Hamilton County Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot Kansas Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Hamilton County is about the same as Kansas average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Hamilton County is much lower than Kansas average and is lower than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #7
| Hamilton County | 0.11 |
| Kansas | 0.05 |
| U.S. | 1.81 |
The earthquake index value is calculated based on historical earthquake events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the earthquake level in a region. A higher earthquake index value means a higher chance of an earthquake.
Volcano Index, #1
| Hamilton County | 0.0000 |
| Kansas | 0.0000 |
| U.S. | 0.0023 |
The volcano index value is calculated based on the currently known volcanoes using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the possibility of a region being affected by a possible volcano eruption. A higher volcano index value means a higher chance of being affected.
Tornado Index, #88
| Hamilton County | 107.59 |
| Kansas | 252.53 |
| U.S. | 136.45 |
The tornado index value is calculated based on historical tornado events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the tornado level in a region. A higher tornado index value means a higher chance of tornado events.
Other Weather Extremes Events
A total of 11,357 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Hamilton County were recorded from 1950 to 2010. The following is a break down of these events:
| Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count |
| Avalanche: | 0 | Blizzard: | 13 | Cold: | 15 | Dense Fog: | 1 | Drought: | 19 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 257 | Hail: | 7,603 | Heat: | 14 | Heavy Snow: | 42 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 14 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 46 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 3,024 | Tropical Storm: | 0 | Wildfire: | 4 | Winter Storm: | 50 | Winter Weather: | 13 |
| Other: | 242 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Hamilton County.
Historical Earthquake Events
No historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Hamilton County.
No historical earthquake events found in or near Hamilton County.
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 30 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Hamilton County.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 1.7 | 1954-05-26 | 2 | 37°59'N / 101°46'W | 0.50 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Hamilton | |
| 5.5 | 1962-05-17 | 2 | 37°59'N / 101°47'W | 38°10'N / 101°47'W | 12.60 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Hamilton |
| 7.2 | 1966-07-06 | 2 | 38°06'N / 101°48'W | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Hamilton | |||
| 18.0 | 1968-06-24 | 2 | 38°04'N / 102°07'W | 38°05'N / 102°06'W | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Prowers | ||
| 18.0 | 1990-06-19 | 2 | 37°46'N / 101°38'W | 1.50 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Hamilton | |
| 20.3 | 2007-03-28 | 3 | 38°01'N / 102°07'W | 38°16'N / 102°07'W | 17.00 Miles | 900 Yards | 2 | 9 | 4.0M | 0K | Prowers |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: With a maximum rating of EF3 and a maximum damage path width of 900 yards, the tornado raced through Holly, causing two fatalities and nine injuries. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A few severe thunderstorms occurred over extreme southeast Colorado... producing damaging winds and large hail. One supercell generated large hail...damaging winds...and two tornadoes. The tornado which struck Holly...rural northeast Prowers County...and rural southeast Kiowa County had a maximum rating of EF3. The path width reached a maximum of around 900 yards in extreme northeast Prowers County. Prior to this...as the tornado moved through Holly...the path width was around 600 feet. Over 200 residences and other buildings were affected or destroyed. Two people were killed and nine others were injured. The damage path was around 28 miles long...extending into Kiowa County. The last substantial damage with the tornado was 12 miles north of Holly...in northeast Prowers County...where a ranch sustained high end EF3 damage. As the supercell cycled through...another tornado occurred east of Towner...and moved into Kansas. | |||||||||||
| 23.8 | 1990-06-19 | 2 | 37°42'N / 101°34'W | 1.50 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Stanton | |
| 27.2 | 2007-03-28 | 2 | 38°15'N / 102°04'W | 38°24'N / 102°04'W | 11.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 10K | 0K | Kiowa |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: The Prowers County tornado crossed into Kiowa County and traveled another 11 miles...destroying electrical transmission poles (EF2 damage). The tornado did not hit any other structures in Kiowa County. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A few severe thunderstorms occurred over extreme southeast Colorado... producing damaging winds and large hail. One supercell generated large hail...damaging winds...and two tornadoes. The tornado which struck Holly...rural northeast Prowers County...and rural southeast Kiowa County had a maximum rating of EF3. The path width reached a maximum of around 900 yards in extreme northeast Prowers County. Prior to this...as the tornado moved through Holly...the path width was around 600 feet. Over 200 residences and other buildings were affected or destroyed. Two people were killed and nine others were injured. The damage path was around 28 miles long...extending into Kiowa County. The last substantial damage with the tornado was 12 miles north of Holly...in northeast Prowers County...where a ranch sustained high end EF3 damage. As the supercell cycled through...another tornado occurred east of Towner...and moved into Kansas. | |||||||||||
