Hooker County, Nebraska
County storm and disaster record · FIPS 31091 · population 711 · 721 sq mi
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 470 records for Hooker County, Nebraska from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 324 days; the most frequent are hail reports (201 records). The most damaging was the June 29, 2000 hail ($1.6 million in 2025 dollars). FEMA has issued 6 declarations naming the county since 2001, 4 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding” on March 21, 2019.
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
- 470on 324 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
- Deaths recorded
- 00 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $6.7Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
- Tornadoes
- 15strongest EF2
- FEMA declarations
- 6latest 2020
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 Hooker County most?
The most frequent records are hail reports: 201 since 1968. 65% of its hail reports since 1968 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.
| Hazard | Records | Days | First, last | Killed | Injured | Damage | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 201 | 119 | 1968-2026 | 0 | 0 | $2.8M | 74 of 93 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 80 | 61 | 1966-2025 | 0 | 0 | $133K | 71 of 93 |
| Winter storms | 65 | 64 | 1996-2023 | 0 | 0 | $621K | 64 of 93 |
| Drought | 58 | 55 | 2012-2026 | 0 | 0 | $1.9M | 31 of 93 |
| High wind and dust storms | 24 | 24 | 1996-2025 | 0 | 0 | $38K | 78 of 93 |
| Extreme cold | 15 | 15 | 2008-2025 | 0 | 0 | – | 64 of 93 |
| Tornadoes | 15 | 13 | 1971-2024 | 0 | 0 | $181K | 82 of 93 |
| Fog, smoke and funnel clouds | 9 | 7 | 2009-2014 | 0 | 0 | – | 14 of 93 |
| Floods | 1 | 1 | 1997-1997 | 0 | 0 | $919K | 92 of 93 |
| Heavy rain | 1 | 1 | 2011-2011 | 0 | 0 | – | 67 of 93 |
| Lightning | 1 | 1 | 2014-2014 | 0 | 0 | $4K | 59 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 Hooker County had?
NOAA records 15 tornadoes in Hooker County from 1971 to 2024, the strongest rated EF2, 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 16 tornadoes whose track touched Hooker County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 15: 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.
| Date | Tornado | Rating | Path | Killed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-06-25 20:47, as SPC files it | Unnamed | EF3 | 40.01 mi | 0 |
Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Nebraska.
Every tornado record filed for Hooker County (15)
| Date | Place | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-06-25 | Mullen, Hooker County | EF2 8.86 mi x 500 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2014-06-17 | Mullen, Hooker County | EF0 1.7 mi x 40 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2009-05-12 | Mullen, Hooker County | EF0 3.46 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 0 | $7K |
| 2008-06-23 | Mullen, Hooker County | EF0 0.1 mi x 20 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2005-06-06 | Mullen, Hooker County | F0 0.1 mi x 25 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2005-06-06 | Mullen, Hooker County | F0 0.1 mi x 25 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2000-06-29 | Mullen, Hooker County | F0 0.1 mi x 20 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2000-06-29 | Mullen, Hooker County | F0 0.1 mi x 20 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1999-06-04 | Mullen, Hooker County | F0 1 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1994-07-01 | Mullen, Hooker County | F0 0.5 mi x 25 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1991-06-17 | Hooker County | F0 0.1 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1986-06-21 | Hooker County | F1 0.2 mi x 20 yd | 0 | 0 | $3K step |
| 1985-09-07 | Hooker County | F0 0.1 mi x 23 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1974-04-19 | Hooker County | F1 | 0 | 0 | $25K step |
| 1971-04-19 | Hooker County | F1 | 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 Hooker County?
The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 21, 2015 hail ($31,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).
Windows were broken out of house with cars stuck on Highway 97 due to the hail.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 575470)
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-09 | HailMullen, Hooker County | 1.75 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-01 | DroughtHooker County · forecast zone Hooker | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-01 | DroughtHooker County · forecast zone Hooker | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-01 | DroughtHooker County · forecast zone Hooker | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-01 | DroughtHooker County · forecast zone Hooker | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-01 | DroughtHooker County · forecast zone Hooker | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-12-17 | High WindHooker County · forecast zone Hooker | 57 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2025-11-25 | High WindHooker County · forecast zone Hooker | 53 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2025-08-03 | Thunderstorm WindMullen, Hooker County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2025-08-03 | HailMullen, Hooker County | 2.25 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2025-08-03 | HailMullen, Hooker County | 1.75 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2025-05-14 | HailMullen, Hooker County | 1.00 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
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000-06-29 | HailMullen, Hooker County | 1.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | $1.6M |
| 1997-07-22 | Flash FloodMullen, Hooker County | 0 | 0 | $919K | |
| 2012-06-20 | DroughtHooker County · forecast zone Hooker | 0 | 0 | $643K | |
| 1997-10-24 | Winter StormHooker County · forecast zone Hooker | 0 | 0 | $368K | |
| 2009-07-23 | HailMullen, Hooker County | 2.50 in hail | 0 | 0 | $138K |
| 1999-06-04 | HailMullen, Hooker County | 4.50 in hail | 0 | 0 | $106K |
| 1999-06-04 | HailMullen, Hooker County | 2.50 in hail | 0 | 0 | $99K |
| 2000-07-09 | HailMullen, Hooker County | 2.75 in hail | 0 | 0 | $94K |
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 $25K, in the dollars of the day) holds: April 19, 1974 (tornado, Hooker County).
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 Hooker 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).
| Hazard | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 47 | 92 | 41 | 13 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 0 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 31 | 6 |
| Winter storms | – | – | – | – | 13 | 20 | 24 | 8 |
| Drought | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 | 28 | 30 |
| High wind and dust storms | – | – | – | – | 2 | 10 | 8 | 4 |
| Extreme cold | – | – | – | – | 0 | 1 | 6 | 8 |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).
What time of year?
65% of its hail reports since 1968 fell in June and July. The two busiest months are in violet.
The values, month by month
Jan 22 · Feb 24 · Mar 23 · Apr 34 · May 50 · Jun 113 · Jul 91 · Aug 44 · Sep 9 · Oct 20 · Nov 20 · Dec 20 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.
Federal disaster declarations for Hooker County
FEMA's register lists 6 declarations that include Hooker County: 4 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for biological (2) and severe storm (2).
| Declared | Number | Type | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-04-04 | DR-4521 | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| 2020-03-13 | EM-3483 | Biological | Covid-19 |
| 2019-03-21 | DR-4420 | Flood | Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding |
| 2010-07-15 | DR-1924 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms and Flooding |
| 2005-09-13 | EM-3245 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuees |
| 2001-05-16 | DR-1373 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes |
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.
FEMA's modeled risk for Hooker County
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Hooker County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $546,000. 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.
| Hazard | Risk rating | Expected annual loss | Modeled frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drought | Relatively Low | $45K | 58 modeled event-days a year |
| Wildfire | Very Low | $20K | once in about 644 years (modeled) |
| Hail | Very Low | $81K | 5.3 a year (modeled) |
| Landslide | Very Low | $176 | about once a year (modeled) |
| Winter Weather | Very Low | $15K | 17 a year (modeled) |
| Cold Wave | Very Low | $92K | 5.9 a year (modeled) |
| Tornado | Very Low | $65K | once in about 4 years (modeled) |
| Lightning | Very Low | $12K | 42 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 Hooker County
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 Hooker CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
- Download Hooker County's FEMA declarations (CSV)6 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis