Nemaha County, Nebraska

What hazards hit Nemaha County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 157 since 1956. 55% 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 Nemaha County had?

NOAA records 22 tornadoes in Nemaha County from 1950 to 2026, the strongest rated F3, with 1 death and 9 injuries recorded in the county. That is 46th of 93 Nebraska 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 22 tornadoes whose track touched Nemaha County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 22, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 1 person.

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 Nemaha County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the August 10, 2025 thunderstorm wind ($1.2 million in damage in 2025 dollars).

A damaging wind event impacted Nemaha County, Nebraska, on the morning of August 10th, 2025, primarily affecting the northwest to north-central portion of the county. The severity of the storm was characterized by a single, significant damage report 4 miles southeast of Julian, where straight-line wind gusts were estimated as high as 95 miles per hour by Emergency Management. This high-end wind estimate was based on the destruction of a grain bin and a shed in the area. Although only one report was officially documented in the county, the resulting damage was larger. The estimated cost for repairs to public infrastructure in Nemaha County was $1,224,827.00. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1290174)

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 Nemaha 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?

55% 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 Nemaha County

FEMA's register lists 26 declarations that include Nemaha County: 23 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (14) and flood (7).

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 Nemaha County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 69 flood or flash flood records for Nemaha County from 1996 to 2024, on 64 days, with 1 death. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Nemaha County ranks 1669th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $454,000 on 49 claims filed in Nemaha County; the most in one year was 16 in 1993. 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 Nemaha County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Nemaha County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $5.1 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 Nemaha County

1. Otoe County 848
2. Nemaha County 523
3. Richardson County 513
4. Atchison County, MO 462
5. Johnson County 377
6. Pawnee County 349
7. Holt County, MO 333

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 Nemaha CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Nemaha County's FEMA declarations (CSV)26 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis