Howard County, Nebraska

What hazards hit Howard County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 234 since 1956. 54% of its hail reports since 1956 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 Howard County had?

NOAA records 45 tornadoes in Howard County from 1955 to 2025, the strongest rated F4, with 0 deaths and 27 injuries recorded in the county. That is 9th of 93 Nebraska counties and 223rd 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 50 tornadoes whose track touched Howard County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 45: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 1 person, 0 of them in Howard 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 Howard County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 21, 2024 flash flood ($6.2 million in damage in 2025 dollars).

Based on radar estimation and various totals from NWS/NeRAIN/CoCoRaHS observers, widespread rainfall of 3-6 inches (localized 7+ inches) fell across most of the county mainly between 7 p.m. CDT on the 21st and 12:30 a.m. CDT on the 22nd. A river gage along the Turkey Creek north of Dannebrog registered a record crest of 21.63 feet (flood stage 17.0') on the morning of the 22nd. Emergency management reported numerous rural roads under water and an evacuation was needed at one farmstead northwest of Dannebrog. Other area creeks and streams flooded, including the Dry and Oak Creeks. The flooding of Oak Creek had a significant impact in Dannebrog, closing Highway 58, flooding the park and several streets, and causing a few homes to need sandbagged. In all, a reported seven homes received water damage and 14 city blocks flooded, causing $50,000 in city infrastructure damage. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1182828)

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 Howard 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?

54% of its hail reports since 1956 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 Howard County

FEMA's register lists 24 declarations that include Howard County: 22 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (12) and flood (5).

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 Howard County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 22 flood or flash flood records for Howard County from 2004 to 2024, on 16 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Howard County ranks 2105th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $223,000 on 19 claims filed in Howard County; the most in one year was 11 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 Howard County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Howard County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $11.4 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 Howard County

1. Buffalo County 1,053
2. Hall County 974
3. Merrick County 660
4. Howard County 621
5. Sherman County 539
6. Greeley County 455
7. Nance County 442

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 Howard CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Howard County's FEMA declarations (CSV)24 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis