Washington County, Nebraska severe weather history spans 356 recorded events between 1953 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 45.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,451 nationally and #55 in Nebraska.
356
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
8
Direct injuries
$28.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Washington County, Nebraska severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Washington County, Nebraska severe weather history averages 4.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 86 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 66 events fall before 1990 and 290 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is hail, with $10.0M 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 Washington County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 162 | 0 | $10.0M | 4.75 | 1960–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 137 | 0 | $6.0M | 96 | 1964–2025 |
| Tornado | 23 | 0 | $6.2M | F2 | 1953–2025 |
| Flood | 16 | 0 | $1.6M | 0 | 2007–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 12 | 0 | $4.3M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2023 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 1996–1998 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2010 |
Decade by decade
Washington County, Nebraska severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
24 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 19 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-04-26 | EF4 | 0 | 4 | 31.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 2025-04-17 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 8.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1970-06-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 42.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1953-06-07 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 4.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-06-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 7.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-05-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-05-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-04-22 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-06-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-08-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Washington County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | FT CALHOUN | 0 | 3 | $3.0M |
| Aug 9, 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | WASHINGTON | 0 | 2 | $2.7M |
| Apr 26, 2024 | Tornado | WASHINGTON | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Apr 23, 2001 | Tornado | ARLINGTON | 0 | 1 | $600K |
| Jun 8, 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
Hail up to baseball size fell in Blair and west through south of town. The hail caused extensive damage to cars and at least two large car dealerships were hit with over 4500 cars damaged. Houses and trees in town were also damaged and Dana College sustained 1 million dollars in damage in broken windows, skylights and vents. Two hundred windows were broken on campus. The dollar damage total was from eastern Dodge county into Washington county, with over half of it likely in Washington county around and in the Blair area.
Very heavy rain, Blair received 8 inches, fell over much of Washington county from Friday afternoon into early Saturday morning 8/7/99. Street flooding was reported in Arlington, Blair and Herman, especially along Bell Creek. A 20 foot deep gorge was carved out along highway 75 north of Fort Calhoun. Highway 30 in Arlington was flooded and highway 75 south of Blair was closed until 1100 am cst 8/7/99 due to flood waters. The flooding caused around 4 million dollars in damage mainly due to flooded basements and vehicles and washed out roads and bridges.
Thunderstorm downburst winds produced a 5 to 6 mile wide path of damage from around 5 miles southwest of Ft. Calhoun into the Ft. Calhoun area. The wind damage was from the same storm complex that produced the damage in northwest Douglas county. Winds with this damage path were estimated by the NWS to be stronger than those observed in Douglas county, perhaps around 100 mph. The winds caused extensive tree damage and also destroyed a house just northwest of Ft. Calhoun causing 2 minor injuries. Windows were reported to be blown out by the winds and wind driven hail also caused substantial window, roof and siding damage with an estimated 85 percent of all homes in town damaged to some degree. One woman required emergency room treatment after being caught out in the open and pelted with hail up to quarter size. The storm caused an estimated 3 million dollars worth of damage.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
21,106
Population (ACS)
$298K
Median home value
24
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 22, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| May 21, 2025 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Sep 24, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Aug 20, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| May 3, 2024 | Tornado | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| Feb 23, 2022 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Washington County, Nebraska?
356 events are on record between 1953 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $28.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Washington County?
Hail, with 162 recorded events — 45.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Washington County?
24 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 Washington County?
24 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Washington County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Washington County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Washington County as very low risk, placing it in the 26 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Washington 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
- Valley County 356
- Wayne County 208
- Thurston County 239
- Webster County 354
- Thomas County 264
- Wheeler County 212
Cite this page
“Washington County, Nebraska.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/nebraska/washington-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.