Hall County, Nebraska

County storm and disaster record · FIPS 31079 · population 62,826 · 547 sq mi

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 974 records for Hall County, Nebraska from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 608 days; the most frequent are hail reports (319 records). The deadliest day on its record was June 3, 1980: tornado records filed for Hall County that day count 5 deaths across 3 records. FEMA has issued 17 declarations naming the county since 1967, 15 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Severe Storms and Straight-Line Winds” on September 6, 2021.

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
974on 608 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded
13224 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$1.6Bas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Tornadoes
80strongest F4
FEMA declarations
17latest 2021

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 Hall County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 319 since 1955. 59% 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.

Hall County: records by hazard, 1950 to June 30, 2026
HazardRecordsDaysFirst, lastKilledInjuredDamageRank in state
Hail 319 196 1955-2025 0 0 $107M 4 of 93
Severe thunderstorm wind 252 162 1959-2025 1 3 $39M 3 of 93
Winter storms 121 121 1996-2025 7 16 $16M 12 of 93
Tornadoes 80 56 1953-2023 5 205 $1.3B 1 of 93
High wind and dust storms 77 60 1996-2026 0 0 $2.0M 7 of 93
Drought 50 50 2000-2026 0 0 $56M 17 of 93
Floods 31 28 1998-2024 0 0 $37M 20 of 93
Heavy rain 19 10 2007-2018 0 0 $71K 12 of 93
Extreme cold 12 12 1996-2025 0 0 $71K 55 of 93
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds 9 6 2000-2009 0 0 $60K 9 of 93
Heat 3 3 2009-2023 0 0 $275K 35 of 93
Lightning 1 1 2019-2019 0 0 $6K 52 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 Hall County had?

NOAA records 80 tornadoes in Hall County from 1953 to 2023, the strongest rated F4, with 5 deaths and 205 injuries recorded in the county. That is 1st of 93 Nebraska counties and 34th 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 79 tornadoes whose track touched Hall County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 80: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 9 people, 5 of them in Hall County.

The deadliest and strongest tornadoes that touched Hall County, whole tracks
DateTornadoRatingPathKilled
1965-05-08 17:30, as SPC files itTilden to WausaF4125.7 mi4
1980-06-03 21:16, as SPC files itGrand IslandF41.1 mi3
1980-06-03 19:45, as SPC files itGrand IslandF36.4 mi1
1980-06-03 20:05, as SPC files itGrand IslandF32.3 mi1
1993-06-06 20:45, as SPC files itCairoF350 mi0
1990-03-13 17:44, as SPC files itGrand IslandF327 mi0
1990-03-13 17:00, as SPC files itMinden to CairoF332 mi0
1984-06-11 20:20, as SPC files itCairoF314 mi0
1977-05-16 18:50, as SPC files itGrand IslandF347.3 mi0

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Nebraska.

