PlainHazard

Nebraska lightning

Every recorded lightning record since 1996 · 71 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 204 lightning records in Nebraska from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 6.0 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the April 11, 2006 lightning in Gage County: 1 death and 3 injuries. Nebraska ranks 33rd of 52 states and territories by count and 38th of 51 per square mile.

Lightning in Nebraska, 1996 to 2026

Lightning records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $1 million
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
Records
2041996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
6.0average
Deaths
529 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$41Mas filed
Busiest year
199637 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are lightning records common in Nebraska?

Nebraska averages about 6.0 lightning records a year since 2000, 33rd of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 1996 (37). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Nebraska records 27 lightning records since 1996, 38th of 51 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. New Jersey 859
  2. 2. Delaware 744
  3. 3. Massachusetts 642
  4. 4. Rhode Island 571
  5. 5. Connecticut 353
  6. 6. Florida 331
  7. 7. Maryland 322
  8. 8. New Hampshire 232
  9. 9. Georgia 228
  10. 10. Puerto Rico 175
  11. 38. Nebraska 27

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Nebraska have the most lightning records?

Per square mile, Douglas County leads Nebraska: 27 days with a lightning record since 1996, 82.7 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Douglas County has the most lightning records (30 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

  1. Douglas County 82.7 (30)
  2. Sarpy County 25.2 (6)
  3. Lancaster County 11.9 (11)
  4. Cuming County 7.0 (4)
  5. Clay County 7.0 (4)
  6. Otoe County 6.5 (4)
  7. Gage County 5.9 (5)
  8. Dodge County 5.7 (3)
  9. Red Willow County 5.6 (4)
  10. Hamilton County 5.5 (3)
  11. Howard County 5.3 (3)
  12. Garfield County 5.3 (3)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is the lightning season in Nebraska?

47% of its lightning records since 1996 fell in July and August. The busiest month is August (57 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 0 · Feb 0 · Mar 4 · Apr 15 · May 36 · Jun 40 · Jul 38 · Aug 57 · Sep 11 · Oct 3 · Nov 0 · Dec 0 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

What were the deadliest lightning records in Nebraska?

Nebraska: the storms with the most deaths since 1996
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2006-04-11 LightningBeatrice, Gage County Lightning struck and killed a 14 year-old female during a pick-up soccer game. Three others were injured, one seriously. 1 3 –
1998-07-21 LightningBlue Hill, Webster County A Hastings, NE man who died while working on a road construction project was killed by a lightning strike. He was operating an asphalt roller at the time of the strike. He was taken to a Hastings hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. 1 0 –
1997-08-13 LightningAtkinson, Holt County A 55 year-old man was struck and killed by lightning while riding a horse moving cattle in a meadow 22 miles southwest of Atkinson. 1 0 –
2023-06-21 LightningOshkosh, Garden County An individual was struck by lightning resulting in death. Reported by the Garden County Sheriff's Department. 1 0 –
2001-07-17 LightningOmaha, Douglas County A 46 year old man was killed when lightning struck him while he was riding alone on a bike trail in central Omaha. The lightning came from a high based thunderstorm that was producing occasional cloud to ground lighting but little rainfall as it tracked east across the city. 1 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

The costliest lightning records in Nebraska

Nebraska: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2019-05-23 LightningHastings, Adams County 0 2 $22M
2005-08-10 LightningOmaha, Douglas County 0 0 $3.0M
2012-08-29 LightningHay Spgs, Sheridan County 0 3 $1.3M
1996-06-21 LightningSmithfield, Gosper County 0 0 $941K
1998-09-19 LightningHebron, Thayer County 0 0 $905K
2002-07-26 LightningCheneys, Lancaster County 0 0 $786K
1996-08-02 LightningCrawford, Dawes County 0 0 $753K
1996-06-15 LightningGoehner, Seward County 0 0 $470K

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are lightning records becoming more frequent in Nebraska?

Nebraska's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Lightning: Nebraska and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeNebraskaUnited StatesNebraska's share
1996-99783,5212.2%
2000s888,0521.1%
2010s335,1030.6%
2020-2651,5440.3%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent lightning records in Nebraska

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2023-07-07 LightningShelby, Polk County 0 6 –
2023-06-21 LightningOshkosh, Garden County 1 0 –
2019-05-23 LightningHastings, Adams County 0 2 $22M
2012-08-29 LightningHay Spgs, Sheridan County 0 3 $1.3M
2010-10-08 LightningMaxwell, Lincoln County 0 1 –
2008-04-23 LightningMc Cook, Red Willow County 0 1 –
2007-10-13 LightningOmaha, Douglas County 0 0 $356K
2006-08-08 LightningLincoln, Lancaster County 0 0 $329K
2006-04-11 LightningBeatrice, Gage County 1 3 –
2005-08-21 LightningOxford, Furnas County 0 0 $302K
2005-08-10 LightningOmaha, Douglas County 0 0 $3.0M
2004-07-02 LightningOmaha, Douglas County 0 1 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.

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