Tornadoes in Nebraska
3,203 tornadoes since 1950, an average of 42.1 a year, 5th of the 53 states and territories in the record. They have killed 56 people and injured 1,220. 33 were rated F4 or EF4 and above, 1 of them F5 or EF5.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale
Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.
F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale
Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.
Unrated
The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.
The deadliest in Nebraska
- F4, Sherman and Valley counties, NebraskaJune 7, 1953
- F4, Madison, Platte, Stanton and Wayne counties, NebraskaMay 30, 1954
- F3, Thayer, Fillmore, Saline and Seward counties, NebraskaMay 9, 1953
- F4, Hall, Greeley, Boone and Antelope counties, NebraskaMay 8, 1965
- F5 Bradshaw tornado, NebraskaMay 5, 1964
- F4, Hall County, NebraskaJune 3, 1980
- F4, Sarpy and Douglas counties, NebraskaMay 6, 1975
- F2, Saunders, Sarpy and Douglas counties, NebraskaMay 7, 1988
- F4, Scotts Bluff and Morrill counties, NebraskaJune 27, 1955
- EF4, Stanton, Cuming and Wayne counties, NebraskaJune 16, 2014
- EF4, Stanton, Wayne and Cuming counties, NebraskaJune 16, 2014
- F4 Hallam tornado, NebraskaMay 22, 2004
The strongest
- F5 Bradshaw tornado, NebraskaMay 5, 1964
- F4, Lincoln, Logan, Thomas and Blaine counties, NebraskaOctober 29, 1956
- F4, Webster, Nuckolls, Clay and Fillmore counties, NebraskaMarch 13, 1990
- F4, Hall, Greeley, Boone and Antelope counties, NebraskaMay 8, 1965
- F4, Fillmore, Saline, Seward and Lancaster counties, NebraskaApril 25, 1957
- F4, Howard, Greeley, Wheeler and Antelope counties, NebraskaMay 8, 1965
- F4 Hallam tornado, NebraskaMay 22, 2004
- F4, Dixon, Dakota, Woodbury and Monona counties, Nebraska and IowaJuly 28, 1986
- F4, Greeley, Boone and Antelope counties, NebraskaMay 5, 1964
- F4, Custer and Valley counties, NebraskaMay 30, 1961
- EF4 Elkhorn tornado, Nebraska and IowaApril 26, 2024
- F4, Hamilton and Polk counties, NebraskaApril 7, 1978
The longest paths
- F1, Buffalo County, NebraskaMay 24, 1965
- F4, Lincoln, Logan, Thomas and Blaine counties, NebraskaOctober 29, 1956
- F4, Webster, Nuckolls, Clay and Fillmore counties, NebraskaMarch 13, 1990
- F4, Hall, Greeley, Boone and Antelope counties, NebraskaMay 8, 1965
- F1, Valley, Custer, Garfield and Wheeler counties, NebraskaOctober 29, 1956
- F1, Logan, Thomas and Cherry counties, NebraskaMay 8, 1965
- F4, Fillmore, Saline, Seward and Lancaster counties, NebraskaApril 25, 1957
- F2, Madison and Stanton counties, NebraskaJune 13, 1967
- F0, Seward, Washington and Burt counties, NebraskaJune 15, 1967
- F2, Sheridan and Cherry counties, NebraskaJune 2, 1953
- F5 Bradshaw tornado, NebraskaMay 5, 1964
- F4, Howard, Greeley, Wheeler and Antelope counties, NebraskaMay 8, 1965
The costliest
- F4 Hallam tornado, NebraskaMay 22, 2004
- EF4, Stanton, Wayne and Cuming counties, NebraskaJune 16, 2014
- EF3, Clay and Fillmore counties, NebraskaMay 11, 2014
- F2, Gage County, NebraskaMay 8, 1996
- EF3, Fillmore, York and Seward counties, NebraskaMay 11, 2014
- EF2, Buffalo County, NebraskaMay 29, 2008
- F2, Thayer County, NebraskaJune 22, 2003
- EF3, Buffalo County, NebraskaJune 20, 2011
- F3, Holt County, NebraskaJune 9, 2003
- F2, Gage and Johnson counties, NebraskaApril 15, 2006
- F2, Adams and Clay counties, NebraskaMay 22, 2004
- EF2, Clay County, NebraskaMay 27, 2013
The biggest days in Nebraska
Every year
Every year of the published record, and above it the 34 tornado tracks surveyed in Nebraska so far in 2026. This year's figures are preliminary and are not in the totals above, which are SPC's published database.
| Year | Tornadoes | Deaths | Injuries | F4 and above |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 preliminary | 34 | |||
| 2025 | 43 | |||
| 2024 | 99 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 63 | 2 | ||
| 2022 | 26 | 2 | ||
| 2021 | 44 | 2 | ||
| 2020 | 22 | |||
| 2019 | 34 | |||
| 2018 | 31 | |||
| 2017 | 32 | |||
| 2016 | 45 | |||
| 2015 | 23 | |||
| 2014 | 63 | 2 | 21 | 4 |
| 2013 | 50 | 17 | 1 | |
| 2012 | 43 | 5 | ||
| 2011 | 55 | 1 | ||
| 2010 | 38 | |||
| 2009 | 38 | 8 | ||
| 2008 | 58 | 3 | ||
| 2007 | 47 | 15 | ||
| 2006 | 21 | |||
| 2005 | 40 | |||
| 2004 | 111 | 1 | 42 | 1 |
| 2003 | 81 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
| 2002 | 27 | |||
| 2001 | 62 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2000 | 60 | 2 | ||
| 1999 | 102 | 1 | ||
| 1998 | 65 | 22 | ||
| 1997 | 31 | |||
| 1996 | 60 | 19 | ||
| 1995 | 26 | |||
| 1994 | 55 | 3 | ||
| 1993 | 69 | 18 | ||
| 1992 | 75 | 5 | ||
| 1991 | 64 | 6 | ||
| 1990 | 88 | 10 | 2 | |
| 1989 | 41 | 3 | ||
| 1988 | 20 | 2 | 1 | |
| 1987 | 26 | 2 | ||
| 1986 | 53 | 3 | 1 | |
| 1985 | 51 | 6 | ||
| 1984 | 50 | 24 | ||
| 1983 | 14 | 3 | ||
| 1982 | 34 | |||
| 1981 | 19 | |||
| 1980 | 38 | 5 | 204 | 1 |
| 1979 | 20 | 1 | ||
| 1978 | 42 | 9 | 2 | |
| 1977 | 68 | 1 | 1 | |
| 1976 | 25 | 23 | ||
| 1975 | 78 | 4 | 141 | 3 |
| 1974 | 32 | 20 | ||
| 1973 | 18 | 5 | ||
| 1972 | 30 | |||
| 1971 | 52 | 1 | ||
| 1970 | 14 | 1 | ||
| 1969 | 20 | 1 | ||
| 1968 | 21 | 3 | ||
| 1967 | 39 | 4 | ||
| 1966 | 10 | 2 | ||
| 1965 | 46 | 4 | 54 | 2 |
| 1964 | 41 | 4 | 68 | 2 |
| 1963 | 17 | 1 | 8 | |
| 1962 | 41 | 27 | 1 | |
| 1961 | 12 | 1 | ||
| 1960 | 43 | 2 | 11 | |
| 1959 | 43 | 1 | 5 | |
| 1958 | 54 | 4 | ||
| 1957 | 53 | 1 | 9 | 1 |
| 1956 | 33 | 8 | 2 | |
| 1955 | 30 | 3 | 42 | 1 |
| 1954 | 16 | 7 | 32 | 1 |
| 1953 | 44 | 16 | 103 | 1 |
| 1952 | 9 | 21 | 1 | |
| 1951 | 9 | 8 | ||
| 1950 | 6 | 135 | 1 |
Every county in Nebraska
A tornado is counted once for every county its path crossed, so these add up to more than 3,203. Each county has a page of its own: every tornado that crossed it, year by year.
Nearby
Warnings in force in NebraskaForecast for your townThe live radar over Nebraska
What this means
Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.
Sources
NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.