Every tornado record filed for Hall County (80)
The 60 most recent of 80 tornadoes in Hall County
DatePlaceCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2023-10-12 Doniphan, Hall County EFU 0.01 mi x 20 yd 0 0 –
2022-07-03 Grand Is, Hall County EF1 3.69 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $353K
2021-12-15 Rosedale, Hall County EF1 4.99 mi x 150 yd 0 0 $218K
2018-05-01 Doniphan, Hall County EF0 1.96 mi x 25 yd 0 0 $35K
2015-05-06 Alda, Hall County EF0 0.01 mi x 25 yd 0 0 –
2009-06-17 Grand Is, Hall County EF0 1.86 mi x 20 yd 0 0 $7K
2008-05-29 Wood River, Hall County EF0 9.88 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $377K
2005-05-11 Wood River, Hall County F0 0.1 mi x 30 yd 0 0 $189K
2005-05-07 Wood River, Hall County F0 0.5 mi x 30 yd 0 0 –
1999-05-02 Wood River, Hall County F1 1.5 mi x 35 yd 0 0 $177K
1999-05-02 Wood River, Hall County F0 2 mi x 20 yd 0 0 –
1997-06-11 Cairo, Hall County F1 6 mi x 75 yd 0 0 $1.6M
1997-06-11 Doniphan, Hall County F0 0.5 mi x 25 yd 0 0 $92K
1996-08-04 Grand Is, Hall County F0 0.1 mi x 20 yd 0 0 $56K
1995-08-05 Grand Island, Hall County F0 1 mi x 25 yd 0 0 $101K
1993-05-07 Prosser, Hall County F2 1 mi x 150 yd 0 0 $10M
1993-05-07 Upland To, Hall County F2 40 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $10M
1992-06-15 Hall County F1 0.1 mi x 30 yd 0 0 $25K step
1991-05-29 Hall County F0 0.2 mi x 30 yd 0 0 –
1990-07-25 Hall County F0 1 mi x 20 yd 0 0 –
1990-03-13 Hall County F3 17 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $2.5M step
1990-03-13 Hall County F2 7 mi x 80 yd 0 0 $250K step
1990-03-13 Hall County F3 12 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $2.5M step
1987-08-17 Hall County F1 0.3 mi x 40 yd 0 0 $2.5M step
1986-07-24 Hall County F1 0.3 mi x 40 yd 0 0 $3K step
1986-07-11 Hall County F1 0.5 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $250K step
1986-04-13 Hall County F1 1.5 mi x 20 yd 0 0 $25K step
1986-04-13 Hall County F0 0.1 mi x 20 yd 0 0 $30 step
1985-09-04 Hall County F1 0.2 mi x 40 yd 0 0 $25K step
1985-08-05 Hall County F0 0.1 mi x 40 yd 0 0 –
1984-06-11 Hall County F3 7 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $2.5M step
1984-06-04 Hall County F0 0.1 mi x 10 yd 0 0 –
1982-06-24 Hall County F1 0.2 mi x 20 yd 0 0 $3K step
1982-05-10 Hall County F1 1 mi x 20 yd 0 0 $3K step
1980-10-16 Hall County F1 3 mi x 20 yd 0 0 $2.5M step
1980-08-10 Hall County F1 0.1 mi x 20 yd 0 0 $250K step
1980-06-03 Hall County F1 0 2 $2.5M step
1980-06-03 Hall County F2 0 0 –
1980-06-03 Hall County F2 3.4 mi x 33 yd 0 0 –
1980-06-03 Hall County F2 0 18 $2.5M step
1980-06-03 Hall County F4 0 0 –
1980-06-03 Hall County F4 1.1 mi x 33 yd 0 0 –
1980-06-03 Hall County F4 3 110 $250M step
1980-06-03 Hall County F1 2.3 mi x 33 yd 0 0 –
1980-06-03 Hall County F1 0 0 $25K step
1980-06-03 Hall County F3 0 0 –
1980-06-03 Hall County F3 2.3 mi x 500 yd 1 40 $25M step
1980-06-03 Hall County F1 0.8 mi x 150 yd 0 5 $25K step
1980-06-03 Hall County F3 6.4 mi x 700 yd 1 25 $2.5M step
1977-09-01 Hall County 0 0 $250K step
1977-05-19 Hall County 0 0 $25K step
1977-05-19 Hall County 0 0 –
1977-05-19 Hall County 0 0 –
1977-05-19 Hall County F2 20.8 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $250K step
1977-05-19 Hall County 0 0 $3K step
1977-05-16 Hall County 0 0 $25K step
1973-10-09 Hall County F2 1 mi x 33 yd 0 5 $250K step
1973-09-02 Hall County F0 0 0 $25K step
1973-07-03 Hall County F1 0 0 $2.5M step
1971-06-06 Hall County F0 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 Hall County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the March 4, 2025 winter weather (2 deaths).

