Otoe County, Nebraska

What hazards hit Otoe County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 217 since 1961. 47% of its hail reports since 1961 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 Otoe County had?

NOAA records 31 tornadoes in Otoe County from 1953 to 2025, the strongest rated F3, with 0 deaths and 3 injuries recorded in the county. That is 47th 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 33 tornadoes whose track touched Otoe County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 31: 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.

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 Otoe County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the September 9, 2014 tornado ($187,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

The tornado developed from a slow moving supercell across rural Otoe County. The tornado initially developed near County Road 50, and between County Road M and L. Initial damage was mainly to crops and snapped tree limbs. The slow-moving tornado traveled generally east southeast exhibiting a slightly erratic path through rural Otoe County. The tornado impacted a couple of farmsteads along County Road 56, and also along County Road M. At these locations outbuildings were damaged or destroyed, as well as considerable tree damage. The tornado cross U.S. Highway 75 at the intersection of Nebraska Highway 128 where tree and power line damage occurred. The tornado continued east along Highway 128 continuing to do tree and crop damage for 1 mile before dissipating.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 533721)

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 Otoe 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).

Heat in the 2010s: 40 records against 12 in the decade before, 40 of them forecast-zone records. Cells marked z rose mostly through zone records. The local National Weather Service office files these once per forecast zone, so a change in how it draws its zones or splits a storm into records moves this count as much as the weather does; read it beside the Otoe County days with a record above.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

47% of its hail reports since 1961 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 Otoe County

FEMA's register lists 23 declarations that include Otoe County: 20 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (10) 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 Otoe County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 80 flood or flash flood records for Otoe County from 1996 to 2026, on 64 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Otoe County ranks 1960th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $416,000 on 27 claims filed in Otoe County; the most in one year was 6 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 Otoe County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Otoe County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $11.0 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 Otoe County

1. Lancaster County 1,227
2. Otoe County 848
3. Gage County 799
4. Cass County 781
5. Fremont County, IA 536
6. Nemaha County 523
7. Atchison County, MO 462
8. Johnson County 377

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 Otoe CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Otoe County's FEMA declarations (CSV)23 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis