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Gage County, Nebraska severe weather history spans 621 recorded events between 1953 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 44.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #533 nationally and #17 in Nebraska.
621
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
31
Direct injuries
$53.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Gage County, Nebraska severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Gage County, Nebraska severe weather history averages 8.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 184 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 119 events fall before 1990 and 502 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Gage County, Nebraska record is lightning, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $49.9M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Gage County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 277 | 0 | $470K | 5 | 1955–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 218 | 0 | $699K | 87 | 1959–2025 |
| Tornado | 54 | 0 | $49.9M | F4 | 1953–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 25 | 0 | $333K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 15 | 0 | $1.6M | 0 | 2007–2020 |
| Heavy Rain | 14 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 13 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2024 |
| Lightning | 5 | 1 | $43K | 0 | 1996–2006 |
Decade by decade
Gage County, Nebraska severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
59 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 49 touched down inside it and 10 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-05-22 | EF4 | 1 | 38 | 54.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1973-09-25 | EF3 | 3 | 42 | 169.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1991-04-26 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 24.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1956-04-28 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 39.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2008-05-29 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2006-04-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 34.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2006-04-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 17.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2001-04-11 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-05-08 | EF2 | 0 | 15 | 9.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-04-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Gage County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 2006 | Lightning | BEATRICE | 1 | 3 | $0 |
| May 9, 1996 | Tornado | BEATRICE | 0 | 15 | $12.0M |
| Sep 26, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 8 | $2.5M | |
| Apr 11, 2001 | Tornado | VIRGINIA | 0 | 2 | $400K |
| Jun 10, 1967 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $250K | |
| Jul 3, 1958 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A tornado touched down on the north side of Liberty, then proceeded to lift and touch down through the east side of town. It caused extensive structural damage to outbuildings and mobile homes. Some trees were also uprooted.
This tornado formed about 6 miles west of Wymore at 433 pm CDT (1533 CST), tracked northeast to around 4 miles east of Beatrice where it caused f2 damage, then tracked just south of Adams and crossed into Johnson county 2 miles southeast of Adams around 515 pm CDT. In Johnson county the tornado tracked another 5 miles before dissipating or lifting 3 miles north of Sterling. This tornado formed from a supercell which then became rain-wrapped and took on a heavy rain (hp) supercell characteristics.In Gage county, the average width of the damage path of the tornado was around 150 yards, but it did reach around 1/2 mile in a 3 mile stretch from 4 miles east of Beatrice to 6 miles east northeast of Beatrice. The total path length in Gage and Johnson counties was 34 miles. Seventy-three homes were affected by the tornado, one house was basically destroyed and two others received major damage. One farmstead had 10 trees uprooted. The tornado also destroyed two large chicken houses that when full could house up to 86,000 broilers. In Gage county the damage was estimated at $4.5 million.
Moderate flooding occurred along the Big Blue River through northern and central Gage County. The flooding was extensive over the western and southern side of the city of Beatrice leading to many local streets to be closed, in addition to U.S. Highway 77 and U.S. 136. The Big Blue River at Beatrice crested at 30.11 feet, or 12.11 feet above flood stage late in the evening on the 7th.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
21,629
Population (ACS)
$174K
Median home value
23
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 23, 2022 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | 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 1, 2017 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Jun 25, 2015 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Beatrice 137
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Gage County, Nebraska?
621 events are on record between 1953 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $53.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Gage County?
Hail, with 277 recorded events — 44.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Gage County?
59 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 49 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Gage County?
23 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Gage County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Gage County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Gage County as very low risk, placing it in the 41 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Gage 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
- Furnas County 560
- Garden County 486
- Frontier County 537
- Garfield County 294
- Franklin County 331
- Gosper County 276
Cite this page
“Gage County, Nebraska.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/nebraska/gage-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.