63
Recorded events
6
Direct deaths
93
Direct injuries
$32.0M
Property damage
Tornado in Thayer County, Nebraska: 63 recorded events between 1953 and 2022. The strongest on record measured F4. That places the county #215 nationally and #9 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Thayer County, Nebraska: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Thayer County is the 2000s, when 20 of the county's 63 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 Thayer County archive, tornado makes up 10.5% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #215 for this hazard and #9 within Nebraska, putting it in the 92.8 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for tornado in Thayer County with 25 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955-06-04 | EF4 | 61.9 mi | 500 yd | Crossed in |
| 1953-05-09 | EF3 | 46.9 mi | 880 yd | Touched down here |
| 2008-05-29 | EF3 | 55.2 mi | 1,320 yd | Crossed in |
| 1990-03-13 | EF3 | 13.0 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 1990-03-13 | EF3 | 25.0 mi | 180 yd | Touched down here |
| 1984-06-12 | EF3 | 13.0 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 1974-04-20 | EF3 | 41.6 mi | 10 yd | Crossed in |
| 1965-05-08 | EF3 | 40.1 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1956-04-28 | EF3 | 39.3 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 2003-06-22 | EF2 | 3.0 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 10, 1953 | F3 | 5 | 80 | $2.5M | |
| Jun 22, 2003 | DESHLER | F2 | 1 | 7 | $10.0M |
| Jun 12, 1984 | F3 | 0 | 5 | $2.5M | |
| Apr 11, 2001 | HEBRON | F1 | 0 | 1 | $30K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 8, 2022 | DESHLER | EF0 | $500K |
| Apr 30, 2022 | DESHLER | EF0 | $0 |
| May 1, 2018 | CHESTER | EF0 | $0 |
| May 6, 2015 | CHESTER | EF2 | $1.0M |
| May 6, 2015 | BYRON | EF0 | $0 |
| May 6, 2015 | DAVENPORT | EF0 | $500K |
| May 6, 2015 | DESHLER | EF2 | $1.5M |
| May 3, 2012 | DAVENPORT | EF1 | $100K |
| Apr 14, 2012 | ALEXANDRIA | EF0 | $350K |
| Apr 14, 2012 | DESHLER | EF0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Thayer County
- Hail 281
- Thunderstorm Wind 190
- Heavy Rain 41
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A tornado traveled 8 miles and damaged 6 farmsteads. One house was hit by the tornado. Damage was so severe; the owners burnt the 120 year old house. A machine shed was destroyed toward the end of the tornadoes path. Three semi-trucks were stacked on top of each other at one site. Several center pivot systems were destroyed.
This is a continuation of the tornado that touched down west-northwest of Webber in Jewell County, KS, traveling northeast through the very northwest corner of Republic County, KS, before entering Nebraska near the town of Hardy in Nuckolls County. It continued traveling northeast into Thayer County, lifting northwest of Deshler. This tornado was rated an EF2, with an estimated peak wind speed of 122 MPH. EF2 damage was noted in both Jewell County, KS and Nuckolls County, NE.||Damage along this tornado path included numerous pivots overturned and snapped power poles. There was a large amount of tree damage noted. In addition, in Thayer County, grain bins and outbuildings were destroyed, and irrigation piping was strewn across a road.
This is a continuation of the tornado that touched down in the Scandia area of Republic County, KS. This tornado was rated an EF2, with an estimated peak wind speed of 120 MPH. The strongest and widest portion of this tornado occurred in Republic County, KS.||In the Thayer County, NE, portion of this tornado, trees were damaged and pivots were overturned. Power poles and grain bins were damaged. One home southeast of Hebron had its roof partially removed. This tornado crossed Highway 81 approximately 6 miles south of Hebron.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Thayer County, Nebraska?
63 tornado events are recorded in Thayer County between 1953 and 2022, causing 6 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Thayer County?
The strongest tornado on record in Thayer County measured F4.
Where does the tornado data for Thayer 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 Thayer County, Nebraska.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/nebraska/thayer-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.