Labette County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

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. Apr 19, 2000Tornado$71.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The same tornado that formed 3 miles south of Cherryvale at 1930 CST in eastern Montgomery County, the tornado entered western Labette County at 1934 CST, 10 miles southwest of Dennis. Moving northeast around 35 mph, the tornado passed 4 miles south of Dennis at 1940 CST. At 1945 CST, the tornado entered southwest Parsons where it inflicted major damage to a law enforcement center, a movie theater, and a carnival. In all, 750 buildings were damaged of which 633 were homes. Of the homes, 53 were destroyed, 112 sustained major damage and 468 received minor damage. Of the 117 commercial buildings that sustained damage, 20 were destroyed, 28 received major damage, and 69 received…

2. May 4, 2003Tornado$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   In Bartlett, the following were either heavily damaged or destroyed: 24 farm dwellings and service buildings, and 40 pieces of farm machinery and equipment.

3. Jul 5, 2004Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Barn sustained minor roof damage with trees uprooted in it's immediate vicinity. (Narrative courtesy of Parsons Sun.) Approximately 180 homes damaged, the magnitude ranging from minor to a few that were considered "totaled" by insurance adjustors. The following town property sustained damage: The golf course club house, the roofs of an unspecified number of buildings, fencing at the summer ball field, the electrical circuitry at Riverside Park, and the former Tee Top building. Governor Sebelius declared Labette County a disaster area. (Latter portion of narrative courtesy of Oswego Independent Observer.)

4. Jul 1, 2007Flash Flood$540,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Extremely heavy rainfall from the end of June into early July caused flash flooding throughout Labette County. The flash flooding and the ensuing river flooding resulted in 2 homes being destroyed and 11 others suffering major damage. This resulted in roughly 540 thousand dollars in damage. Major flooding was observed at Parsons and Oswego. Parsons recorded a crest of 35.05 feet while Oswego recorded a crest of 30.0 feet. These crests were 14.05 feet and 13 feet above flood stage respectively. The Neosho fell blow flood stage on the July 7th at both locations.

5. Apr 27, 2009Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Continued runoff from a couple heavy rainfall episodes from the 26th through the 30th produced areal flooding across portions of Labette county, as well as river flooding along the Neosho River, and its associated tributaries. Several rural and some city roads were closed due to high water. Trailer homes along the Neosho River on Highway 400 near Parsons were partially submerged. Flooding extended into the evening hours of May 4th. Sadly, two people were killed sometime during the overnight hours of the 27th or the early morning hours of the 28th, after attempting to traverse a flooded low water bridge crossing in their vehicle due to the swollen Pumpkin Creek just east of Mound…

6. Jan 26, 2009Winter Storm, Labette$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   One-quarter to one-half inch of ice accumulated across the county due to periodic freezing drizzle, freezing rain and sleet. Additionally, one to two inches of snow accumulated on top of the ice, making for extremely slick road conditions. Numerous automobile accidents occurred countywide, but no reports of injuries were received.

7. May 7, 2007Flash Flood$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A car trying to get away from flood water was swept off a road leading to a water rescue.

8. Aug 19, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several trees, limbs and power lines were downed in the Parsons area. Some of the downed power lines caused fires, but they were extinguished fairly rapidly. Property damage was limited mainly to trees and limbs falling on homes and other structures. Roof damage occurred to a handful of structures from winds peeling back a portion of the roof. Substantial water damage occurred inside at least one of the structures due to rain falling onto a heavily damaged roof. The Parsons Sun contributed to this report.

9. Feb 28, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Winds estimated between 90 and 110 mph produced widespread damage across Labette county, including damage to sheds, mobile homes, trees and power lines. The most extensive damage occurred in a three-mile-wide swath roughly 5 to 8 miles south of Parsons, including an overturned and completely destroyed mobile home. County officials estimated that roughly 15 to 18 homes were damaged countywide. Westar reported 25 utility poles downed countywide, resulting in nearly 80 percent of the county without power. Three injuries (direct) were reported across the county, one of which was critical. Property damage amounts are rough estimates. The Wichita Eagle and Parsons Sun contributed to this report.

10. Apr 28, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    FIVE BUILDINGS DAMAGED.

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

115°FJul 14, 1954

All-time low

−18°F3 times, most recently Feb 17, 2021

Warmest night

86°FAug 1, 1934

Coldest day

−1°FDec 23, 1989

Wettest day

7.75 inMay 5, 2022

Snowiest day

14.0 inDec 1, 2006

Hottest year

1954mean 62.2°F

Coldest year

1985mean 54.2°F

Wettest year

201969.64 in

Driest year

196321.91 in

Snowiest season

26.5 in1987-88

Station Parsons 2 Nw (USC00146242), 910 ft elevation, 7.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1925 to October 27, 2026; 98.9% 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 USC00146242.
• 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.