Box Butte County, Nebraska

What hazards hit Box Butte County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 343 since 1955. 61% of its hail reports since 1955 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 Box Butte County had?

NOAA records 43 tornadoes in Box Butte County from 1955 to 2019, 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 43 tornadoes whose track touched Box Butte County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 43, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.

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 Box Butte County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 12, 2017 tornado ($1.2 million in damage in 2025 dollars).

A discontinuous tornado path continued northeast into Box Butte County from Morrill County. Additional roof damage was surveyed to a large building near the Alliance Airport (DI 1, DOD 3). This was the end of the discontinuous tornado path in Morrill and Box Butte Counties. Sixty-five train cars were blown over south of Alliance.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 721657)

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 Box Butte 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?

61% of its hail reports since 1955 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 Box Butte County

FEMA's register lists 9 declarations that include Box Butte County: 7 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (5) and biological (2).

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 Box Butte County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 6 flood or flash flood records for Box Butte County from 2012 to 2024, on 4 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Box Butte County ranks 2756th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $0 on 2 claims filed in Box Butte County; the most in one year was 2 in 2014. 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 Box Butte County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Box Butte County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $8.4 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 Box Butte County

1. Scotts Bluff County 1,105
2. Sheridan County 1,010
3. Dawes County 772
4. Box Butte County 723
5. Morrill County 609
6. Sioux County 594

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 Box Butte CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Box Butte County's FEMA declarations (CSV)9 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis