Dawes County, Nebraska severe weather history spans 554 recorded events between 1954 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 53.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #709 nationally and #24 in Nebraska.
554
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
21
Direct injuries
$2.1M
Property damage
The record
What the Dawes County, Nebraska severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Dawes County, Nebraska severe weather history averages 7.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 170 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 164 events fall before 1990 and 390 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $813K in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Dawes County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 298 | 0 | $417K | 5 | 1955–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 198 | 0 | $405K | 90 | 1957–2025 |
| Tornado | 36 | 0 | $813K | F2 | 1954–2020 |
| Heavy Rain | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2014 |
| Funnel Cloud | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2017 |
| Flash Flood | 5 | 0 | $1K | 0 | 1996–2016 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2021 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $450K | 0 | 1996–1996 |
| Wildfire | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–1998 |
Decade by decade
Dawes County, Nebraska severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
36 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 33 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-07-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-06-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 22.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1982-06-04 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-05-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 18.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1960-06-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-06-11 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1985-07-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1982-08-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 11.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-07-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1975-04-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Dawes County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 30, 1986 | Hail | 0 | 20 | $0 | |
| Jul 5, 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | CRAWFORD | 0 | 1 | $100K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Hail damage to many cars, shattered windows at Walmart parking lot. Many business signs were blown out or had holes in them from the hail. Many street signs and several power lines were down. Three trailer homes sustained major damage. One was flipped on its roof and the other two were blown to pieces into a nearby field. Orange construction barriers tossed 0.75 miles from the highway.
Hail sizes ranged from around 1 to 2 inches in diameter near Whitney to over 2 inches in diameter north of Chadron. The large hail broke several auto and home windows. Wind gust to 66 mph was also recorded by ASOS at the Chadron airport.
NWS damage survey confirmed EF-2 Tornado that developed 5.8 miles east of Marsland and traveled west-northwest for 3.4 miles. Several large hardwood tree trunks/branches snapped. Trees uprooted, center pivot point mangled and three steel power poles were destroyed.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
8,140
Population (ACS)
$151K
Median home value
12
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 10, 2026 | Fire | SOUTH FORK FIRE | FM |
| May 24, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | 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 |
| Jun 25, 2015 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Chadron 194
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Dawes County, Nebraska?
554 events are on record between 1954 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $2.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Dawes County?
Hail, with 298 recorded events — 53.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Dawes County?
36 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 33 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Dawes County?
12 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Dawes County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Dawes County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Dawes County as very low risk, placing it in the 6 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Dawes 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
- Dakota County 225
- Dawson County 720
- Custer County 1,323
- Deuel County 340
- Cuming County 316
- Dixon County 366
Cite this page
“Dawes County, Nebraska.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/nebraska/dawes-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.