Thayer County, Nebraska

What hazards hit Thayer County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 286 since 1955. 52% of its hail reports since 1955 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 Thayer County had?

NOAA records 63 tornadoes in Thayer County from 1953 to 2022, the strongest rated F4, with 6 deaths and 93 injuries recorded in the county. That is 2nd of 93 Nebraska counties and 115th 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 67 tornadoes whose track touched Thayer County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 63: 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 Thayer County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the August 9, 2025 thunderstorm wind ($27.5 million in damage in 2025 dollars).

A swath of wind with gusts estimated to be as high as 90 MPH swept through the west-northwest portions of Thayer County. Peak measured gusts included the following: 85 MPH, measured by a mesonet station located four miles east-southeast of Deshler; 85 MPH, measured by a mesonet station located three miles west-southwest of Carleton; 83 MPH, measured by mesonet stations located four miles northwest of Deshler and one mile north of Deshler; 72 MPH, measured by a mesonet station located five miles south-southwest of Carleton. Widespread tree and crop damage was reported along and within a few miles either side of this path. Several large trees were snapped and large limbs were downed. Approximately four miles northwest of Deshler, emergency management reported a home suffered roof damage at a farmstead, and had several outbuilding damaged or destroyed. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1299028)

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 Thayer 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?

52% of its hail reports since 1955 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 Thayer County

FEMA's register lists 24 declarations that include Thayer County: 22 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (11) 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 Thayer County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 21 flood or flash flood records for Thayer County from 1997 to 2020, on 21 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Thayer County ranks 2003rd of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $326,000 on 25 claims filed in Thayer County; the most in one year was 9 in 2015. 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 Thayer County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Thayer County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $12.7 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 Thayer County

1. Thayer County 802
2. Republic County, KS 776
3. Washington County, KS 748
4. Saline County 737
5. Jefferson County 711
6. Fillmore County 664
7. Nuckolls County 605

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