Reno County

Every recorded tornado

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

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, Reno$37.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   One to two inches of ice accumulated across Reno County during the ice storm. This resulted in approximately 2000 downed power poles and 7900 downed lines. Damage to the electrical infrastructure is estimated at $37.5 million. There was also widespread damage to trees but the cost of the damage is unknown. The Hutchinson News contributed to this report.

2. Jul 3, 2005Thunderstorm Wind$12.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Report received approximately 3 hours after occurrence. Therefore, event times are estimates. Damage at Cheney Lake State Park was extensive, and included the marina, around 125 boats, 35 campers, and mobile homes. All 6 people injured by the severe thunderstorms required transport to Wichita hospitals. The extent/magnitude of their injuries was unknown as of this writing. The fatality resulted when the victim was trying out a newly acquired fishing boat. Missing since the severe thunderstorms reached Cheney Lake, his body was found on Tuesday, around 10 a.m., in shallow water near an east-side shore amongst downed cottonwoods. As of this report, it was unknown whether the cause…

3. May 23, 2007Flood$6.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous, slow-moving thunderstorms produced widespread 4 to 5 inches of rain across the northwestern two-thirds of Reno County from the afternoon hours on May 23rd, to the early morning hours on May 24th. Particularly hard hit were locations from roughly near Arlington to Hutchinson to Buhler, where a narrow swath of rainfall measuring 7 to 8 inches occurred. Excessive runoff from this heavy rainfall caused the Arkansas River and several creeks and streams to rise above flood stage. Consequently, widespread flooding continued for days across Reno County. At least 60 homes and businesses were flooded. Damage to roads was rather extensive, and two bridges were in need of…

4. Nov 29, 2015Ice Storm, Reno$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A storm chaser measured 1/2 inch of ice in Hutchinson. Law enforcement and public reported widespread tree and power line damage that caused equally widespread power outages across the county. This damage was major and caused numerous power outages. Downed power lines severed power to 80 homes 5 miles northeast of Haven as well as 1 mile east of Hutchinson where 110 more homes lost power when limbs of various sizes fell onto power lines. Within Hutchinson City limits, many tree limbs of various sized fell onto power lines that severed power to around 450 homes while 40 more homes lost power 5 miles west of Hutchinson. One of the downed limbs was 8 inches in diameter. Late in the…

5. May 7, 2007Flash Flood$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Law enforcement reported major flooding on the Cow Creek in Hutchinson. Numerous water rescues were also performed along the creek. Roads throughout the county have been flooded. Damage to public roads, bridges and structures was estimated at 2.5 million dollars.

6. Mar 6, 2017Wildfire, Reno$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A large grass fire started north of Hutchinson on Sunday March 5th, but was around 90% contained by the early afternoon hours of Monday March 6th. However, the fire rapidly sparked back up early Monday evening, March the 6th, as winds flipped around to the northwest and relative humidity values plummeted. This forced evacuations of around 10,0000 people from areas north of Hutchinson including the far northern portions of the town. 6300 acres were burned by the fire, with 10 homes burned to the ground.

7. Mar 27, 2009Blizzard, Reno$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Light to moderate snow, with periodic bouts of heavy snow, affected the county from the early morning hours on the 27th through the early afternoon hours on the 28th. However, southeast portions of the county received a wintry mix of snow and sleet through much of the day on the 27th, changing over to all snow during the evening and overnight hours. Widespread snowfall amounts ranged from roughly 12 to 20 inches across the county. Hutchinson received 16 inches, with western portions of the county reaching 20 inches. Southeast portions of the county received 7 to 12 inches of snow, on top of at least 1 to 2 inches of sleet. Stout north to northeast winds resulted in considerable…

8. Aug 4, 2013Flash Flood$1.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Extreme street flooding and flash flooding occurred across the area, as 6 to 7 inches of rainfall fell over Hutchinson and Nickerson during the early morning hours. Numerous cars stalled out and were abandoned on city streets, with widespread basement flooding reported. During a 90 minute period, between 130am and 3am, some locations in Hutchinson picked up 3 to 5 inches of rainfall. At least 325 homes in the city of Hutchinson reported some property damage due to flooding, with 10 to 24 of the homes receiving major damage. 150 residents from a nursing home in Northwest Hutchinson were evacuated to a local hospital, because water was coming into the building. The water on city…

9. Mar 30, 2006Wildfire, Reno$1.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A wildfire burned 5,400 acres east of the Hutchinson Airport, near the intersection of 17th Avenue and Obee Road. It was likely started by a lightning strike from thunderstorms early that afternoon. 300-400 people were evacuated from a 21 square-mile area between 3-10 pm. The fire was well contained by 8 pm, but was not fully extinguished until late Saturday afternoon, April 1st. The fire destroyed 5 houses and 20 outbuildings, and numerous campers, automobiles and farm implements were damaged or destroyed. Most of the damaged large structures were located along 17th Avenue. Thankfully, no one was injured.

10. May 4, 1999Tornado$1.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    At Buhler, a subdivision consisting of 37 homes was hit. Of the 37 homes damaged, 3 were destroyed, 4 sustained major damage and 30 minor damage. This tornado would continue a northeast track into Southwest McPherson County where it skipped along Highway 61.

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

113°FJul 27, 2011

All-time low

−19°FFeb 16, 2021

Warmest night

83°F2 times, most recently Jul 27, 2011

Coldest day

1°FJan 24, 2026

Wettest day

7.49 inMay 23, 2007

Snowiest day

6.6 inMar 3, 1952

Hottest year

2012mean 59.8°F

Coldest year

1951mean 53.1°F

Wettest year

195746.63 in

Driest year

201213.24 in

Station Hutchinson Municipal Airport (USW00013986), 1,520 ft elevation, 4.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 25, 2026; 99.1% 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 USW00013986.
• 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.