Tornadoes · United States · Nebraska

Tornadoes in Hayes County, Nebraska

20 tornadoes have crossed Hayes County since 1950, 77th of the 93 counties in Nebraska with a tornado on record, an average of one every 3.8 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 1. None was rated F4 or above.

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.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

Now

Tornadoes
20
Deaths
0
Injuries
1
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, June 6, 1967

The strongest

Every year with a tornado

The 14 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Hayes County. Each year links to every tornado in Nebraska that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20251EF2
20241Unrated
20193EF1
20081EF0
20071EF0
20031F0
20001F1
19982F0
19911F0
19892F0
19801F1
19773F0
196711F3
19601F1

Every tornado that crossed Hayes County

20 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 18, 20257:35 PM CDTEF2Hayes17.81,000$1.5 million
May 23, 20248:25 PM CDTUnratedHayes0.025
August 29, 20195:45 PM CDTEF0Hayes0.120
August 29, 20195:30 PM CDTEF0Hayes1.320
August 29, 20195:25 PM CDTEF1Hayes0.120
June 4, 20087:10 PM CDTEF0Hayes0.120
March 24, 20076:53 PM CDTEF0Hayes0.120
June 24, 20039:05 PM CDTF0Hayes0.110
October 31, 20005:00 PM CSTF1Hayes9.0100$160,000
June 9, 199810:45 PM CDTF0Hayes0.130
June 9, 199810:25 PM CDTF0Hayes2.030
May 2, 19917:20 PM CDTF0Hayes0.123
August 24, 19896:00 PM CDTF0Hayes0.130
June 28, 19894:43 PM CDTF0Hayes0.140$50 to $500
October 15, 19807:30 PM CDTF1Hayes0.127$5,000 to $50,000
September 29, 19778:00 PM CDTF0Hayes0.110
September 29, 19777:30 PM CDTF0Hayes0.510
May 18, 19773:00 PM CDTF0Hayes0.230
June 6, 19677:00 PM GMT-6F3Dundy40.1101$5,000 to $50,000
July 28, 19605:15 PM GMT-5F1Hayes0.110$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Hayes CountyThe forecast for Hayes CountyThe live radar over Hayes CountyEvery county in 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.