Thurston County, Nebraska severe weather history spans 239 recorded events between 1954 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 46.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,185 nationally and #86 in Nebraska.
239
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$4.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Thurston County, Nebraska severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Thurston County, Nebraska severe weather history averages 3.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 92 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 32 events fall before 1990 and 207 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Thurston County, Nebraska record is tornado, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $4.0M 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 Thurston County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 111 | 0 | $0 | 4.25 | 1956–2023 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 88 | 0 | $210K | 72 | 1967–2025 |
| Tornado | 16 | 1 | $4.0M | F3 | 1954–2021 |
| Flash Flood | 14 | 0 | $406K | 0 | 1999–2019 |
| Flood | 8 | 0 | $93K | 0 | 2011–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2012–2019 |
Decade by decade
Thurston County, Nebraska severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
15 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977-07-07 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 22.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-06-17 | EF3 | 1 | 0 | 23.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2013-10-04 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 26.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-06-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-12-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 11.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 2014-06-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-08-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-07-30 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2002-07-25 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-06-13 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Thurston County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 18, 1954 | Tornado | 1 | 0 | $250K | |
| Oct 4, 2013 | Tornado | MACY | 0 | 2 | $0 |
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 north of Pender where it blew down a windmill, damaged a barn and garage, destroyed a small building and uprooted trees. The tornado then moved east where it hit another farm. There it destroyed six large buildings and damaged six others. Many trees were blown down.
Four to 8 inches of rain which fell from Sunday morning into the early afternoon hours caused flooding of several roads…mainly in eastern Thurston county. At least 1 road was partially washed out near Walthill, and more than 65 bridges and road culverts were damaged by the storm. The Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Thurston County Road Department estimated that the flooding caused around $400,000 worth of damage.
This is for flooding along the Logan Creek. The river gage at Pender, operated by the Nebraska DNR, peaked at 28.8 feet at 8 am on March 14th. Major flood stage is 23 feet. Preliminary this peak is the highest on record. Though the town is protected by a levee, some significant flooding did occur in Pender. Water entered the Pender Community Center, as deep as 1.5 feet in some places. Highway 9 was closed as water was over the road.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
6,627
Population (ACS)
$115K
Median home value
23
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2025 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | 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 |
| 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 Thurston County, Nebraska?
239 events are on record between 1954 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $4.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Thurston County?
Hail, with 111 recorded events — 46.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Thurston County?
15 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 12 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Thurston County?
23 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Thurston County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Thurston County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Thurston County as very low risk, placing it in the 26 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Thurston 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
- Thomas County 264
- Valley County 356
- Thayer County 601
- Washington County 356
- Stanton County 299
- Wayne County 208
Cite this page
“Thurston County, Nebraska.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/nebraska/thurston-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.