Dakota County, Nebraska severe weather history spans 225 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 44.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,281 nationally and #89 in Nebraska.
225
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
4
Direct injuries
$36.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Dakota County, Nebraska severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Dakota County, Nebraska severe weather history averages 3.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 85 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 39 events fall before 1990 and 186 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $28.1M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Dakota County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 99 | 0 | $955K | 4.25 | 1960–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 83 | 0 | $4.0M | 74 | 1962–2024 |
| Flood | 20 | 0 | $2.7M | 0 | 2011–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 14 | 0 | $1.0M | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Tornado | 8 | 0 | $28.1M | F4 | 1955–2014 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 1996–1996 |
Decade by decade
Dakota County, Nebraska severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
11 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 8 touched down inside it and 3 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986-07-28 | EF4 | 0 | 2 | 52.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2001-08-17 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1970-06-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 59.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 2013-10-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-05-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 41.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1955-05-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2014-06-16 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-04-20 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-07-16 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1995-05-27 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Dakota County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 17, 2001 | Tornado | JACKSON | 0 | 3 | $3.0M |
| Jul 29, 1986 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25.0M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A tornado completely destroyed at least ten houses and heavily damaged several others. The tornado heavily damaged the town school, including taking most of the roof off the school. The only church in town and a telephone company building were also heavily damaged. Power lines, poles, and trees were blown down, and electricity and water service were knocked out. Three empty box cars on the southeast side of Jackson were toppled. Three injuries included a woman with a broken leg and cuts rescued from the rubble of a house, and two children with minor injuries.
Nebraska Highway 26E Spur was closed due to flooding, with water reaching into portions of Ponca. In addition, flooding resulted in extensive damage to public infrastructure including numerous county and township roads, culverts, and some bridges.
Rainfall amounts across Dakota County from June 20-22 were generally a half inch or less. However, farther north and upstream 6 to 10 plus inches fell across portions of southeast South Dakota and northwest Iowa. Record flood waters along the Vermillion and Big Sioux Rivers emptied into the Missouri River, pushing river levels into minor flooding. ||Missouri River flooding resulted in the evacuation of the Lower Scenic Park Campground and damage to parts of the park, including the soccer fields and some campground electrical pedestals. The police shooting range was also damaged. Preliminary damage assessments estimate loss to public infrastructure to be nearly 1.18 million dollars. ||For additional information on river flooding, please see other flood entries for Dakota County.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
21,354
Population (ACS)
$186K
Median home value
16
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2025 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Sep 24, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 4, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Mar 21, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Aug 27, 2018 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Dakota County, Nebraska?
225 events are on record between 1955 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $36.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Dakota County?
Hail, with 99 recorded events — 44.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Dakota County?
11 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 8 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Dakota County?
16 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Dakota County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Dakota County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Dakota County as very low risk, placing it in the 36 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Dakota County, Nebraska severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Custer County 1,323
- Dawes County 554
- Cuming County 316
- Dawson County 720
- Colfax County 263
- Deuel County 340
Cite this page
“Dakota County, Nebraska.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/nebraska/dakota-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.