Transient bands of at times heavier snow combined with strong north-northwest winds gusting over 50 MPH at times resulted in brief periods of near-blizzard conditions due to snow squalls. Overall snowfall amounts were less than one inch. Accidents were reported in the area, including one on Interstate 80 near Grand Island, which resulted in two fatalities.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1248788)
The 12 most recent records kept for Hall County
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-03-15 High WindHall County · forecast zone Hall 64 kt wind 0 0 –
2026-03-03 DroughtHall County · forecast zone Hall 0 0 –
2025-05-18 Thunderstorm WindWood River, Hall County 53 kt wind 0 0 –
2025-05-18 Thunderstorm WindWood River, Hall County 50 kt wind 0 0 –
2025-05-18 Thunderstorm WindGrand Is Regional A, Hall County 52 kt wind 0 0 –
2025-05-06 DroughtHall County · forecast zone Hall 0 0 –
2025-04-17 HailAlda, Hall County 1.25 in hail 0 0 –
2025-04-17 HailWood River, Hall County 0.75 in hail 0 0 –
2025-04-01 Thunderstorm WindGrand Is, Hall County 63 kt wind 0 0 –
2025-04-01 HailGrand Is, Hall County 1.75 in hail 0 0 –
2025-04-01 HailGrand Is Regional A, Hall County 1.50 in hail 0 0 –
2025-04-01 HailCairo, Hall County 0.88 in hail 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

Records with deaths or injuries in Hall County, most deaths first
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
1980-06-03 TornadoHall County F4 3 110 $250M step
2025-03-04 Winter WeatherHall County · forecast zone Hall Transient bands of at times heavier snow combined with strong north-northwest winds gusting over 50 MPH at times resulted in brief periods of near-blizzard conditions due to snow squalls. Overall snowfall amounts were less than one inch. Accidents were reported in the area, including one on Interstate 80 near Grand ... 2 0 –
1980-06-03 TornadoHall County F3 2.3 mi x 500 yd 1 40 $25M step
1980-06-03 TornadoHall County F3 6.4 mi x 700 yd 1 25 $2.5M step
2004-02-04 Winter StormHall County · forecast zone Hall A major winter storm dumped heavy snow across most of south-central Nebraska. The snow began early on the 4th and continued through about dawn on the 5th. Heavy snow fell in two separate bursts, with the second burst producing snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour. The heaviest snow fell along the U.S. Highway 281 ... 1 4 $47K
2018-04-01 Winter WeatherHall County · forecast zone Hall A snowfall total of 4.0 inches was measured one mile east southeast of Doniphan. Also, a public report of 2.7 inches occurred 3 miles west southwest of Grand Island. Snow and slick roads contributed to a fatal automobile accident in the morning in Grand Island. 1 1 –
2007-02-12 Winter WeatherHall County · forecast zone Hall A winter storm moved through the Central Plains. This storm brought widespread snows to the region and wind gusts around 25 mph also added to the dangerous conditions. Most areas picked up two to five inches of snow. An area east of Hastings and south of York picked up 6 or 7 inches of snow. The most snow reported was ... 1 1 –
2019-08-07 Thunderstorm WindCairo, Hall County A 69 MPH wind gust was measured by a mesonet station located 1 mile south of Cairo. Wind gusts estimated to be at least 60 MPH were reported in Cairo. Approximately three miles south-southeast of Cairo, near the intersection of Airport Road and Burwick Road, a motorist struck a large tree that had been blown down and ... 60 kt wind 1 0 –

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.

The costliest records in Hall County since 1993, damage in 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2017-06-13 HailGrand Is, Hall County 2.50 in hail 0 0 $12M
2009-06-05 HailWood River, Hall County 1.75 in hail 0 0 $11M
2024-05-20 HailGrand Is, Hall County 2.00 in hail 0 0 $4.7M
1995-07-22 HailCairo, Hall County 1.75 in hail 0 0 $4.4M
1995-07-22 HailGrand Island, Hall County 1.75 in hail 0 0 $4.2M
2024-06-29 HailWood River, Hall County 1.00 in hail 0 0 $4.1M
2022-06-07 HailWood River, Hall County 2.00 in hail 0 0 $4.0M
1995-08-05 HailGrand Island, Hall County 2.00 in hail 0 0 $3.9M

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 $250M, in the dollars of the day) holds: June 3, 1980 (tornado, Hall County, 3 killed).

