States › Kansas › Harper County
Harper County, Kansas
Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.
NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.
Harper County, Kansas, has 857 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them hail.
That is 107.0 events per 100 square miles, in line with the Kansas figure of 115.0, and 1,607.6 per 10,000 residents against 320.3 statewide.
20 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 0 deaths and 16 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $13M and crop damage at $12M.
FEMA has designated the county in 22 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding (major disaster, 1 Sep 2026).
National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 1 claim since 1978, of which 0 were paid, totalling $0. FEMA counts 13 residential flood policies in force.
FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Very Low" and its expected annual loss as "Very Low" ($8.8M a year across 18 hazards).
1 tropical storm or hurricane track in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 0 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.
Compared with Kansas and the United States
| Measure | Harper County | Kansas | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recorded events since 1950 | 857 | 94,007 | 1,977,440 |
| Events per 100 square miles | 107.0 | 115.0 | 56.0 |
| Events per 10,000 residents | 1,607.6 | 320.3 | 59.6 |
| Events in the last 12 months | 20 | 2,357 | 62,008 |
| Deaths recorded by NCEI | 0 | 475 | 26,435 |
| Property damage (NCEI estimates) | $13M | $5.3B | $575B |
| NFIP claims per 1,000 residents | 0.2 | 2.7 | 8.1 |
| Average paid NFIP claim | — | $19K | $43K |
| Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years | 0.0 | 15.9 | 16.1 |
County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.
Events by decade
Trend: 353 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 411 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.
Events by type
Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.
Largest recorded events
| Date | Event type | Group | Magnitude | Property damage | Crop damage | Deaths | Injuries | Geography |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 Apr 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wind | 75 mph | $75K | — | — | 3 | County |
| 18 Dec 2008 | Winter Weather | Winter | — | $35K | — | — | 2 | Forecast zone |
| 26 Jan 2009 | Winter Weather | Winter | — | $30K | — | — | 2 | Forecast zone |
| 23 Dec 2010 | Winter Weather | Winter | — | $12K | — | — | 2 | Forecast zone |
| 22 Dec 2007 | Winter Storm | Winter | — | — | — | — | 2 | Forecast zone |
| 26 Apr 2009 | Flash Flood | Flood | — | $5.0M | — | — | 1 | County |
| 12 May 2004 | Tornado | Tornado | F4 | $275K | $75K | — | 1 | County |
| 23 Apr 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wind | 70 mph | $350K | — | — | 1 | County |
| 8 Feb 2010 | Winter Weather | Winter | — | $5K | — | — | 1 | Forecast zone |
| 23 Apr 2004 | Lightning | Lightning | — | — | — | — | 1 | County |
| 1 Jul 2011 | Drought | Drought | — | — | $10M | — | — | Forecast zone |
| 29 May 2004 | Tornado | Tornado | F1 | $1.2M | $100K | — | — | County |
| 20 Jul 2009 | Hail | Hail | 3.00 in | $300K | $1.0M | — | — | County |
| 1 Nov 1998 | Flood | Flood | — | $1.0M | — | — | — | Forecast zone |
| 6 May 2007 | Flash Flood | Flood | — | $1.0M | — | — | — | County |
| 14 Sep 1996 | Flood | Flood | — | — | $500K | — | — | Forecast zone |
| 29 May 2004 | Tornado | Tornado | F2 | $175K | $200K | — | — | County |
| 18 Oct 1973 | Tornado | Tornado | F1 | $250K | — | — | — | County |
| 17 May 1981 | Tornado | Tornado | F1 | $250K | — | — | — | County |
| 13 Mar 1990 | Tornado | Tornado | F1 | $250K | — | — | — | County |
Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.
Federal disaster declarations
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident | Title | Programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Sep 2026 | DR-4943 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Public assistance |
| 11 Sep 2025 | DR-4891 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Public assistance |
| 29 Mar 2020 | DR-4504 | Major disaster | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic | Individual assistance, Public assistance |
| 13 Mar 2020 | EM-3481 | Emergency | Biological | Covid-19 | Public assistance |
| 20 Jun 2019 | DR-4449 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding,Landslides,And Mudslides | Public assistance |
| 20 Jul 2015 | DR-4230 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding | Public assistance |
| 22 Oct 2013 | DR-4150 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Public assistance |
| 26 Apr 2013 | DR-4112 | Major disaster | Snowstorm | Snowstorm | Public assistance |
| 24 May 2012 | DR-4063 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding | Public assistance |
| 25 Jun 2009 | DR-1849 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornadoes | Public assistance |
| 31 Oct 2008 | DR-1808 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Public assistance |
| 9 Jul 2008 | DR-1776 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Flooding And Tornadoes | Public assistance |
| 12 Dec 2007 | EM-3282 | Emergency | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storms | Public assistance |
| 2 Jul 2007 | DR-1711 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Storms And Flooding | Individual assistance, Public assistance |
| 6 May 2007 | DR-1699 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Public assistance |
| 10 Sep 2005 | EM-3236 | Emergency | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Public assistance |
| 8 Feb 2005 | DR-1579 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storms, Heavy Rains, And Flooding | Public assistance |
| 6 Feb 2002 | DR-1402 | Major disaster | Severe Ice Storm | Severe Winter Ice Storm | Individual assistance |
| 5 Nov 1998 | DR-1258 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Ks-Flooding 10/31/98 | Public assistance |
| 28 Sep 1973 | DR-403 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding | Individual assistance, Public assistance |
| 2 May 1973 | DR-378 | Major disaster | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | Public assistance |
| 18 Jul 1967 | DR-229 | Major disaster | Tornado | Tornadoes, Severe Storms & Flooding | Individual assistance, Public assistance |
Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.
Flood insurance claims
| Year of loss | Claims | Paid claims | Amount paid | Average paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 1 | 0 | $0 | — |
OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).
National Risk Index
| Hazard (NRI) | Risk rating | Expected annual loss |
|---|---|---|
| Cold wave | $1,898,629 | |
| Inland flooding | $1,702,205 | |
| Tornado | $1,700,296 | |
| Drought | $1,250,738 | |
| Hail | $934,652 | |
| Strong wind | $450,182 | |
| Wildfire | $336,473 | |
| Heat wave | $290,036 | |
| Ice storm | $156,947 | |
| Lightning | $53,850 | |
| Earthquake | $49,250 | |
| Winter weather | $13,926 | |
| Hurricane | $6,493 | |
| Landslide | $77 |
FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.
Hurricane and tropical storm passes
| Storm | Year | Closest approach | Max wind while within 100 mi |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed Atlantic storm | 1900 | 86 mi | 40 mph |
HURDAT2 best-track positions at tropical-storm strength (34 kt) or more, measured from the county's Census centre point; through the 2025 season. Distance from a track is not the same as the extent of the storm's wind, rain or surge.
Questions and answers
How often does it hail in Harper County, KS?
NCEI records 365 hail events in Harper County since 1950, in 56 different years; that is about 4.7 recorded events a year. 109 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.
Has Harper County had a tornado?
Yes. NCEI records 64 tornadoes in Harper County since 1950, 9 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.
When was the last federal disaster declaration for Harper County?
1 Sep 2026: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding, a major disaster declaration for severe storm. The county appears in 22 declarations since 1953.
How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Harper County, and how much was paid?
1 NFIP claim since 1978, 0 of them paid, for $0 in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.
Is Harper County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?
FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Very Low" for overall risk, "Very Low" for expected annual loss, "Relatively Moderate" for social vulnerability and "Relatively Moderate" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.
How does Harper County compare with the rest of Kansas?
107.0 recorded events per 100 square miles against 115.0 statewide, and 0.2 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 2.7. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.
Provenance
Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 1 Oct 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.