Douglas County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Douglas 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 storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 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.

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. Nov 5, 2024Flash Flood$11.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Highway Y at Cowskin Creek was closed due to flooding. Additional county property damages were reported throughout the entire county, primarily to dirt roads and bridges. Damage cost estimates are a reflection of the county as a whole.

2. May 8, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Sixty to 80 mph wind gusts swept across all of Douglas County causing widespread damage to trees, outbuildings, and power poles. Several shops, barns, and other farm related outbuildings were destroyed across the county. In Ava, damage mainly consisted of a few roofs that had minor damage. Communities within the county that were impacted the greatest include Pansy, Goodhope, and Redbank.

3. Apr 30, 2017Flash Flood$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous homes and at least four businesses sustained severe flood damage across Douglas County. Numerous roads and bridges were severely damaged or washed away across the county. This report will contain the total dollar estimate for flood damage to infrastructure, businesses, and homes across Douglas County.

4. May 8, 2024Hail$1.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Social media report of softball size hail. An estimated 30 homes, from northern sections of Ava northward to the county line, suffered damage to roofs, windows and siding. Damage estimates of $32,000 per home occurred, with another 30 cars damaged as well including some that had windows broken. This damage summary includes hail reported in other locations from Ava northward during this evening.

5. Mar 18, 2008Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Rainfall amounts over Douglas County ranged from five to seven inches. Widespread flooding occurred on most of the county roads. All low areas that typically flood during periods of excessive rain flooded.

6. Apr 25, 2011Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous low water crossings in rural areas were flooded throughout the county.||The total cost estimate for flooding damages for Douglas County for this entire episode has been included. This includes roads, bridges, and structures which were affected.

7. Jul 7, 2015Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The city park in Ava flooded as well as Highway 5 and Highway Y. There was flooding into driveways of homes along Highway 14 at Hutchinson Street and at 10th Street. This storm report will contain the overall flood damage estimates across Douglas County for this storm event. There were several episodes and heavy rainfall events which led to a compound affect to the flooding damage. Numerous roads, bridges, and low water crossings were heavily damaged.

8. Dec 26, 2015Flash Flood$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Highway Y in Ava just west of Highway 5 was closed due to water over the roadway. Nearly all low water crossings across the county were flooded. There were several roads and bridges that sustained significant damage. This storm report will contain the damage estimates for the entire county for this event.

9. Aug 1, 2022Drought, Douglas$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Drought conditions improved across Douglas County by the end of August. The US Drought Monitor indicated that Abnormally dry (D0) conditions remained after several rainfall events helped ease drought conditions. Impacts across the region were primarily felt in larger scale agriculture with farm and stock ponds low but improved. Dry conditions caused grasses to dry and significantly impact hay production causing losses in hay cutting. Many farmers saw impacts to row crops such as soy beans, corn and other specialty crops. Much of the losses from row crops will not be felt until the fall when harvest occurs.

10. Nov 5, 2005Tornado$500,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    This tornado is an extension of the Christian County tornado. A National Weather Service storm storm survey revealed that an F-1 tornado tracked across rural areas of southwest Douglas County. The tornado entered the county approximately 7 miles southwest of Goodhope, and tracked to 4 miles south southeast of Ava. One home sustained minor damage two miles south of Goodhope.

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

111°FJul 14, 1954

All-time low

−22°FDec 23, 1989

Warmest night

85°FJul 30, 1986

Coldest day

1°FJan 15, 2024

Wettest day

8.61 inNov 5, 2024

Snowiest day

16.0 inFeb 8, 1980

Hottest year

1991mean 61.7°F

Coldest year

2014mean 52.3°F

Wettest year

202062.44 in

Driest year

197617.14 in

Snowiest season

29.0 in1969-70

Station Wasola 5N (USC00238754), 1,226 ft elevation, 5.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1941 to October 27, 2026; 93.7% 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 USC00238754.
• 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.