Blaine County, Nebraska
County storm and disaster record · FIPS 31009 · population 431 · 711 sq mi
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 461 records for Blaine County, Nebraska from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 344 days; the most frequent are hail reports (224 records). The most damaging was the July 1, 2012 drought ($1.9 million in 2025 dollars). FEMA has issued 12 declarations naming the county since 2001, 10 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding” on March 21, 2019.
The record, 1950 to 2026
Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $100,000
- $100,000 or more
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more, or a death
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- 1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
- 1996: all 48 event types from 1996
- Storm records
- 461on 344 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
- Deaths recorded
- 00 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $21Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
- Tornadoes
- 10strongest F2
- FEMA declarations
- 12latest 2020
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.
What hazards hit Blaine County most?
The most frequent records are hail reports: 224 since 1957. 52% of its hail reports since 1957 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.
| Hazard | Records | Days | First, last | Killed | Injured | Damage | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 224 | 140 | 1957-2025 | 0 | 0 | $599K | 53 of 93 |
| Winter storms | 61 | 61 | 1996-2024 | 0 | 0 | $32K | 66 of 93 |
| Drought | 57 | 57 | 2012-2026 | 0 | 0 | $3.2M | 29 of 93 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 52 | 42 | 1970-2025 | 0 | 0 | $404K | 80 of 93 |
| High wind and dust storms | 28 | 28 | 1996-2025 | 0 | 0 | $37K | 68 of 93 |
| Extreme cold | 19 | 19 | 1996-2025 | 0 | 0 | – | 39 of 93 |
| Tornadoes | 10 | 10 | 1955-2020 | 0 | 0 | $17M | 85 of 93 |
| Fog, smoke and funnel clouds | 4 | 3 | 2011-2023 | 0 | 0 | – | 39 of 93 |
| Wildfires | 3 | 3 | 2012-2026 | 0 | 0 | – | 3 of 93 |
| Floods | 2 | 2 | 2010-2019 | 0 | 0 | $189K | 88 of 93 |
| Heat | 1 | 1 | 2011-2011 | 0 | 0 | – | 66 of 93 |
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 Blaine County had?
NOAA records 10 tornadoes in Blaine County from 1955 to 2020, the strongest rated F2, 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 11 tornadoes whose track touched Blaine County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 10: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.
| Date | Tornado | Rating | Path | Killed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956-10-29 16:45, as SPC files it | North Platte | F4 | 147.7 mi | 0 |
Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Nebraska.
Every tornado record filed for Blaine County (10)
| Date | Place | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-06-20 | Purdum, Blaine County | EF0 0.01 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2020-06-08 | Brewster, Blaine County | EF0 0.01 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2011-05-30 | Brewster, Blaine County | EF0 0.02 mi x 20 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2007-05-05 | Dunning, Blaine County | EF1 23.88 mi x 220 yd | 0 | 0 | $28K |
| 2003-06-11 | Brewster, Blaine County | F0 0.1 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2002-05-05 | Dunning, Blaine County | F0 0.5 mi x 20 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1986-08-06 | Blaine County | F2 9 mi x 70 yd | 0 | 0 | $2.5M step |
| 1979-07-07 | Blaine County | F1 11.4 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $2.5M step |
| 1975-06-20 | Blaine County | F0 2.3 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1955-09-20 | Blaine County | F1 12.1 mi x 33 yd | 0 | 0 | $3K step |
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, 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 Blaine County?
The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the July 16, 2024 thunderstorm wind ($38,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).
Emergency management reports a cattle truck blown over on highway 91 along with a transformer pole broke off. Time estimated from radar.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1197082)
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-01 | DroughtBlaine County · forecast zone Blaine | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-01 | DroughtBlaine County · forecast zone Blaine | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-01 | DroughtBlaine County · forecast zone Blaine | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-12 | WildfireBlaine County · forecast zone Blaine | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-01 | DroughtBlaine County · forecast zone Blaine | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-12-17 | High WindBlaine County · forecast zone Blaine | 57 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2025-11-25 | High WindBlaine County · forecast zone Blaine | 58 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2025-07-15 | Thunderstorm WindDunning, Blaine County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2025-07-01 | DroughtBlaine County · forecast zone Blaine | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-06-22 | HailDunning, Blaine County | 1.25 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2025-06-01 | DroughtBlaine County · forecast zone Blaine | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-05-01 | DroughtBlaine County · forecast zone Blaine | 0 | 0 | – |
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
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-07-01 | DroughtBlaine County · forecast zone Blaine | 0 | 0 | $1.9M | |
| 2012-06-20 | DroughtBlaine County · forecast zone Blaine | 0 | 0 | $1.3M | |
| 2000-07-05 | Thunderstorm WindBrewster, Blaine County | 70 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $257K |
| 2002-08-11 | HailHalsey, Blaine County | 2.75 in hail | 0 | 0 | $51K |
| 2002-08-11 | HailBrewster, Blaine County | 2.75 in hail | 0 | 0 | $38K |
| 2024-07-16 | Thunderstorm WindBrewster, Blaine County | 65 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $38K |
| 2017-08-27 | HailBrewster, Blaine County | 2.75 in hail | 0 | 0 | $30K |
| 2007-05-05 | TornadoDunning, Blaine County | EF1 23.88 mi x 220 yd | 0 | 0 | $28K |
Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $2.5M, in the dollars of the day) holds: July 7, 1979 (tornado, Blaine County); August 6, 1986 (tornado, Blaine County).
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 Blaine 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).
| Hazard | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 2 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 32 | 92 | 65 | 18 |
| Winter storms | – | – | – | – | 14 | 21 | 20 | 6 |
| Drought | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 | 23 | 34 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 20 | 11 |
| High wind and dust storms | – | – | – | – | 5 | 7 | 12 | 4 |
| Extreme cold | – | – | – | – | 1 | 2 | 8 | 8 |
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 1957 fell in May and June. The two busiest months are in violet.
The values, month by month
Jan 25 · Feb 27 · Mar 22 · Apr 27 · May 75 · Jun 89 · Jul 60 · Aug 68 · Sep 14 · Oct 15 · Nov 17 · Dec 22 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.
Federal disaster declarations for Blaine County
FEMA's register lists 12 declarations that include Blaine County: 10 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (7) and biological (2).
| Declared | Number | Type | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-04-04 | DR-4521 | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| 2020-03-13 | EM-3483 | Biological | Covid-19 |
| 2019-03-21 | DR-4420 | Flood | Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding |
| 2018-06-29 | DR-4375 | Snowstorm | Severe Winter Storm and Straight-Line Winds |
| 2017-06-26 | DR-4321 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm and Straight-Line Winds |
| 2010-07-15 | DR-1924 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms and Flooding |
| 2008-06-20 | DR-1770 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding |
| 2007-06-06 | DR-1706 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes |
| 2007-01-07 | DR-1674 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storms |
| 2005-09-13 | EM-3245 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuees |
| 2004-05-25 | DR-1517 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding |
| 2001-05-16 | DR-1373 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes |
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.
FEMA's modeled risk for Blaine County
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Blaine County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $695,000. 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.
| Hazard | Risk rating | Expected annual loss | Modeled frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drought | Relatively Low | $65K | 44 modeled event-days a year |
| Hail | Relatively Low | $150K | 5.8 a year (modeled) |
| Wildfire | Very Low | $46K | once in about 701 years (modeled) |
| Winter Weather | Very Low | $12K | 16 a year (modeled) |
| Tornado | Very Low | $61K | once in about 3 years (modeled) |
| Landslide | Very Low | $21 | once in about 2 years (modeled) |
| Ice Storm | Very Low | $3K | once in about 12 years (modeled) |
| Strong Wind | Very Low | $40K | 1.8 a year (modeled) |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.
Counties that share a border with Blaine County
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 Blaine CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
- Download Blaine County's FEMA declarations (CSV)12 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis