Elk County, KS hail & severe wind history
68 storm reports on file for Elk County between 2010-03-10 and 2026-04-26 — 41 hail and 27 severe thunderstorm wind. That averages 4 reports a year, and Apr is the busiest month.
At a glance
- Most recent hail report: Apr 26, 2026 — 1" (quarter), 0 mi N of Longton.
- Hail was reported on 23 days since 2010 — about 1.6 hail days a year.
- Largest hail on record: 2.5" (tennis ball) on Jul 11, 2020.
- Elk County has more hail reports than 1% of the 105 Kansas counties we cover.
Search every Elk County report
Check a single date first, or filter the full record below — pick a year, narrow to a month, or drag the hail-size slider to see only the larger stones (1", quarter size, is the National Weather Service severe threshold).
Loading Elk County storm reports…
Worst storm days in Elk County
| Date | Reports that day | Largest hail | Peak gust |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-07-17 | 7 | 2" (hen egg) | 70 mph |
| 2011-06-18 | 6 | 1.75" (golf ball) | 70 mph |
| 2020-07-11 | 4 | 2.5" (tennis ball) | — |
| 2019-04-17 | 3 | 2" (hen egg) | — |
| 2025-06-08 | 3 | 1.75" (golf ball) | — |
| 2015-04-03 | 3 | 1.75" (golf ball) | 70 mph |
| 2024-04-26 | 3 | 1.5" (ping pong ball) | — |
| 2011-06-20 | 3 | 0.75" (penny) | 60 mph |
| 2010-04-02 | 3 | — | 70 mph |
| 2023-04-19 | 2 | 1.25" (half dollar) | — |
Reports by year
Report counts are driven partly by how many people were around to report a storm, so recent years tend to look busier than the early 2010s. Treat the trend as a reporting trend, not purely a weather trend.
Notable large-hail events (2" and up)
| Date | Size | Near | What was reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-07-17 | 2" hen egg | 2.15 mi NE of Howard | There was a picture of at least 2-inch hail on the outskirts of Howard. |
| 2020-07-11 | 2.5" tennis ball | 2.75 mi E of Longton | The picture was sent over from KAKE TV. The image showed the hail being just slightly smaller than a baseball. |
| 2019-04-17 | 2" hen egg | .55 mi E of Howard | Report came in via Facebook. |
When does hail hit Elk County?
Across 14 years of records, April produced the most reports (19), followed by the months either side of it. Monthly totals:
| Month | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | 0.0% |
| February | 1 | 1.5% |
| March | 3 | 4.4% |
| April | 19 | 27.9% |
| May | 9 | 13.2% |
| June | 16 | 23.5% |
| July | 15 | 22.1% |
| August | 2 | 2.9% |
| September | 1 | 1.5% |
| October | 2 | 2.9% |
| November | 0 | 0.0% |
| December | 0 | 0.0% |
Neighboring counties
Counties that share a border with Elk County (U.S. Census county adjacency), where we have storm records:
| County | Storm reports | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|
| Butler County, KS | 685 | 5" |
| Cowley County, KS | 465 | 4" |
| Montgomery County, KS | 300 | 4" |
| Greenwood County, KS | 208 | 4.25" |
| Chautauqua County, KS | 139 | 2.75" |
| Wilson County, KS | 104 | 4" |
Common questions about hail in Elk County
- How often does it hail in Elk County?
- Hail was reported on 23 separate days between 2010 and 2026, about 1.6 days a year, with April the busiest month for storm reports. 34 reports were quarter size (1") or larger.
- Does a report here mean hail hit my street?
- Not necessarily. Each report is one observation tied to a nearby landmark, and a county can be large. Storms also go unreported where few people live. Use the date check above to see what was reported nearby, and treat it as a starting point.
- How big is a 1.75" hailstone?
- Forecasters describe hail by everyday objects: 1" is a quarter, 1.75" a golf ball, 2.75" a baseball. The sizes in these reports are estimates made by the person reporting, not lab measurements.
- Where do I get the official record?
- All reports here come from the NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, which you can search directly. For anything formal, use NOAA’s own records rather than this page.
Look up another place
About these numbers
Every row above is a report filed with the National Weather Service and archived in the NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (FIPS 20049). Reports are eyewitness, trained-spotter and damage-survey observations, so they cluster near roads and towns and miss storms over empty country. Hail sizes are estimates. Damage figures are preliminary as filed and are never revised in this archive. Use this page for background, not for an insurance claim, a legal filing, or a roof assessment — for those, get the official record from NOAA directly.