Norton County

Every recorded tornado

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

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 29, 2006Winter Storm, Norton$22.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Snowfall totals across the county averaged 2 east and central, 5 in the west. A period of freezing rain occurred before the snow, producing 1 of ice. Damage costs are a preliminary combined estimate for both the Dec 20 and Dec 30 storms.

2. Jun 20, 2011Tornado$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong tornado developed just northeast of Almena and traveled roughly along Highway 383 to the Phillips county line near roads E and 14. (The tornado continued northeast for several miles into Phillips county before dissipating). One residence was completely destroyed, but a mother and her four children amazingly escaped without injury after seeking shelter in the basement. Many other farmsteads suffered significant damage to the residence itself, as well as to outbuildings, irrigation pivots, farm machinery and livestock.

3. Jun 14, 2014Thunderstorm Wind$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Many 2-3 ft. diameter trees were snapped off across town. One pine tree was also uprooted. Three or four houses in town had trees blown on them. One or two vehicles smashed under fallen trees. Part of a roof was torn off one house.

4. Jun 3, 1999Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A large tornado dropped down just east of the town of Norton and stayed on the ground for approximately 10 miles before finally lifting north-northeast of the town of Almena. This Tornado reached around 3/4 of a mile wide at times and did major (F3) damage to a few farmsteads. Tornado also went through a stage with multiple vortices.

5. Jun 14, 2014Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Roof and siding damage done to houses, with trees blown onto houses and a grain bin was damaged. Estimated time of report from radar.

6. Jun 20, 2011Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This large tornado moved from northern Graham County into Norton County, dissipating near Norton County Road E-6 and Highway 9 west of Densmore. The tornado was still producing EF2 damage in Norton County as it destroyed utility poles, grain bins and tree rows. A farmstead suffered significant damage west of Densmore. The roof was heavily damaged, vehicles and farm implements were moved, with grain bins and outbuildings damaged or destroyed.

7. Jul 31, 2009Hail$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Golf ball sized hail reported at Prairie Dog State Park, which broke windows in 60 vehicles, caused serious damage to 40 campers, and damaged cabins at the park. Flooding was confined to roadside ditches according to park personnel. Newspaper accounts placed damage to vehicles and park facilities at one million dollars.

8. May 22, 2008Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Street flooding with water up to 1 foot deep was reported in the city of Norton via the National Spotter Network. Radar also indicated extremely heavy rainfall occurring across much of central Norton county at this time. Local newspapers later stated that Norton county roads incurred an estimated $500,000 in damage as a result of the heavy rainfall and flooding in the area.

9. Jun 29, 2000Hail$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm Wind damage occurred across southeast Norton County along with some reports of Tennis Ball size Hail. Pastures destroyed and roof damage reported near Densmore.

10. Jun 20, 2011Tornado$350,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Storm survey team located a four-mile track of significant damage along and just south of Road S from Road 6 to Road 10. Major damage occurred to a grove of large cottonwood trees. Nearby, a farmstead received damage to outbuildings, utility poles, with the south-facing wall of the home bowed out as a result of the tornado.

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

118°FJun 28, 2012

All-time low

−28°FDec 23, 1989

Warmest night

78°F3 times, most recently Jun 21, 1989

Coldest day

−6°FFeb 16, 2021

Wettest day

5.38 inOct 8, 2011

Snowiest day

13.5 inFeb 3, 2016

Hottest year

2012mean 54.7°F

Coldest year

1993mean 48.1°F

Wettest year

199336.40 in

Driest year

200212.13 in

Snowiest season

46.5 in1992-93

Station Norton Dam (USC00145852), 2,346 ft elevation, 3.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1962 to October 30, 2026; 99.4% 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 USC00145852.
• 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 November 1, 2026.