Greeley County, Nebraska severe weather history spans 246 recorded events between 1953 and 2024. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 54.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,132 nationally and #83 in Nebraska.
246
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
12
Direct injuries
$12.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Greeley County, Nebraska severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Greeley County, Nebraska severe weather history averages 3.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 82 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 47 events fall before 1990 and 199 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $5.8M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Greeley County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 134 | 0 | $2.6M | 3 | 1968–2024 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 71 | 0 | $5.8M | 77 | 1963–2024 |
| Tornado | 24 | 0 | $1.5M | F4 | 1953–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 8 | 0 | $250K | 0 | 2011–2013 |
| Flash Flood | 7 | 0 | $670K | 0 | 2004–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2013–2013 |
| Flood | 1 | 0 | $2.0M | 0 | 2019–2019 |
Decade by decade
Greeley County, Nebraska severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
26 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 22 touched down inside it and 4 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965-05-08 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 78.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1964-05-05 | EF4 | 0 | 11 | 51.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1979-04-19 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 10.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-04-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 2024-04-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 26.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-04-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 46.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1953-06-07 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 20.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-05-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 13.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-05-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-04-25 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Greeley County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 1964 | Tornado | 0 | 11 | $25K | |
| Jun 7, 1953 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Wind gusts estimated to be near 80 MPH resulted in a long swath of damage in Greeley and Nance counties. Report from social media noted this swath was approximately 6 to 8 miles wide. Widespread tree damage was reported, including large limbs downed and trunks split, as well as several flipped irrigation pivots. The combination of wind and hail caused widespread crop damage in the area.
Wind gusts estimated to be near 80 MPH caused widespread damage in eastern Valley and western Greeley counties. Along with tree damage, a handful of power poles were snapped, and several irrigation pivots were flipped. A number of grain bins and outbuildings were damaged, and a home north of North Loup suffered siding damage and also had a couple of trailers shifted from their parked spots.
Through a roughly 10 minute process, during which the parent supercell did not move much, a fourth tornado formed in northern Howard County before crossing into Greeley County. This tornado was rated an EF2 with estimated peak wind speeds of 135 MPH based upon metal power pole damage just west of the Highway 281 and 22 junction near Wolbach. The tornado had previously destroyed a metal building to the southwest, and would go on to destroy a couple of wood framed outbuildings to the northeast of Highway 281. The south edge of the tornado likely passed just north of the Highway 281 and 22 junction. It was in this general area and along the county line that the tornado was at least one-half mile wide. The tornado marched northeast, causing damage to at least one residence, outbuildings, trees, and center irrigation pivots. As the supercell slowed down north of Wolbach, this tornado diminished (damage noted was much less severe and sparse), and the supercell began the process of developing another tornado to the east.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
2,202
Population (ACS)
$120K
Median home value
20
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 3, 2024 | Tornado | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| Jul 27, 2022 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS 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 29, 2018 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Greeley County, Nebraska?
246 events are on record between 1953 and 2024, causing 0 direct deaths and $12.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Greeley County?
Hail, with 134 recorded events — 54.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Greeley County?
26 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 22 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Greeley County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Greeley County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Greeley County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Greeley County as very low risk, placing it in the 13 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Greeley 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
- Grant County 256
- Hall County 709
- Gosper County 276
- Hamilton County 498
- Garfield County 294
- Harlan County 329
Cite this page
“Greeley County, Nebraska.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/nebraska/greeley-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.