Nuckolls County, Nebraska

What hazards hit Nuckolls County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 163 since 1956. 42% 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 Nuckolls County had?

NOAA records 47 tornadoes in Nuckolls County from 1950 to 2024, the strongest rated F4, with 0 deaths and 10 injuries recorded in the county. That is 12th 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 47 tornadoes whose track touched Nuckolls County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 47, the same count); 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 Nuckolls County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the August 9, 2025 thunderstorm wind ($30.0 million in damage in 2025 dollars).

A swath of wind with gusts estimated to be as high as 90 MPH swept through the southeastern portion of Nuckolls County. Peak measured gusts included the following: 73 MPH, measured by a mesonet station located one mile west-northwest of Ruskin; 67 MPH, measured by a mesonet station located in Ruskin; 66 MPH, measured by a mesonet station located two miles north-northwest of Superior. Widespread damage was reported along and near this path, including the Superior and Ruskin areas. An estimate of 200 trees were damaged in Superior, causing the park to be closed for a period of time for clean-up. Several roofs sustained damage in Superior, with at least two downtown businesses suffering extensive roof damage, causing damage to the interior of the businesses as well. Several downtown businesses sustained broken windows. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1298977)

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 Nuckolls 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?

42% 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 Nuckolls County

FEMA's register lists 21 declarations that include Nuckolls County: 19 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (9) 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 Nuckolls County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 10 flood or flash flood records for Nuckolls County from 1997 to 2025, on 10 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Nuckolls County ranks 2590th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $12,000 on 5 claims filed in Nuckolls County; the most in one year was 1 in 1980. 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 Nuckolls County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Nuckolls County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $8.7 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 Nuckolls County

1. Clay County 844
2. Thayer County 802
3. Republic County, KS 776
4. Jewell County, KS 748
5. Fillmore County 664
6. Nuckolls County 605
7. Webster County 569

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 Nuckolls CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Nuckolls County's FEMA declarations (CSV)21 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis