Thomas County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

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. Dec 29, 2006Winter Storm, Thomas$4.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Snowfall totals across the county averaged 13 east, 18 central and 20-24 extreme southwest. Damage costs are a preliminary combined estimate for both the Dec 20 and Dec 30 storms.

2. Jul 12, 2010Hail$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A long-track supercell produced 25 known reports of large hail over a 30 mile path from 12 N of Colby to near Oakley over a period of about 90 minutes. Hail sizes ranged from golf ball to grapefruit size. Windows were broken, roofs heavily damaged, skylights broken and equipment destroyed. Approximately 35,000 acres of cropland were affected by the storm. Sources included public, Thomas County Farm Service Agency, amateur radio, spotters and the NSSL Shave project.

3. Oct 6, 2011Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado developed about 4 miles SSE of Brewster near Roads 3 and M. The tornado traveled north-northeast at speeds of 50 mph, passing east of Brewster and dissipating about 4 miles northeast of Brewster near roads 4 and T. One farmstead south of Interstate 70 received damage to outbuildings, trees, a large grain bin and utility poles on the property. Fortunately only minor roof damage occurred as the large tree branches fell on the house. Further northeast several utility poles were snapped and at least one irrigation pivot was overturned. Numerous outbuildings were also damaged at a farm near Roads 4 and R as the tornado moved northeast.

4. May 26, 2012High Wind, Thomas$174,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Reported at Colby. Zero visibility from blowing dust. Several semis blown over in the eastbound lane on I-70, closing the interstate for a short time at mile marker 45. At 3 ESE of Levant several outbuildings were damaged or destroyed. An apartment building in Colby lost its roof, and may have had wall or ceiling collapses. No reports of injuries. Several fires reported around Colby due to transformer explosions, prompting all available fire fighters and police officers. The strong winds and reduced visibilities in the blowing dust are hampering recovery efforts. A porch roof 1 SSE of Colby was blown off the house. At 6 SSW of Colby a large grain silo was caved in. At 5 SE of…

5. Dec 22, 2009Winter Weather, Thomas$155,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Freezing drizzle and fog resulted in slick roads and numerous traffic accidents and slide offs on Interstate 70. Two fatalities and three injuries occurred in two of the more severe accidents occurring between 2100 and 2200 CST. Property damage noted is related only to the fatality/injury accidents.

6. Sep 7, 2009Flood$145,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Road 30 between Road B and C in southern Thomas County was washed out, including a bridge over the Saline River. The local utility company stated that $30,000 worth of damage occurred to power poles in the vicinity. Several nearby homes also suffered flood damage.

7. Aug 7, 2006Tornado$125,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado developed approximately 2 miles south of Colby at Interstate 70 and highway 25 and traveled 5 miles to the northwest before dissipating. The tornado developed near the Oasis Travel Plaza at 649 pm CDT and dissipated at 659 pm CDT over open fields west of town. The tornado moved northwest at approximately 30 mph. A damage survey team rated the tornado an F1 on the Fujita Scale.The tornado injured 4 people as a result of flying glass and debris at the nearby Comfort Inn, which sustained damage with debris piercing the outside walls, while awnings and tables were also damaged. A 45 foot sign supported by three "I" beams was bent over to the ground. A car dealership reported…

8. Jul 1, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tin shed that was unanchored was blown apart with one tree uprooted, several tree limbs down, and a portion of a rear windshield blown out of a truck.

9. Mar 26, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Power poles snapped. Two center pivot irrigation rigs destroyed.

10. Jan 19, 2011Winter Weather, Thomas$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Numerous slide off and rollover accidents due to light freezing drizzle were reported by local law enforcement. Among the accidents were two semitrailers involved in two separate incidents, one a jack-knifed semi and the other a rollover on Interstate 70.

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

−32°FDec 22, 1989

Warmest night

77°FJul 25, 2008

Coldest day

−7°FFeb 5, 1989

Wettest day

4.86 inJun 18, 1975

Snowiest day

19.0 inOct 26, 1997

Hottest year

2012mean 55.0°F

Coldest year

1993mean 47.4°F

Wettest year

199330.79 in

Driest year

196711.17 in

Snowiest season

70.7 in1983-84

Station Colby 1SW (USC00141699), 3,170 ft elevation, 1.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1957 to October 27, 2026; 99.2% 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 USC00141699.
• 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.