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Nemaha County, Kansas severe weather history spans 513 recorded events between 1952 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 47.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #830 nationally and #81 in Kansas.
513
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
3
Direct injuries
$11.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Nemaha County, Kansas severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Nemaha County, Kansas severe weather history averages 6.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 192 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 49 events fall before 1990 and 464 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $9.6M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Nemaha County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 245 | 0 | $112K | 4 | 1955–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 187 | 0 | $866K | 70 | 1956–2025 |
| Tornado | 38 | 0 | $9.6M | F2 | 1952–2019 |
| Flash Flood | 32 | 0 | $487K | 0 | 1997–2026 |
| Flood | 7 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 1998–2026 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 1998–2001 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2007 |
Decade by decade
Nemaha County, Kansas severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
40 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 38 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-05-21 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 5.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2014-06-03 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 6.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-05-28 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 4.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-06-11 | EF2 | 2 | 0 | 17.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1993-05-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 23.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1963-04-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 15.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1959-05-04 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 24.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-04-30 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-05-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-05-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Nemaha County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 4, 2014 | Tornado | BERN | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Apr 5, 1999 | Tornado | SENECA | 0 | 1 | $100K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The longest track tornado of the day moved southwest to northeast across Nemaha county miraculously producing no deaths or injuries. However significant damage occurred to about 20 different farms or farmsteads and related business, machinery and buildings. The tornado just missed populated areas and remained generally in fields and farm areas. Excessive rain in the days after the storm hampered cleanup. Property damage from the tornado was estimated at $1.1 million. In some areas the tornado was about 1/2 mile wide while in other areas damage was only about 100 yards wide. At times the tornado had multiple vortices.
This F1 tornado touched down 7.5 miles south of Sabetha, damaged one farmstead, then moved east-northeast to the Brown county border, roughly 6 miles south of Sabetha, where it damaged a second farmstead. Debris from the first homestead was scattered over a mile northeast. Some of the debris was lodged in treetops in a nearby woods. Other wood debris was driven several feet into the ground. The tornado had a path length of about 2 miles in Nemaha County with a path width of about 100 yards. The tornado then crossed the border into Brown County. The damage in Nemaha county was estimated at $200,000. This tornado formed in a bow echo that produced an otherwise wide swath of wind damage.
High winds tore the metal roof from a large horse barn south of town. Chunks of the flying metal hit a horse in the adjacent corral severing its foot just above the hoof. The horse had to be destroyed. The wind also knocked down power lines and trees.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
10,160
Population (ACS)
$217K
Median home value
16
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 17, 2022 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND STRAIGHT LINE WINDS | DR |
| Mar 29, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jun 20, 2019 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, FLOODING,LANDSLIDES,AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Jul 20, 2015 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Mar 9, 2010 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Seneca 109
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Nemaha County, Kansas?
513 events are on record between 1952 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $11.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Nemaha County?
Hail, with 245 recorded events — 47.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Nemaha County?
40 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 38 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Nemaha County?
16 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Nemaha County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Nemaha County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Nemaha County as very low risk, placing it in the 17 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Nemaha County, Kansas 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
- Morton County 555
- Neosho County 538
- Morris County 483
- Ness County 708
- Montgomery County 796
- Norton County 627
Cite this page
“Nemaha County, Kansas.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kansas/nemaha-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.