Wilson County

Every recorded tornado

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

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. Jul 1, 2007Flash Flood$21.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Extremely heavy rainfall from the end of June into early July caused flash flooding throughout Wilson County. The flash flooding and the ensuing river flooding led to approximately 500 homes sustaining major damage which resulted in an estimated 15 million dollars in damage. Additionally, 6.6 million dollars of damage was done to public infrastructure. The Fall River at Fredonia had a record crest of 41.12 feet on the morning of June 30th. This is 24.12 feet above flood stage. The river fell below flood stage early in the morning of July 2nd.

2. May 8, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$510,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A mobile home was blown 40 feet and ended up wrapped around a large tree and was totally demolished. A 54 year old woman of the home was found in the wreckage and died. A church in town was totally destroyed and also the town post office was a total loss after it collapsed. Numerous trees were also down across town.

3. Jan 1, 1999Winter Storm, Wilson$300,000
4. Mar 10, 2000Heavy Snow, Wilson$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   During the night of the 10th and 11th, a late season winter storm produced a narrow swath of 6 to 8 inch snowfalls across extreme southeast Kansas. Possessing a high water content, the heavy snow caused widespread damage to trees, power lines and about 30 power poles. Approximately 2,600 to 2,700 people experienced power outages lasting the duration of the weekend. In addition to reports from trained AGTAP spotters, reports were also received from the co-operative observer network and area newspapers.

5. Jan 26, 2009Winter Storm, Wilson$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   One-quarter inch of ice and sleet accumulated across the county due to periodic freezing drizzle, freezing rain and sleet. Additionally, light snow accumulations on top of the ice made for extremely slick road conditions. Numerous automobile accidents occurred countywide, but no injuries were reported.

6. Aug 20, 2005Lightning$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Front office, restaurant, and scale area of the Fredonia Sales Barn destroyed. (Narrative courtesy of the Wilson County Citizen.)

7. May 8, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$120,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Winds speeds of 80 to 90 mph produced widespread wind damage across Fredonia and Altoona. Numerous businesses in Fredonia had some serious roof damage. Sheds and outbuildings in rural areas were destroyed and 42 power poles were downed.

8. May 27, 2008Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A water rescue occurred where Highway 400 crossed over the Verdigris River. The person clung to a tree in the river until help arrived. The flood waters also washed out some railroad tracks.

9. Aug 20, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An early morning severe thunderstorm produced winds estimated at 70 mph across Wilson county. The storm downed numerous trees and caused scattered property damage in Neodesha, including the partial collapse of a storage building in downtown. Other Neodesha damage included a destroyed restaurant sign, and downed or leaning light poles at the ball field. The Chanute Tribune contributed to this report.

10. Aug 25, 2005Flash Flood$98,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Rainfalls of 8.63-12 inches in 12-hour period resulted in major flash flooding! All roads leading into Coyville (located in Northwest Wilson County), were barricaded, thus preventing all access into or out of town. The remainder of Wilson County received around 6 inches of rain during this same 12-hour period. In extreme Northeast Wilson County, flash flooding of Highway 39 resulted in it's closure, preventing travel into or out of the small town of Two Lakes. New Albany, located in extreme West-Central Wilson County, was surrounded by flash flooding. In Neodesha, located in South-Central Wilson County, 6 people were rescued from a truck after being stranded. An estimated 16,000…

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

121°FJul 18, 1936

All-time low

−21°F2 times, most recently Jan 30, 1949

Warmest night

85°F2 times, most recently Jul 18, 1954

Coldest day

0°F2 times, most recently Dec 23, 1983

Wettest day

11.76 inJun 30, 2007

Snowiest day

15.0 inNov 5, 1951

Hottest year

1946mean 61.3°F

Coldest year

2013mean 54.0°F

Wettest year

200862.96 in

Driest year

195617.98 in

Snowiest season

34.5 in1948-49

Station Fredonia (USC00142894), 893 ft elevation, 5.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1902 to October 27, 2026; 85.5% 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 USC00142894.
• 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.