Storm risk in Douglas County, Kansas
FEMA's overall hazard score for Douglas County, KS is 74.81 (Relatively Low), 793rd of 3,144 counties. Hail scores 92.30 (Relatively Moderate), strong wind 87.53 (Relatively High) and tornado 92.4 (Relatively High). Expected hail loss is $93 per $1 million of buildings a year; NOAA logged 59 hail reports in Douglas County, KS from 2014 to June 2026.
FEMA National Risk Index, version December 2025, retrieved October 8, 2026. NOAA hail reports 2014 to June 2026.
- Douglas County, KS, coloured by its FEMA rating
- all U.S. counties
- each county in the state
- U.S. median
- state median
Expected yearly loss per $1 million of buildings, log scale. Dot colour is FEMA’s rating band. The tornado lane counts everything exposed, not only buildings.
How FEMA rates Douglas County, KS
| Hazard | Rating | Score (0 to 100) | Rank in U.S. | Rank in KS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Relatively Low | 74.81 | 793 of 3,144 | 6 of 105 |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | 92.30 | 243 of 3,126 | 16 of 105 |
| Strong wind | Relatively High | 87.53 | 393 of 3,126 | 6 of 105 |
| Tornado | Relatively High | 92.40 | 240 of 3,126 | 6 of 105 |
Expected yearly loss, in dollars
| Hazard | This county, total a year | Per $1M of buildings | State median county | U.S. median county | Rank per $1M, U.S. | Rank per $1M, state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | $2,565,828 | $93 | $136 | $22 | 549 of 3,126 | 68 of 105 |
| Strong wind | $1,143,246 | $42 | $78 | $20 | 985 of 3,121 | 86 of 105 |
| Tornado | $12,020,681 | $437 | $416 | $199 | 559 of 3,144 | 48 of 105 |
Rank 1 is the highest. Overall, hail and wind losses count buildings; the tornado row counts everything FEMA exposes, so it overstates building damage. Expected annual loss is an average over many years for the whole county, not a forecast for one roof.
What stands out in Douglas County, KS
- FEMA expects hail in Douglas County, KS to cost $93 per $1 million of buildings a year: 4.17 times the U.S. median and 0.69 times the KS county median, ranked 549th of 3,126 counties nationally and 68th of 105 in Kansas.
- FEMA expects strong wind in Douglas County, KS to cost $42 per $1 million of buildings a year: 2.04 times the U.S. median and 0.53 times the KS county median, ranked 985th of 3,121 counties nationally and 86th of 105 in Kansas.
- FEMA expects tornado in Douglas County, KS to cost $437 per $1 million of buildings a year: 2.20 times the U.S. median and 1.05 times the KS county median, ranked 559th of 3,144 counties nationally and 48th of 105 in Kansas.
- Applying FEMA's estimate to a $281,600 home, the average yearly loss in Douglas County, KS is about $26 for hail and $12 for wind before any deductible; at the U.S. median county rates it would be $6.29 and $5.74.
- If the next years look like 2014 to 2025, a roof kept 20 years in Douglas County, KS meets about 28.3 hail days of 1 inch or more; the median county in NOAA's file (1,275 counties) would give 35.0.
- Built in 1988, the median home in Douglas County, KS is 38 years old, so an original roof has outlived a 3-tab shingle (15 to 20 years) and an architectural one (25 to 30 years); 69.8% of its 53,308 homes are at least 26 years old.
- March to June holds 28 of the 59 hail reports in Douglas County, KS (47 percent); the quietest month is January, with 0 reports.
What hail and wind cost a home here in an average year
Enter a home value. The calculator applies Douglas County, KS’s own loss rate: the county’s expected yearly loss divided by the value of its buildings. It starts at the Census median home value for the county.
Formula: home value × Douglas County, KS yearly loss ÷ building value. Hail: $2,565,828 ÷ $27,508,161,210 = 0.0000933. Wind: $1,143,246 ÷ $27,508,161,210 = 0.0000416. This is FEMA’s estimate of average damage to buildings and does not account for your deductible. Tornado is left out because FEMA’s tornado loss counts people and other exposure, not only buildings.
Read this as a yardstick. The rate is an average over every building in the county, from sheds to office towers, and over many years. Real losses come in rare, large storms; a roof with no damage in 19 years can need full replacement in the 20th. The figure is not a quote and not a prediction for one address.
Douglas County, KS in plain numbers
- Douglas County, KS scores 74.81 in FEMA's overall hazard index (Relatively Low): 793rd of 3,144 rated counties and 6th of 105 in Kansas.
- Hail scores 92.30 (Relatively Moderate). FEMA expects $2,565,828 of hail damage to buildings in Douglas County, KS a year, which is $93 per $1 million of buildings, 4.17 times the U.S. median.
- Strong wind scores 87.53 (Relatively High) with $1,143,246 of expected yearly building loss in Douglas County, KS: $42 per $1 million of buildings, 2.04 times the U.S. median.
- Tornado scores 92.4 (Relatively High) and FEMA's expected yearly tornado loss is $12,020,681, counting everything exposed, or $437 per $1 million of buildings in Douglas County, KS.
- FEMA's own event record for Douglas County, KS averages 9.81 hail events and 7.31 strong-wind events a year.
- NOAA logged 59 hail reports in Douglas County, KS between 2014 and June 2026, on 19 days with stones of 1 inch or more; the largest was 2.5 inches.
- In Douglas County, KS, FEMA counts buildings worth 27.51 billion dollars and 118,666 residents.
- Social vulnerability is Very Low in Douglas County, KS.
- Community resilience there is Very High, for 118,666 residents.
- 1 city in Douglas County, KS is covered on this site: Lawrence. 7 Census ZIP areas have more than half of their land in the county.
- Our guide range for a 2,000 sq ft asphalt roof in Lawrence is $6,160 to $13,640.
- Douglas County, KS ranks 40 of the 194 counties with a page here for hail loss per $1 million of buildings, 27 for wind and 33 for tornado.
- In Douglas County, KS, September is the busiest month with 17 of the 59 reports (29 percent), against 4 reports in March.
- Douglas County, KS's worst year was 2023, with 5 hail days at 1 inch or more and 8 reports. At the 2014 to 2025 pace that is 1.42 such days a year, one about every 8.5 months.
- The median home in Douglas County, KS was built in 1988; 40.0% of its 53,308 housing units date from before 1980, 69.8% from before 2000 and 14.0% from 2010 on.
- Census puts the median home value in Douglas County, KS at $281,600, and 49.5% of homes are lived in by their owners.
- 3,129 single-family building permits were issued in Douglas County, KS from 2014 to 2025, about 58.7 per 1,000 homes, peaking in 2018.
- NOAA lists 6 tornado tracks in Douglas County, KS since 2014; the strongest was an EFU on March 15, 2021 near Baldwin Arpt, 0.28 miles long.
- The fastest gust in NOAA's records for Douglas County, KS is 90 mph on June 8, 2026 at Lawrence.
- The nearest county with a page here is Shawnee County, 28 miles from the centre of Douglas County, KS; its hail score is 87.37.
- Across counties the median is one roofing firm for every 5,189 homes; Census counted 11 roofing contractor establishments in Douglas County, KS in 2023, one for every 4,846 homes.
- FEMA has named Douglas County, KS in 2 disaster declarations since 2014, the latest 2644 days before its data end, and 2 of them were storm-type.
The hail record of Douglas County, KS, year by year
NOAA logged 59 reports in Douglas County, KS; hail of 1 inch or more fell on 19 days. That is 1.4 such days a year; the median county in NOAA’s file has 1.8.
- reports
- days with hail of 1 inch or more
- * 2026 runs to June only
Reports by calendar month, all years together. Peak: September, 17 reports.
The same numbers as a table (years with at least one report)
| Year | Reports | Days, 1 inch or more | Days, 1.75 inch or more | Largest stone | Damage reported |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 in | – |
| 2015 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 2.5 in | – |
| 2016 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1.75 in | – |
| 2017 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2.5 in | – |
| 2018 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1.5 in | – |
| 2019 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 in | – |
| 2021 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 in | – |
| 2022 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.25 in | – |
| 2023 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 1.25 in | – |
| 2026 (to June) | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1.75 in | – |
Biggest hail days in Douglas County, KS
| Date | Largest stone | Reports that day | Damage reported | Near |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 10, 2015 | 2.5 in | 6 | none recorded | Clinton |
| March 6, 2017 | 2.5 in | 2 | none recorded | Vinland |
| August 24, 2016 | 1.75 in | 5 | none recorded | Lawrence |
| April 27, 2026 | 1.75 in | 2 | none recorded | Lawrence |
| June 11, 2018 | 1.5 in | 5 | none recorded | Pleasant Grove |
Where large hail was reported
FEMA scores the county as a whole. NOAA’s reports show where inside Douglas County, KS the big stones fell.
Reported hail locations, Douglas County, KS
- 361 to 1.74 in
- 61.75 to 2.74 in, golf ball to tennis ball
- 02.75 in and up, baseball
Largest plotted stone: 2.5 in. Bigger dots are bigger stones.
42 reports of 1 inch or larger have coordinates. Each dot is a reported location, not a storm path.
Sources: NOAA, Census county outlineWind and tornado records for Douglas County, KS
Fastest gusts in Douglas County, KS
| Date | Gust | Near |
|---|---|---|
| June 8, 2026 | 90 mph | Lawrence |
| July 19, 2018 | 89 mph | Big Spgs |
| May 18, 2026 | 85 mph | Pleasant Grove |
| May 26, 2016 | 81 mph | Lawrence |
Strongest tornado tracks in Douglas County, KS
| Date | Scale | Length | Injured / killed | Near |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 15, 2021 | EFU | 0.28 mi | 0 / 0 | Baldwin Arpt |
| March 15, 2021 | EFU | 0.01 mi | 0 / 0 | Baldwin Arpt |
| May 28, 2019 | EF3 | 16.66 mi | 4 / 0 | Lone Star |
| May 28, 2019 | EF2 | 9.51 mi | 12 / 0 | Globe |
6 tornado tracks in all since 2014; the strongest 4 are listed.
How old the roofs are
Census counts homes by the decade they were built. Under each bar is the number of hail days of 1 inch or more that an original roof from that decade has met, at Douglas County, KS’s 2014 to 2025 pace of 1.42 such days a year. Most roofs have been replaced since; the row shows what a roof that never was would have taken.
Bars: share of 53,308 housing units by decade built. Figures under the decade: hail days met by an original roof, at the county’s 2014 to 2025 pace. The pace of earlier years is unknown.
| Median year built | 1988 |
| Built before 1980 | 40.0% |
| Built before 2000 | 69.8% |
| Built since 2010 | 14.0% |
| Owner-occupied | 49.5% |
| Median home value | $281,600 |
| Single-family permits, 2014 to 2025 | 3,129 |
| Permits per 1,000 homes | 58.7 |
Asphalt shingles are rated 15 to 20 years (3-tab) and 25 to 30 years (architectural). Source: Census ACS 2019 to 2023 and Building Permits Survey.
Roofers and past disasters in Douglas County, KS
Roofing firms in Douglas County, KS
| Roofing contractor establishments, 2023 | 11 |
| Change since 2016 | +3 (+38%) |
| Homes per roofing firm | 4,846 |
| Median across counties | 5,189 |
| Employees, 2023 | 45 |
Source for Douglas County, KS: Census County Business Patterns, NAICS 238160.
FEMA disaster declarations naming Douglas County, KS since 2014
| Declarations naming Douglas County, KS | 2 |
| Storm / flood / winter / fire | 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 |
| Median KS county | 4 |
| Rank among 100 KS counties | 88 |
| Days from the latest to the data cutoff | 2,644 |
Source for Douglas County, KS: OpenFEMA, data to 2026-09-15.
Nearby counties
The closest counties that have a risk page, by distance between county centres. Loss is per $1 million of buildings; the columns marked "times here" divide the neighbour's loss by Douglas County, KS's.
| County | Miles | Overall | Hail loss | Hail, times here | Wind loss | Wind, times here | NOAA hail reports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shawnee County, KS | 28 | Relatively Moderate | $29 | 0.31 | $18 | 0.44 | 143 |
| Riley County, KS | 80 | Relatively Low | $18 | 0.19 | $39 | 0.95 | 95 |
| Saline County, KS | 128 | Relatively Low | $89 | 0.95 | $24 | 0.57 | 133 |
| Sedgwick County, KS | 146 | Relatively High | $94 | 1.01 | $9.04 | 0.22 | 382 |
| Reno County, KS | 166 | Relatively Low | $104 | 1.12 | $113 | 2.73 | 142 |
Cities and ZIP areas in Douglas County, KS
1 city in this county is on PickARoofer. ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are Census shapes that approximate ZIP codes; where we have a city’s ZIPs, the share is the part of each area’s land that lies in this county. 7 such areas have more than half their land here.
| City | ZIP areas (share of land in the county) | Pages |
|---|---|---|
| Lawrence | 66044 (38%), 66049 (100%), 66047 (100%), 66045 (100%), 66048 (0%) | Roofers |
Storm hit your roof in Douglas County, KS? A free inspection tells you if there is damage. One local roofer answers, not five.
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How high is storm risk in Douglas County, KS?
FEMA's National Risk Index gives Douglas County, KS an overall score of 74.81 (Relatively Low), 793rd of 3,144. Hail scores 92.30 (Relatively Moderate), strong wind 87.53 (Relatively High) and tornado 92.4 (Relatively High).
In Douglas County, KS, how many hail reports has NOAA logged?
A report is one entry for one storm in one county, so counts follow where people live as well as where hail fell. NOAA has 59 for Douglas County, KS between 2014 and June 2026, on 19 days with hail of 1 inch or more; the largest stone was 2.5 inches.
What do hail and wind cost a home in Douglas County, KS each year, on average?
Applying FEMA's county rates to its median home value of $281,600: FEMA's estimate is about $26 a year for hail and $12 for wind, before any deductible, against $6.29 and $5.74 at the U.S. median county rates. This is an average over many years and all buildings, not a prediction for one roof; one bad storm costs far more than the average year.
How does Douglas County, KS compare with the rest of Kansas?
Per $1 million of buildings Douglas County, KS loses $93 to hail a year, against $136 in the median county of the state. Among 105 rated counties it is 16th for hail, 6th for strong wind and 6th for tornado.
How old are the roofs in Douglas County, KS?
The median home was built in 1988, 38 years ago, and 69.8% of the 53,308 housing units in Douglas County, KS date from before 2000. Asphalt shingles are rated 15 to 20 years (3-tab) or 25 to 30 years (architectural), so an original roof of either kind is past its rated life. The Census does not record when a roof was replaced.
What does expected annual loss mean?
It is FEMA's estimate of the average yearly loss from a hazard, in dollars, summed over the county. It is built for comparing counties at planning level, not for pricing one house.
Does a high rating mean my roof will be damaged?
No. The index compares counties and cannot say what will happen on your street. After a storm, a roof inspection is the only way to know.
Sources for Douglas County, KS: FEMA National Risk Index, version December 2025, retrieved October 8, 2026; NOAA Storm Events Database hail reports for Douglas County, KS; Census Bureau ZCTA-to-county relationship file (2020); Census ACS and Building Permits Survey, homes in Douglas County, KS; Census County Business Patterns, roofing firms in Douglas County, KS; OpenFEMA, declarations naming Douglas County, KS. Planning-level information about Douglas County, KS, not an inspection and not insurance advice.
This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).