Hamilton County, Nebraska

What hazards hit Hamilton County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 236 since 1957. 49% 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.

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 Hamilton County had?

NOAA records 63 tornadoes in Hamilton County from 1953 to 2023, the strongest rated EF2, with 0 deaths and 1 injury recorded in the county. That is 4th of 93 Nebraska counties and 120th 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 67 tornadoes whose track touched Hamilton County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 63: 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 Hamilton 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 Hamilton County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the July 28, 2023 hail ($1.1 million in damage in 2025 dollars).

An upper ridge was over most of the southern half of the country. A weak upper level disturbance was moving across northern Nebraska. A weak surface low pressure was across parts of south central Nebraska during the afternoon hours. Temperatures were in the mid 90s to triple digits, and dewpoints were in the upper 60s to lower 70s. Effective bulk shear values generally ranged from 30 to 45 knots, and most unstable CAPE was generally 4,000 to 6,000 J/kg. A storm developed and strengthened over south central Nebraska and produced 1.50 inch hail in Nuckolls County after 4 PM CDT. This storm went on to produce quarter and nickel size hail in the same county then moved south towards the Kansas border. The storm split as it was crossing the border with the northern storm remaining in Nebraska then weakening and the southern half of the storm moving into Kansas. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1114449)

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 Hamilton 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?

49% of its hail reports since 1957 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 Hamilton County

FEMA's register lists 23 declarations that include Hamilton County: 21 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (14) 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 Hamilton County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 17 flood or flash flood records for Hamilton County from 2005 to 2021, on 17 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Hamilton County ranks 2212th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $77,000 on 15 claims filed in Hamilton County; the most in one year was 9 in 1980. 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 Hamilton County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Hamilton County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $20.4 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 Hamilton County

1. Adams County 1,053
2. Hall County 974
3. Clay County 844
4. York County 730
5. Hamilton County 713
6. Merrick County 660
7. Polk County 524

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 Hamilton CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Hamilton County's FEMA declarations (CSV)23 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis