Adams County, Nebraska

What hazards hit Adams County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 401 since 1956. 57% of its hail reports since 1956 fell in May and June. The rank column places the county among Nebraska's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Adams County had?

NOAA records 56 tornadoes in Adams County from 1956 to 2024, the strongest rated F5, with 2 deaths and 21 injuries recorded in the county. That is 3rd of 93 Nebraska counties and 117th of 3,080 U.S. counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 59 tornadoes whose track touched Adams County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 56: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 4 people, 2 of them in Adams County.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Nebraska.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Adams County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the July 6, 2024 tornado ($517,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

A small tornado developed within a broader area of damaging wind gusts of 60-80 MPH. The tornado developed near the intersection of Highway 74 and Roseland Avenue, just southeast of the town of Roseland, then tracked southeast through crop fields causing pivots to overturn. The lone impacted buildings were at a farmstead on Conestoga Avenue where part of a roof was removed and several small outbuildings were destroyed. Also, tree damage was particularly worse as this location and a couple power poles were leaning east at the time of the survey. The tornado continued tracking southeast and eventually crossed Highway 74 near Pony Express Road before dissipating. This tornado likely occurred within a broad area of heavy rain and was not distinguishable in real time against the more pervasive straight-line winds. The peak wind gust was estimated to be 85 MPH.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1198800)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Adams County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

57% of its hail reports since 1956 fell in May and June. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Adams County

FEMA's register lists 18 declarations that include Adams County: 16 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (10) and flood (4).

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Adams County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 24 flood or flash flood records for Adams County from 2000 to 2021, on 23 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Adams County ranks 2003rd of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $282,000 on 25 claims filed in Adams County; the most in one year was 5 in 1978. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Adams County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Adams County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $29.7 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Adams County

1. Adams County 1,053
2. Buffalo County 1,053
3. Hall County 974
4. Clay County 844
5. Hamilton County 713
6. Kearney County 614
7. Webster County 569

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next

• Tornadoes in NebraskaEvery Nebraska tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Hail in NebraskaThe state's hail reports, by county, year and month
• The Nebraska recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Adams CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Adams County's FEMA declarations (CSV)18 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis