56
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
21
Direct injuries
$13.4M
Property damage
Tornado in Adams County, Nebraska: 56 recorded events between 1956 and 2024. The strongest on record measured F5. That places the county #292 nationally and #14 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Adams County, Nebraska: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Adams County is the 1980s, when 12 of the county's 56 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Adams County archive, tornado makes up 7.1% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #292 for this hazard and #14 within Nebraska, putting it in the 89.9 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for tornado in Adams County with 19 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
| Date | Scale | Path length | Max width | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964-05-05 | EF5 | 79.7 mi | 880 yd | Touched down here |
| 1993-05-07 | EF3 | 75.0 mi | 2,633 yd | Crossed in |
| 1977-09-11 | EF3 | 6.6 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1977-05-16 | EF3 | 47.3 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
| 2004-05-22 | EF2 | 23.0 mi | 700 yd | Touched down here |
| 1999-05-02 | EF2 | 10.0 mi | 250 yd | Touched down here |
| 1993-05-07 | EF2 | 40.0 mi | 200 yd | Crossed in |
| 1990-03-13 | EF2 | 9.0 mi | 80 yd | Touched down here |
| 1990-06-18 | EF2 | 0.7 mi | 440 yd | Touched down here |
| 1978-04-05 | EF2 | 11.0 mi | 80 yd | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 6, 1964 | F5 | 2 | 20 | $2.5M | |
| Jun 25, 1989 | F0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 6, 2024 | HASTINGS | EF0 | $100K |
| Jul 6, 2024 | ROSELAND | EF0 | $50K |
| May 24, 2024 | AYR | EF1 | $400K |
| Oct 12, 2023 | PROSSER | EF0 | $0 |
| Dec 15, 2021 | HASTINGS | EF0 | $2K |
| Dec 15, 2021 | (HSI)HASTINGS ARPT | EF1 | $200K |
| Dec 15, 2021 | AYR | EF1 | $350K |
| Dec 15, 2021 | HOLSTEIN | EF0 | $250K |
| Jul 8, 2019 | ROSELAND | EF0 | $0 |
| Jun 1, 2016 | JUNIATA | EF0 | $2K |
Other hazards here
More from Adams County
- Hail 401
- Thunderstorm Wind 266
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This tornado touched down about 3 miles south of Roseland, clipping the east side of town before lifting just north-northeast of town. This tornado was rated an EF1, with an estimated peak wind speed of 110 MPH. The most widespread damage from this tornado was on the east side of town, and while several homes and outbuildings sustained damage, 2 sustained considerable damage. One of those homes slide from its foundation and another lost its entire roof structure. A large metal building with wood post frame construction was destroyed and tree damage was widespread throughout town. The tornado traveled just a few hundred feet east of Silver Lake School.
A short-lived EF1 tornado moved east along and north of Silver Lake Road in far southern Adams County, just northwest of Blue Hill. This tornado had an estimated peak wind speed of 95 MPH based upon damage to a large outbuilding at one farmstead. The tornado damaged two center-pivot irrigation systems before hitting a farmstead. At the farmstead, the main damage was a to a large wood-framed, metal building, including blowing out the door and the back wall. Tree damage was widespread across the northern part of the farmstead. Down the road a mile or so, the tornado destroyed a lean-to shed on an old barn. Horses inside the barn were also injured. The tornado lifted shortly thereafter. Surrounding the tornado path, especially to the north and west, there were several pockets of sporadic straight-line wind damage, with gusts exceeding 70 MPH. Damage in this path included to trees, several center-pivot irrigation systems, and the destruction of an old barn at another farmstead.
This tornado touched down in Webster County and lifted north into Adams County. This intermittent tornado path started west of Blue Hill, with damage including some irrigation pipe strewn into a tree line, and some tree damage a few miles west of town. As the tornado moved northeast, more pivots were overturned. The maximum wind gust was estimated to be 100 MPH, based upon the snapping of power poles southeast of Ayr. Spotters saw the tornado west of Glenvil, where it upset another pivot before lifting.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Adams County, Nebraska?
56 tornado events are recorded in Adams County between 1956 and 2024, causing 2 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Adams County?
The strongest tornado on record in Adams County measured F5.
Where does the tornado data for Adams County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Tornado in Adams County, Nebraska.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/nebraska/adams-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.