McPherson County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Dec 10, 2007Ice Storm, Mcpherson$9.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   One to two inches of ice accumulated across McPherson County during the ice storm. This resulted in approximately 500 downed power poles and 2000 downed lines. Damage to the electrical infrastructure is estimated at $9.8 million. There was also widespread damage to trees but the cost of the damage is unknown.

2. Nov 1, 1998Flood, Mcpherson$1.5 million
   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…

3. May 31, 2007Thunderstorm Wind$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Rather extensive damage occurred across the town of Moundridge due to extreme straight line winds estimated at 90 to 100 mph. Three businesses and one residence received major damage. Numerous trees were uprooted across the town. The damage path was relatively narrow, indicating an intense channel microburst. Three individuals received minor injuries.

4. May 7, 2014Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Extensive damage from wind driven hail occurred in and around the town of Galva, Kansas. The winds were estimated to be between 65 and 75 mph causing damage to numerous houses and downing tress across town. Tree limbs eight inches in diameter were knocked down. An RV storage unit had it's roof taken off from the damaging winds. Homes received damage to siding from wind driven half dollar sized hail. The roof of the school had damage as well.

5. Jun 27, 2013Hail$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The public also estimated 60-70 mph winds that uprooted trees all over town.

6. May 7, 2014Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Damaging wind gusts estimated at 75 mph derailed a train, with 33 rail cars knocked off the tracks. Two drivers were aboard the train, but were unharmed. The rail cars contained grain products, and other household goods. Cleanup took over a week to complete.

7. Jun 13, 2010Thunderstorm Wind$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Sixty five to seventy mph winds tore part of the roof off the Smoky Valley High School gymnasium. With the roof open, a heavy deluge of rainfall damaged the gym floor beyond repair. A basketball practice was ongoing when the ceiling was torn off but no one was hurt. Numerous trees were also knocked down across town with some minor structural damage reported to some homes.

8. Mar 27, 2009Blizzard, Mcpherson$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Light to moderate snow, with periodic bouts of heavy snow, affected the county from the mid to late morning hours on the 27th, through the late morning hours on the 28th. However, areas of sleet accumulated across mainly southeast portions of the county during the day on the 27th. Snowfall amounts ranged from roughly 8 inches over far eastern portions of the county, to 12 to 18 inches elsewhere across the county. Inman received 18 inches, Windom and Marquette 15 inches, and McPherson 13 inches. Stout north to northeast winds resulted in considerable blowing and drifting of snow, with visibilities occasionally dropping to one-quarter mile or less. The weight of the snow partially…

9. May 7, 2014Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees and power lines were reported knocked down in and around Canton. A section of rook was taken off of a home west of Canton on Highway 56. The school in Canton reported wind damage to its roof.

10. Jun 11, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Two 80-85 foot silos collapsed, destroying the office building and milling operation. A 45-by-50 foot metal pole barn was destroyed, being picked up and hurled into a field southeast of where it had been located. Numerous businesses and residences sustained roof damage and had windows blown out. Obviously, tree damage was widespread and numerous power lines and power poles were downed. Area newspapers contributed greatly to this report.

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

117°F3 times, most recently Aug 12, 1936

All-time low

−22°F2 times, most recently Jan 3, 1919

Warmest night

87°FJul 1, 1894

Coldest day

−5°FJan 12, 1918

Wettest day

5.05 inMay 24, 2007

Snowiest day

20.0 inFeb 25, 1912

Hottest year

1934mean 60.1°F

Coldest year

2013mean 52.8°F

Wettest year

195149.12 in

Driest year

195615.24 in

Snowiest season

62.0 in1911-12

Station Mcpherson (USC00145152), 1,520 ft elevation, 2.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 27, 2026; 91.5% 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 USC00145152.
• 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.