45
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
22
Direct injuries
$8.2M
Property damage
Tornado in Saunders County, Nebraska: 45 recorded events between 1952 and 2024. The strongest on record measured F4. That places the county #479 nationally and #25 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Saunders County, Nebraska: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Saunders County is the 1950s, when 10 of the county's 45 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 Saunders County archive, tornado makes up 7.2% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #479 for this hazard and #25 within Nebraska, putting it in the 83.2 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for tornado in Saunders County with 21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957-04-25 | EF4 | 89.8 mi | 333 yd | Crossed in |
| 1952-08-13 | EF4 | 26.7 mi | 110 yd | Touched down here |
| 1952-08-13 | EF3 | 44.4 mi | 1,300 yd | Crossed in |
| 1988-05-07 | EF2 | 16.2 mi | 73 yd | Touched down here |
| 1970-06-15 | EF2 | 42.9 mi | 600 yd | Crossed in |
| 1966-05-22 | EF2 | 10.6 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1964-05-06 | EF2 | 2.3 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1959-05-20 | EF2 | 12.0 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 2024-04-26 | EF1 | 3.8 mi | 50 yd | Crossed in |
| 2021-12-15 | EF1 | 16.6 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 14, 1952 | F4 | 0 | 20 | $250K | |
| May 23, 1966 | F2 | 0 | 1 | $0 | |
| May 4, 1959 | F1 | 0 | 1 | $3K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 24, 2024 | ASHLAND | EF0 | $0 |
| May 24, 2024 | LESHARA | EF0 | $0 |
| May 21, 2024 | YUTAN | EF0 | $0 |
| May 21, 2024 | CEDAR BLUFFS | EF0 | $0 |
| Apr 26, 2024 | MEMPHIS | EF1 | $0 |
| Dec 15, 2021 | ITHACA | EF1 | $0 |
| Dec 15, 2021 | CERESCO | EF1 | $0 |
| Aug 1, 2016 | MEMPHIS | EF0 | $0 |
| Apr 27, 2016 | CEDAR BLUFFS | EF0 | $0 |
| May 11, 2014 | WANN | EF1 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Saunders County
- Hail 283
- Thunderstorm Wind 218
- Flood 43
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Of the 12 tornadoes reported over eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa on 4/08/99 this tornado probably caused damage to the most individual buildings. In Morse Bluff, damage was sustained to 10 buildings including one business that was nearly destroyed. This tornado then tracked north/northeast and crossed the Platte River just south of North Bend and then continued into Dodge county causing damage in North Bend before lifting.
A weak tornado, estimated at fo strength, tracked around a quarter of a mile, 6 miles south of Mead. The width of the damage path was around 100 yards. The tornado partially ripped the roof off of a large metal storage building tossing some of the debris a 1000 feet or so to the northeast. The tornado also caused some tree damage.
A tornado touched down near the Memphis State Recreation area just west of Memphis where large cottonwood trees were knocked over. The tornado then moved to the north of Memphis and lifted around 1 mile northeast of town. The tornado blew a grain bin off of its foundation and knocked a storage shed over near county road D and Highway 63. A center pivot irrigation system northeast of town was also flipped over before the tornado lifted.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Saunders County, Nebraska?
45 tornado events are recorded in Saunders County between 1952 and 2024, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Saunders County?
The strongest tornado on record in Saunders County measured F4.
Where does the tornado data for Saunders 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 Saunders County, Nebraska.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/nebraska/saunders-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.