehicles inside moved 30-50 feet from their original location. Other outbuildings, grain bins, power poles and trees were damaged or destroyed.

5. May 6, 2015Tornado$1.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado touched down west-northwest of Webber in Jewell County, KS, traveling northeast through the very northwest corner of Republic County, KS, before entering Nebraska near the town of Hardy in Nuckolls County. It continued traveling northeast into Thayer County, lifting northwest of Deshler. This tornado was rated an EF2, with an estimated peak wind speed of 122 MPH. EF2 damage was noted in both Jewell County, KS and Nuckolls County, NE.||Damage along this tornado path included numerous pivots overturned and snapped power poles. There was a large amount of tree damage noted. In addition, in Jewell County, grain bins and outbuildings were destroyed, and a home lost a…

6. Aug 14, 2020Hail$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A long-lived supercell produced a substantial swath of very large hail in the Mankato and Jewell areas, with large hail produced for a significant amount of time. A public report of golf ball size hail was received at 7:45 p.m. CDT in Mankato. By 7:50 p.m. CDT, the hail size in Mankato reached a measured diameter of 4 inches, with tennis ball size hail still falling in town at 8:10 p.m. CDT. At 8:13 p.m. CDT, golf ball size hail was reported about 3 miles northwest of Randall. At 8:15 p.m. CDT, 4 inch diameter hail was reported 2 miles north of Jewell, with baseball size hail in Jewell. Significant hail damage to homes, vehicles and crops occurred in the area. As just one example,…

7. May 9, 2023Hail$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hail up to the size of tennis balls was reported in Mankato.

8. May 27, 2013Tornado$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado affected two counties in north central Kansas, touching down north of Lebanon in Smith County and lifting north of Esbon in Jewell County. The maximum wind speed was estimated to be near 140 MPH, with a maximum path width of 1580 yards. Along its path, this tornado caused minor to major tree damage, overturned irrigation pivots, snapped power poles and damaged or destroyed grain bins and outbuildings. Four homesteads suffered damage, with the hardest hit locations approximately 3 miles northeast of Lebanon in Smith County. Two homes in this area were heavily damaged or destroyed, with one losing its entire second level. This location also completely lost grain bins, a…

9. Dec 30, 2006Ice Storm, Jewell$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A wide variety of significant winter weather began impacting portions of north central Kansas. Freezing rain, sleet, and snow began early Saturday morning mainly along highway 183 and spread east during the day. This led to significant ice accumulations which continued through Saturday night. Many locations received at least one half inch of ice. The deposits of ice have caused widespread tree damage, along with power outages, and damage to power lines and poles.

10. Mar 7, 1998Winter Storm, Jewell$300,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A strong, late season winter storm belted north central Kansas with near blizzard conditions and 6 to 12 inches of snow over the weekend. The storm developed in the southwest United States and slowly moved northeast across the Central Plains. A mixture of light rain and freezing rain fell across north central Kansas on Saturday the 7th, before changing to snow in the evening. The snow, heavy at times, lasted through the night before ending by midday on Sunday, the 8th.On Sunday, an increasing north wind gusting to 50 mph resulting in six foot drifts, impassible roads and near blizzard conditions. Fortunately, ample lead time and accurate forecasts give most residents the choice to…

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

109°F3 times, most recently Aug 9, 2000

All-time low

−29°FDec 23, 1989

Warmest night

78°F5 times, most recently Jul 27, 2023

Coldest day

−5°FDec 21, 1983

Wettest day

9.39 inJun 23, 2003

Snowiest day

12.0 in2 times, most recently Jan 26, 2021

Hottest year

2024mean 55.4°F

Coldest year

1993mean 49.1°F

Wettest year

197345.22 in

Driest year

200014.39 in

Snowiest season

47.0 in2000-01

Station Lovewell Dam (USC00144857), 1,602 ft elevation, 12.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1958 to August 31, 2026; 89.5% 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 USC00144857.
• 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.