| 29.7 | 1951-05-20 | 2 | 37°58'N / 101°15'W | 1.00 Mile | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Kearny | |
| 30.2 | 1954-06-10 | 2 | 38°08'N / 101°16'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Kearny | |||
| 30.2 | 1972-08-22 | 2 | 37°34'N / 101°41'W | 0.10 Mile | 220 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Stanton | |
| 30.7 | 1963-11-21 | 2 | 38°15'N / 101°44'W | 38°36'N / 101°34'W | 25.70 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Hamilton |
| 32.3 | 1970-05-30 | 2 | 37°32'N / 101°53'W | 0.50 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Stanton | |
| 32.4 | 1999-06-22 | 3 | 38°22'N / 101°21'W | 38°19'N / 101°26'W | 4.00 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Wichita |
| Brief Description: A large tornado (F3) destroyed a farmstead. The house was nearly flattened by the tornado, and a tractor and grain combine/harvester were rolled several hundred feet. Tornado moved from East to West. | |||||||||||
| 35.6 | 2005-05-11 | 2 | 37°36'N / 101°21'W | 37°44'N / 101°14'W | 13.20 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 350K | 0 | Grant |
| Brief Description: This tornado traveled into Kearny county before roping out. At 2ne of Ulysses part of a barn roof was blown off and a large tree was uprooted. Several horses were slightly injured. Then at 5ne of Ulysses an abandoned mobile home was destroyed. At six miles northeast of Ulysses, two pivot sprinklers were mangled, large trees were snapped at the base and several power poles were destroyed. Several grain bins (full of wheat) were completely swept away and the grain was scattered for some distance. Remnants of the grain bins were not found in the local vicinity. Farther northeast along the track several more pivot sprinklers were destroyed. It is estimated that if this tornado had made a direct hit, it would have likely caused at least high-end F3 damage. | |||||||||||
| 37.0 | 1967-06-23 | 3 | 38°09'N / 101°15'W | 38°02'N / 101°00'W | 15.80 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Kearny |
| 37.4 | 1951-05-20 | 3 | 37°54'N / 101°12'W | 38°01'N / 101°01'W | 12.80 Miles | 900 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Kearny |
| 37.9 | 1951-06-06 | 2 | 37°35'N / 101°20'W | 0 | 3 | 3K | 0 | Grant | |||
| 39.9 | 1990-06-19 | 2 | 37°39'N / 101°27'W | 37°30'N / 101°08'W | 20.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 2 | 2.5M | 0 | Grant |
| 40.8 | 1977-05-18 | 2 | 37°24'N / 101°30'W | 37°43'N / 101°05'W | 31.60 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Grant |
| 42.4 | 1967-07-25 | 2 | 37°24'N / 101°36'W | 2.00 Miles | 13 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Stanton | |
| 43.4 | 1977-05-18 | 2 | 37°43'N / 101°05'W | 37°44'N / 101°04'W | 1.30 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Haskell |
| 44.7 | 1977-05-18 | 2 | 37°22'N / 101°33'W | 37°24'N / 101°30'W | 3.30 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Stevens |
| 45.3 | 1975-06-08 | 2 | 38°06'N / 102°37'W | 1.00 Mile | 220 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Prowers | |
| 45.6 | 2001-04-06 | 2 | 37°25'N / 101°17'W | 37°35'N / 101°12'W | 14.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 235K | 0 | Grant |
| Brief Description: Tornado crossed into Grant county from Stevens county at 1647. Three pivot sprinklers were destroyed, 2 grain bins, a silo, machine shed and horse trailer were also damaged or destroyed. A roof was taken off a building and an empty rail car was overturned. | |||||||||||
| 47.0 | 2001-05-29 | 3 | 38°04'N / 102°39'W | 38°06'N / 102°39'W | 3.00 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 150K | 0 | Prowers |
| Brief Description: Thunderstorms spawned six brief tornadoes and an F3 tornado within a three mile radius of the Lamar Municipal Airport between 1049 MST and 1231 MST just west of Lamar. The F3 tornado, which showed supercellular characteristics, completely destroyed a modular home and five vehicles in its vicinity, and damaged two other homes nearby. Eleven power poles were destroyed as well. | |||||||||||
| 47.3 | 1968-05-13 | 3 | 38°26'N / 101°10'W | 38°29'N / 101°08'W | 3.60 Miles | 320 Yards | 0 | 4 | 25K | 0 | Wichita |
| 47.5 | 1967-06-10 | 2 | 37°32'N / 102°27'W | 37°24'N / 102°15'W | 14.20 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 4 | 250K | 0 | Baca |
| 48.2 | 1956-07-12 | 2 | 38°29'N / 101°12'W | 38°29'N / 101°07'W | 4.50 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Wichita |
| 48.6 | 1973-06-28 | 2 | 38°00'N / 100°58'W | 37°59'N / 100°50'W | 7.20 Miles | 60 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Finney |
* The information on this page is based on the global volcano database, the U.S. earthquake database of 1638-1985, and the U.S. Tornado and Weather Extremes database of 1950-2010.