Smith County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

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. May 27, 2013Tornado$1.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado affected two counties in north central Kansas, touching down north of Lebanon in Smith County and lifting north of Esbon in Jewell County. The maximum wind speed was estimated to be near 140 MPH, with a maximum path width of 1580 yards. Along its path, this tornado caused minor to major tree damage, overturned irrigation pivots, snapped power poles and damaged or destroyed grain bins and outbuildings. Four homesteads suffered damage, with the hardest hit locations approximately 3 miles northeast of Lebanon in Smith County. Two homes in this area were heavily damaged or destroyed, with one losing its entire second level. This location also completely lost grain bins, a…

2. May 26, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms exited southern Nebraska and spread south across northern Kansas. Most storms produced winds around 60 mph and hail up to the size of golf balls. One storm packed winds in excess of 80 mph around the Portis and Harlan areas. The winds blew over 70 empty train cars and caused extensive crop damage. A passenger in a truck traveling along U.S. Highway 281 was struck by a piece of wood that flew into the window. The man was transported to a local hospital then airlifted to a Wichita hospital for additional treatment. Many areas, especially in Smith and Jewell counties, reported crops as a total loss. The damage in Jewell county was described as being destroyed to "table…

3. Jun 2, 2011Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain in excess of 4 inches cause widespread flooding in southeast Smith County. The worst flood conditions were felt along the Oak Creek near Dispatch and its upstream tributaries.

4. Jul 19, 2001Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Wind gusts estimated at 100 mph caused considerable damage in the town of Gaylord just before 7 pm CDT. The wind was a result of a wet microburst from a storm located just east of Gaylord. Homes and businesses on the east side of town sustained the most damage; including considerable tree damage, windows blown out, and minor structural damage. Considerable damage occurred at the local grain and fertilizer companies. Warehouses and grain bins were destroyed. Power was not restored in town until six hours later.

5. Dec 30, 2006Ice Storm, Smith$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A wide variety of significant winter weather began impacting portions of north central Kansas. Freezing rain, sleet, and snow began early Saturday morning mainly along highway 183 and spread east during the day. This led to significant ice accumulations which continued through Saturday night. Many locations received at least one half inch of ice. The deposits of ice have caused widespread tree damage, along with power outages, and damage to power lines and poles.

6. May 6, 2024Hail$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Potent upper level low brings widespread severe weather to much of the Central Plains, including portions of north central Kansas, during the afternoon and early evening hours of May 6th. The initial thunderstorms developed in the Norton, KS area between noon and 1PM CDT, then gradually shifted east into Phillips and Rooks Counties between 1-3PM. The initial threat with these more discrete cells was hail up to golf ball size. However, as storms transitioned weaker and more linear after 3PM along and east of Hwy 281, the primary severe hazard became strong to marginally severe wind gusts around 50-60 MPH. The leading edge of the line of thunderstorms that posed the damaging wind…

7. Jul 26, 1998Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Early morning thunderstorms dropped 3 to 6 inches of rain over the northern portions of Smith county. At a residence northwest of Smith Center, the five and a half inch rain gauge overflowed. Other reports include 4.75 at Athol and 3.68 in Smith Center. These heavy rains caused the Cedar and Beaver creeks to run out of their banks. The runoff caused damage to area roads and bridges. The rains appeared to weaken a section of rail track bed which lead to a train derailment. Twelve of the 61 car train were derailed which spilled an estimated 35,000 bushels of wheat.

8. Dec 10, 2007Winter Storm, Smith$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy ice accumulations of one half inch or more was reported.

9. May 8, 2021Hail$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hail ranging anywhere from pea size to 2 inches in diameter was reported in Smith Center from a number of sources.

10. Aug 9, 2014Hail$250,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Primarily between 7 pm-1 am CDT on this Saturday evening, much of this six-county North Central Kansas area observed widespread thunderstorm activity. However, all severe-criteria hail and wind reports, along with the heaviest pockets of torrential rainfall, targeted Jewell County along with northern and eastern portions of Smith and Mitchell counties. All severe reports in these areas occurred between 8-10 pm CDT in association with a southeastward-drifting supercell cluster that first blossomed over Franklin County Nebraska before crossing the state line into the local area. As this initially rather discrete severe storm affected Smith County mainly between 8-9 pm CDT, it…

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°FJun 28, 2012

All-time low

−26°F2 times, most recently Dec 22, 1989

Warmest night

85°F3 times, most recently Aug 18, 1983

Coldest day

−6°F2 times, most recently Dec 22, 1989

Wettest day

6.44 inAug 2, 1911

Snowiest day

14.0 inNov 7, 1953

Hottest year

1953mean 57.1°F

Coldest year

2008mean 50.9°F

Wettest year

199340.30 in

Driest year

193410.02 in

Snowiest season

47.6 in1957-58

Station Smith Center (USC00147542), 1,820 ft elevation, 1.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1910 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 USC00147542.
• 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.