Holt County, Nebraska

What hazards hit Holt County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 560 since 1958. 52% of its hail reports since 1958 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 Holt County had?

NOAA records 80 tornadoes in Holt County from 1952 to 2023, the strongest rated F4, with 0 deaths and 5 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 81 tornadoes whose track touched Holt 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 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 Holt County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 22, 2025 thunderstorm wind ($5,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

Public reports severe tree damage along with a snapped power poll at this location. Winds estimated at 80 MPH.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1267486)

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 Holt 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?

52% of its hail reports since 1958 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 Holt County

FEMA's register lists 16 declarations that include Holt County: 14 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (10) 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 Holt County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 23 flood or flash flood records for Holt County from 1999 to 2024, on 18 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Holt County ranks 2523rd of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $4,899 on 6 claims filed in Holt County; the most in one year was 3 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 Holt County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Holt County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $7.0 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 Holt County

1. Holt County 1,061
2. Knox County 776
3. Antelope County 649
4. Rock County 517
5. Garfield County 449
6. Boyd County 418
7. Keya Paha County 412
8. Loup County 385
9. Wheeler County 353

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