Rice County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Rice 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, Rice$6.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   One to two inches of ice accumulated across Rice County during the ice storm. This resulted in approximately 300 downed power poles and 1200 downed lines. Damage to the electrical infrastructure is estimated at $6.4 million. There was also widespread damage to trees but the cost of the damage is unknown. The Lyons News Contributed to this report.

2. May 23, 2007Flood$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous, slow-moving thunderstorms produced widespread 2 to 5 inch rainfall amounts across Rice County from the late afternoon hours on May 23rd, to the early morning hours on May 24th. Excessive runoff caused area streams and creeks to overflow their banks, resulting in widespread flooding. Several rural and city roads were closed due to high water, agricultural land was inundated, and several roads countywide were damaged. Numerous homes and businesses received various magnitudes of flood damage. Some evacuations were needed along the Cow Creek. The community of Saxman was essentially surrounded by the flooded Cow Creek. Thankfully there were no injuries reported countywide.…

3. May 6, 2007Flood$2.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   US Highway 56 was closed between Chase and Lyons with about 2 feet of water flowing over it. K-14 was closed north of Lyons. Numerous other county roads were flooded throughout the entire county. Stretches of K-14 as well as numerous county roads were washed out during the flood. Damage to just public infrastructure was estimated to be at least 2.568 million dollars.

4. Jul 16, 2010Heat, Rice$1.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The oppressive heat and humidity killed an estimated 300 to 400 cattle in feedlots across Rice County. Monetary loss estimates include cattle deaths along with the 40 to 70 pounds of average weight loss most heads of cattle incurred.

5. Sep 3, 2009Hail$550,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Golfball sized hail caused widespread damage to roofs across the town. Almost half the homes in town had roofs replaced due to the large hail.

6. May 8, 2009Flood$290,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous low water crossings or small bridges were washed out due to high water. Concrete structures were damaged by the raging water with some estimates of 2 to 4 inches of rainfall.

7. May 9, 1996Hail$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CROSSING RICE COUNTY ON THIS EVENING DROPPED HAIL AS LARGE AS BASEBALLS FROM HIGHWAY 14 ON EAST, DAMAGING CROPS, BUILDINGS, VEHICLES AND FARM EQUIPMENT.

8. Aug 12, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Metal facade covering 2nd floor of building located on east side of town square demolished. Gas meter crushed when limb fell onto it allowing natural gas to escape. Awning of car wash damaged. In addition, many vehicles blown off roads, including a sheriff's patrol car. Approximately 3,700 residents were without power. Tree damage was widespread, the most noteworthy being the uprooting of an elm with a 30-inch base that nearly landed on a motel situated on the east side of town. Area newspapers contributed greatly to this report.

9. Aug 12, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Monetary breakdown on farm losses: Dwellings and service buildings= $150,000; Structures (i.e. silos) =$50,000; Machinery=$25,000. Total acreage affected: 500,000. USDA Flash Situation Report contributed greatly to this narrative. In addition, power lines downed in many locations.

10. Apr 29, 2010Hail$250,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The hail occurred with estimated 65 mph winds. Numerous vehicles and roofs received hail damage in town, some of which was rather extensive and severe. Incurred property damage is a rough estimate.

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

112°F2 times, most recently Jul 28, 2011

All-time low

−18°FDec 22, 1989

Warmest night

81°F2 times, most recently Jul 19, 1980

Coldest day

−1°FDec 21, 1983

Wettest day

7.20 inAug 12, 2002

Snowiest day

16.0 inApr 4, 1983

Hottest year

1954mean 58.7°F

Coldest year

2013mean 53.6°F

Wettest year

197347.49 in

Driest year

196614.64 in

Snowiest season

45.1 in1959-60

Station Sterling (USC00147796), 1,642 ft elevation, 7.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 27, 2026; 98.5% 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 USC00147796.
• 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.