Scott County

Every recorded tornado

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

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 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. May 16, 1999Thunderstorm Wind$1.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Swath of large hail and high wind across the county produced $1.55 million in damage to property. Extensive damage was also done to crops. In Scott City, a roof was blown off; a camper was blown 30 feet and a shed was blown down.

2. May 9, 1996Hail$650,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   hail from nickel to quarter size were accompanied by strong wind. damage to crops and homes was nearly 8 miles wide near and along kansas highway 96.

3. Apr 22, 2010Tornado$210,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This wedge tornado was witnessed by storm chasers and spotters and damaged several barns, sheds and 2 pivot irrigation sprinklers.

4. Oct 2, 2017Tornado$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Damage was done to irrigation sprinklers, power poles and trees. It was also well documented by video.

5. Mar 12, 1999Winter Storm, Scott$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Winter Storm affected the entire CWA producing heavy snow and local blizzard conditions. There were winter weather driving accidents (fender benders) but no injuries. Three structures received damage. One, a greenhouse in Greensburg, received damage as the roof caved in from the weight of the heavy snow. In Pratt county, a machine shed collapsed. The most severe damage occurred in Scott City with the local hardware store was destroyed from the weight of the snow. Snowfall amounts ranged from 7 to 18 inches with 12 to 14 inches common. There was an unofficial amount of 24 inches in Edwards county. Some specific amounts include (in inches): Trego Center 18, Kinsley 18, Ness City 17,…

6. Apr 11, 1998Wildfire$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A small fire quickly got out of control due to strong winds. Over 100 acres of grass burned and two cabins were destroyed in the fire.

7. Sep 8, 2015Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A center pivot irrigation sprinkler was blown over by the high wind.

8. Jul 15, 1997Thunderstorm Wind$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tree was uprooted and then fell onto a house.

9. May 10, 2010Thunderstorm Wind$15,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several power poles were broken, trees were toppled over, barn doors were blown off and a grain bin was collapsed by the high wind.

10. Mar 8, 2000High Wind, Scott$15,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Grain bin damaged, truck overturned and tree fell on a house.

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

114°FJul 13, 1913

All-time low

−26°F2 times, most recently Jan 11, 1918

Warmest night

79°F3 times, most recently Aug 11, 1943

Coldest day

−7°FDec 21, 1983

Wettest day

7.29 inJun 20, 2018

Snowiest day

15.0 inMar 24, 1980

Hottest year

1934mean 56.9°F

Coldest year

1993mean 49.4°F

Wettest year

192337.93 in

Driest year

20228.01 in

Snowiest season

65.0 in1918-19

Station Scott City (USC00147271), 2,974 ft elevation, 0.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1895 to September 29, 2026; 99.5% 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 USC00147271.
• 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.