44
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$1.1M
Property damage
Flash Flood in Custer County, Nebraska: 44 recorded events between 1998 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #723 nationally and #4 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Flash Flood in Custer County, Nebraska: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for flash flood in Custer County is the 2010s, when 21 of the county's 44 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 Custer County archive, flash flood makes up 3.3% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #723 for this hazard and #4 within Nebraska, putting it in the 76.0 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Aug is the peak month for flash flood in Custer County with 15 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.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 27, 1998 | CALLAWAY | 0 | 0 | 1 | $4K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2, 2025 | SARGENT | 0 | $15K |
| Jun 8, 2024 | ANSELMO | 0 | $50K |
| Oct 12, 2023 | BROKEN BOW | 0 | $0 |
| Oct 12, 2023 | BROKEN BOW | 0 | $500K |
| Oct 12, 2023 | BROKEN BOW | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 7, 2022 | SARGENT | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 10, 2020 | BROKEN BOW | 0 | $10K |
| Jul 10, 2020 | MASON CITY | 0 | $10K |
| Jul 10, 2020 | BROKEN BOW | 0 | $10K |
| Jun 9, 2020 | ARNOLD | 0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Custer County
- Hail 832
- Thunderstorm Wind 308
- Tornado 108
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Thunderstorms produced very heavy rainfall of 2 to 6 inches across southern Custer County. Water going over Highway 92 between Arnold and Merna washed out the shoulders in several locations. Small mudslides onto the railroad tracks occurred at the Ansley overpass. Highway 21 south of Broken Bow was also under water. Numerous secondary roads were severely damaged due to water over the roads.
Heavy rainfall led to the failure of a 50 foot dam near 3 miles southwest of Broken Bow on highway 21. The flood water moved down toward the southwest edge of town to impact the Callaway road one mile west of town and highway 21 as water flowed across the roads. Rainfall gage estimates around town measured up to 4.5 inches with several streets and homes in town flooded as well due to heavy rain.
Thunderstorms trained to produced 3 to 5 inches of heavy rainfall where emergency management reported flooding with water over some roads in Broken Bow, a bridge was washed out on the Callaway Road and flooding over the road 4 miles west of Broken Bow.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many flash flood events are on record in Custer County, Nebraska?
44 flash flood events are recorded in Custer County between 1998 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest flash flood recorded in Custer County?
The strongest flash flood on record in Custer County measured 0.
Where does the flash flood data for Custer 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
“Flash Flood in Custer County, Nebraska.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/nebraska/custer-county/flash-flood/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.