Madison County, Nebraska

What hazards hit Madison County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 225 since 1955. 56% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1955 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 Madison County had?

NOAA records 46 tornadoes in Madison County from 1953 to 2024, the strongest rated F4, with 6 deaths and 38 injuries recorded in the county. That is 8th of 93 Nebraska counties and 187th 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 47 tornadoes whose track touched Madison County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 46: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 6 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 Madison County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the March 13, 2019 flood (1 death and $224,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

This is for flooding along the Elkhorn River. The river gage at Norfolk, operated by the USGS, peaked at 15.5 feet at 7 am on March 14th. Minor flood stage is 12 feet. Major flood stage is 17 feet. Preliminary this was the 3rd highest crest on record. A 30 year old man was killed by flood waters when he was on top of a car at 4 am CDT on the 14th in a field east of north First Street in Norfolk. Water swept away the man and the body was never found. Water closed US Hyway 275 on the 14th and numerous streets were under water due to the flooding in Norfolk.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 813918)

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 Madison 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?

56% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1955 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 Madison County

FEMA's register lists 19 declarations that include Madison County: 17 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (8) and flood (6).

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 Madison County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 35 flood or flash flood records for Madison County from 1997 to 2025, on 24 days, with 2 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Madison County ranks 1488th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $3.4 million on 70 claims filed in Madison County; the most in one year was 22 in 2010. 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 Madison County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Madison County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $26.8 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 Madison County

1. Madison County 753
2. Platte County 739
3. Antelope County 649
4. Boone County 537
5. Stanton County 487
6. Pierce County 486
7. Wayne County 416

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
• Severe thunderstorm wind in NebraskaThe state's severe thunderstorm wind events, 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 Madison CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Madison County's FEMA declarations (CSV)19 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis