Furnas County, Nebraska

What hazards hit Furnas County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 321 since 1955. 53% of its hail reports since 1955 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 Furnas County had?

NOAA records 30 tornadoes in Furnas County from 1952 to 2024, the strongest rated F3, with 1 death 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 30 tornadoes whose track touched Furnas County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 30, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 1 person.

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 Furnas County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the July 31, 2024 hail ($1.0 million in damage in 2025 dollars).

An upper level trough was beginning to move over the northern and central Plains. An upper level disturbance was moving over northern Nebraska. A cold front was pushing southeast across Nebraska during the day. Wind shear values were around 35 to 45 knots and SBCAPE values were over 3000 J/kg across south central and central Nebraska. Mid-level lapse rates became steeper as the upper trough began to move over the area. DCAPE values ranged from 1000 to 1700 J/kg. Showers and thunderstorms that had developed earlier in the day were on a weakening trend. This convection produced a heat burst in Valley County which resulted in a couple of wind gusts around 60 mph as well as a gust of 82 mph during the late morning and early afternoon. Storms continued to move southeastward across south central and central Nebraska into the afternoon hours. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1193710)

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 Furnas 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?

53% of its hail reports since 1955 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 Furnas County

FEMA's register lists 16 declarations that include Furnas County: 13 major disasters, 2 emergencies and one fire management assistance declaration. Most were for severe storm (8) 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 Furnas County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 13 flood or flash flood records for Furnas County from 1996 to 2019, on 12 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Furnas County ranks 2685th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $4,118 on 3 claims filed in Furnas County; the most in one year was 2 in 2019. 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 Furnas County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Furnas County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $13.5 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 Furnas County

1. Red Willow County 845
2. Norton County, KS 817
3. Decatur County, KS 813
4. Furnas County 807
5. Phelps County 695
6. Frontier County 689
7. Harlan County 542
8. Gosper County 496

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 Furnas CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Furnas County's FEMA declarations (CSV)16 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis