Antelope County, Nebraska

What hazards hit Antelope County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 249 since 1956. 52% of its hail reports since 1956 fell in June and July. 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 Antelope County had?

NOAA records 34 tornadoes in Antelope County from 1956 to 2013, the strongest rated F4, with 0 deaths and 0 injuries recorded in the county. 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 36 tornadoes whose track touched Antelope County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 34: 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, 0 of them in Antelope 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 Antelope County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 13, 2010 flood ($5.4 million in damage in 2025 dollars).

Rainfall of at least 3 to 5 inches fell over much of the upper Elkhorn River basin in the week ending 7am 6/12. This caused record or near record flooding along the Elkhorn River from around Clearwater and Neligh downstream to the Elkhorn's confluence with the Platte River which was prolonged by additional rains the next few days. In Antelope county many gravel roads along the Elkhorn were flooded as was Highway 275 between Neligh and Clearwater. A county board member estimated that one 2 mile stretch of road sustained up to $4 million in damage. Extensive sandbagging around the town of Clearwater saved some homes and businesses from damage, but around 100 still suffered flood damage, and 7 or 8 were probably a total loss. Homes in Neligh were also flooded and at least one water evacuation was made in the Neligh area. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 231102)

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

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 Antelope 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?

52% of its hail reports since 1956 fell in June and July. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Antelope County

FEMA's register lists 13 declarations that include Antelope County: 11 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (6) and flood (3).

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 Antelope County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 27 flood or flash flood records for Antelope County from 1996 to 2025, on 24 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Antelope County ranks 2212th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $406,000 on 15 claims filed in Antelope County; the most in one year was 9 in 2010. 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 Antelope County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Antelope County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $9.0 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 Antelope County

1. Holt County 1,061
2. Knox County 776
3. Madison County 753
4. Antelope County 649
5. Boone County 537
6. Pierce County 486
7. Wheeler County 353

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 Antelope CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Antelope County's FEMA declarations (CSV)13 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis