County Hazards

States › Kansas › 1979

Kansas, 1979

The year's recorded storm events, federal disaster declarations and flood insurance claims.

206events recorded224 in 1978
0deaths recorded20 injuries
$7.8Mproperty damage (estimates)
1disaster declarations344 NFIP claims, $2.4M paid
← 19781980 →

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.

Events by hazard

Hail95
Wind76
Tornado35

Includes events recorded by forecast zone. The state's yearly total for 1979 was 206 against 224 in 1978.

Counties with the most recorded events

CountyEvents in 1979
Sedgwick County14
Graham County9
Shawnee County9
Sherman County7
Johnson County6
Cowley County5
Ellis County5
Finney County5
Ford County5
Harvey County5
Montgomery County5
Gove County4
Harper County4
Phillips County4
Sumner County4
Cloud County3
Coffey County3
Dickinson County3
Jewell County3
Leavenworth County3
Lyon County3
Mitchell County3
Reno County3
Riley County3
Saline County3

Notable events

DateCountyEvent typeMagnitudeProperty damageDeathsInjuries
18 Oct 1979ClayTornadoF2$2,500,000—11
18 Oct 1979PottawatomieTornadoF2$250,000—5
10 Apr 1979EllisTornadoF1$250,000—2
21 Oct 1979AtchisonTornadoF1$250,000—1
11 Apr 1979ShawneeTornadoF1$250,000—1
16 Jun 1979GrahamTornadoF1$2,500,000——
18 Oct 1979JacksonTornadoF2$250,000——
18 Oct 1979AtchisonTornadoF2$250,000——
4 Jul 1979StaffordTornadoF0$250,000——
18 Mar 1979MarshallTornadoF1$250,000——
28 Aug 1979GoveTornadoF2$250,000——
19 Apr 1979GrahamTornadoF2$250,000——
3 Jul 1979LoganTornadoF0$25,000——
15 Jul 1979StaffordTornadoF0$25,000——
18 Oct 1979PawneeTornadoF2$25,000——
1 May 1979ShermanTornadoF1$25,000——
2 May 1979SumnerTornadoF0$25,000——
19 Jun 1979RepublicTornadoF0$25,000——
19 Jun 1979RepublicTornadoF1$25,000——
19 Jun 1979ButlerTornadoF1$25,000——
28 Aug 1979ScottTornadoF0$25,000——
19 Apr 1979PhillipsTornadoF1$25,000——
18 Oct 1979PottawatomieTornadoF0$2,500——
29 Mar 1979BrownTornadoF0$2,500——
29 Mar 1979DoniphanTornadoF0$2,500——
22 Jun 1979FordTornadoF0$2,500——
22 Jun 1979FordTornadoF1$2,500——
18 Oct 1979RileyTornadoF0$2,500——
11 Apr 1979PhillipsTornadoF1$30——
19 Apr 1979PhillipsTornadoF1$30——
1 Sep 1979BarberTornadoF0$30——
2 Aug 1979KearnyTornadoF0———
28 Aug 1979GoveTornadoF0———
28 Aug 1979GoveTornadoF0———
28 Aug 1979GoveTornadoF0———

Up to 40 events with deaths, injuries, damage of $50,000 or more, or a tornado rating, ranked by deaths, injuries and damage.

Federal disaster declarations in 1979

DeclaredNumberTypeIncidentTitleCounties
15 Jun 1979DR-588Major disasterFloodSevere Storms & Flooding2

Flood insurance claims with a 1979 date of loss

344 NFIP claims, 302 of them paid, for $2,409,890.

Sources: NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 (1 Oct 2026); OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 (8 Sep 2026). Built 1 Oct 2026.