Pawnee County, KS hail & severe wind history
230 storm reports on file for Pawnee County between 2010-04-01 and 2026-04-25 — 159 hail and 71 severe thunderstorm wind. That averages 13.5 reports a year, and May is the busiest month.
At a glance
- Most recent hail report: Apr 25, 2026 — 1.5" (ping pong ball), 0.69 mi N of Frizell.
- Hail was reported on 73 days since 2010 — about 4.3 hail days a year.
- Largest hail on record: 4" (grapefruit) on May 9, 2023.
- Pawnee County has more hail reports than 75% of the 105 Kansas counties we cover.
Search every Pawnee 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 Pawnee County storm reports…
Worst storm days in Pawnee County
| Date | Reports that day | Largest hail | Peak gust |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-05-09 | 12 | 4" (grapefruit) | 60 mph |
| 2021-04-06 | 10 | 2.5" (tennis ball) | — |
| 2014-05-11 | 9 | 3" (teacup) | 70 mph |
| 2013-08-02 | 8 | 1.5" (ping pong ball) | — |
| 2010-08-14 | 8 | 1.25" (half dollar) | 90 mph |
| 2025-06-17 | 8 | — | 86 mph |
| 2017-04-15 | 7 | 2.5" (tennis ball) | — |
| 2015-04-02 | 7 | 1" (quarter) | 81 mph |
| 2023-10-03 | 6 | 2.75" (baseball) | 58 mph |
| 2024-08-16 | 5 | 2.75" (baseball) | 72 mph |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-08-16 | 2.75" baseball | 0 mi N of Larned | Baseball sized hail was reported in Larned at 10:35 am. |
| 2023-10-03 | 2.5" tennis ball | 5.14 mi SE of Garfield | No narrative filed |
| 2023-10-03 | 2.75" baseball | 2.76 mi S of Garfield | No narrative filed |
| 2023-10-03 | 2.75" baseball | 0 mi N of Larned | No narrative filed |
| 2023-10-03 | 2.5" tennis ball | .69 mi N of Larned | No narrative filed |
| 2023-10-03 | 2.5" tennis ball | 2.14 mi NE of Larned Pawnee Co Arp | No narrative filed |
| 2023-05-09 | 2.5" tennis ball | 4.81 mi ESE of Ash Valley | No narrative filed |
| 2023-05-09 | 2" hen egg | 5.14 mi ESE of Ash Valley | No narrative filed |
When does hail hit Pawnee County?
Across 17 years of records, May produced the most reports (63), followed by the months either side of it. Monthly totals:
| Month | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | 0.0% |
| February | 0 | 0.0% |
| March | 2 | 0.9% |
| April | 34 | 14.8% |
| May | 63 | 27.4% |
| June | 56 | 24.3% |
| July | 20 | 8.7% |
| August | 39 | 17.0% |
| September | 3 | 1.3% |
| October | 12 | 5.2% |
| November | 1 | 0.4% |
| December | 0 | 0.0% |
Neighboring counties
Counties that share a border with Pawnee County (U.S. Census county adjacency), where we have storm records:
| County | Storm reports | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|
| Barton County, KS | 411 | 4.25" |
| Rush County, KS | 230 | 6" |
| Ness County, KS | 225 | 4.25" |
| Hodgeman County, KS | 222 | 4" |
| Stafford County, KS | 173 | 2.75" |
| Edwards County, KS | 153 | 3.5" |
Common questions about hail in Pawnee County
- How often does it hail in Pawnee County?
- Hail was reported on 73 separate days between 2010 and 2026, about 4.3 days a year, with May the busiest month for storm reports. 127 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 20145). 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.