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Johnson County, Nebraska severe weather history spans 233 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 52.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,226 nationally and #88 in Nebraska.
233
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$5.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Johnson County, Nebraska severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Johnson County, Nebraska severe weather history averages 3.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 75 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 31 events fall before 1990 and 202 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $3.8M 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 Johnson County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 123 | 0 | $0 | 2.75 | 1957–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 74 | 0 | $25K | 75 | 1961–2025 |
| Tornado | 21 | 0 | $3.8M | F2 | 1954–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 8 | 0 | $520K | 0 | 1996–2015 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $1.0M | 0 | 2008–2023 |
| Heavy Rain | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2019 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $25K | 0 | 2009–2009 |
Decade by decade
Johnson County, Nebraska severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
22 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-04-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2006-04-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 34.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1982-04-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1995-05-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-06-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-06-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-04-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-05-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-08-30 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-05-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 40.6 mi | Crossed in |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Rainfall of 2 to 6 inches in a few hours time caused flooding along Sampson Creek and Turkey Creek which washed out 3 bridges and caused county road damage southwest of Tecumseh. Damage in Johnson county to roads and bridges was estimated at 1 million dollars. The flooding continued into Pawnee county. The flood waters also affected agricultural lowlands.
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, or 4 miles southwest of Sterling, 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 taking on a heavy rain (hp) supercell characteristics.In Johnson county the average damage path width was around 150 yards. The tornado caused f1 damage 2 miles northwest of Sterling where some roof and tree damage was noted. In all 6 houses received damage in Johnson county from the tornado and several outbuildings were destroyed. The storm also knocked power lines down which resulted in loss of power for some customers for up to 8 hours.
Winds in excess of 70 mph tore the shingles off roofs and downed numerous tree limbs and power lines closing roads around Crab Orchard. Two grain bins were blown off their foundation and 2 vehicles were damaged when trees were toppled onto them. The wind was accompanied by small hail which accumulated up to 2 inches deep and many corn and soybean fields received extensive damage. The Johnson County Farm Service Agency reported that approximately 32,000 acres of row crop were affected by the storm.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
5,261
Population (ACS)
$156K
Median home value
22
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2025 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| 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 |
| Jun 25, 2015 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Johnson County, Nebraska?
233 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $5.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Johnson County?
Hail, with 123 recorded events — 52.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Johnson County?
22 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 19 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Johnson County?
22 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Johnson County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Johnson County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Johnson County as very low risk, placing it in the 5 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Johnson 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
- Jefferson County 526
- Kearney County 377
- Howard County 414
- Keith County 775
- Hooker County 307
- Keya Paha County 246
Cite this page
“Johnson County, Nebraska.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/nebraska/johnson-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.