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 Hall 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).

Hall County: records per decade (the 2020s to June 30, 2026)
Hazard1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020-26
Hail27273048937339
Severe thunderstorm wind13153044457341
Winter storms––––17344030
Tornadoes712122614423
High wind and dust storms––––4133426
Drought––––021533

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

What time of year?

59% of its hail reports since 1955 fell in May and June. The two busiest months are in violet.

The values, month by month

Jan 45 · Feb 47 · Mar 55 · Apr 94 · May 193 · Jun 202 · Jul 117 · Aug 92 · Sep 35 · Oct 26 · Nov 20 · Dec 48 (records).

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

Federal disaster declarations for Hall County

FEMA's register lists 17 declarations that include Hall County: 15 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (7) and flood (4).

Declarations including Hall County, newest first
DeclaredNumberTypeTitle
2021-09-06DR-4616Severe StormSevere Storms and Straight-Line Winds
2020-04-04DR-4521BiologicalCovid-19 Pandemic
2020-03-13EM-3483BiologicalCovid-19
2019-03-21DR-4420FloodSevere Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding
2018-06-29DR-4375SnowstormSevere Winter Storm and Straight-Line Winds
2008-06-20DR-1770Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2007-01-07DR-1674Severe StormSevere Winter Storms
2005-09-13EM-3245HurricaneHurricane Katrina Evacuees
2005-06-23DR-1590Severe StormSevere Storms and Flooding
2004-05-25DR-1517Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding
1997-11-01DR-1190Severe StormSevere Snow Storms, Rain, and Strong Winds
1993-07-19DR-998FloodSevere Storms and Flooding
1993-04-02DR-983FloodIce Jams & Flooding
1990-07-04DR-873Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding
1980-06-04DR-625TornadoSevere Storms & Tornadoes
1976-04-08DR-500Severe Ice StormIce Storms & High Winds
1967-07-18DR-228FloodSevere Storms & Flooding

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 Hall County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 31 flood or flash flood records for Hall County from 1998 to 2024, on 28 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Hall County ranks 1184th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $812,000 on 126 claims filed in Hall County; the most in one year was 33 in 2005. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

The values, year by year

1978: 2 · 1980: 1 · 1982: 15 · 1983: 2 · 1984: 9 · 1985: 1 · 1987: 1 · 1988: 1 · 1993: 16 · 1997: 2 · 1998: 3 · 1999: 1 · 2001: 1 · 2005: 33 · 2007: 1 · 2008: 15 · 2009: 1 · 2010: 1 · 2017: 1 · 2019: 18 · 2020: 1; the other years: 0.

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 Hall County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Hall County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $38.5 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.

National Risk Index ratings for Hall County (December 2025 release), by FEMA's rating, then score
HazardRisk ratingExpected annual lossModeled frequency
HailRelatively High$7.1M7 a year (modeled)
Winter WeatherRelatively High$902K14 a year (modeled)
DroughtRelatively High$2.3M46 modeled event-days a year
Strong WindRelatively High$2.6M4 a year (modeled)
Ice StormRelatively High$793Konce in about 2 years (modeled)
TornadoRelatively Moderate$8.3Monce in about 2 years (modeled)
LightningRelatively Moderate$480K43 a year (modeled)
Riverine FloodingRelatively Low$15Mabout once 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 Hall County

  1. Buffalo County 1,053
  2. Adams County 1,053
  3. Hall County 974
  4. Hamilton County 713
  5. Merrick County 660
  6. Howard County 621

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

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