Antelope County, Nebraska severe weather history spans 440 recorded events between 1956 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 56.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,099 nationally and #44 in Nebraska.
440
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$33.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Antelope County, Nebraska severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Antelope County, Nebraska severe weather history averages 6.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 164 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 90 events fall before 1990 and 350 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Antelope County, Nebraska record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $28.7M 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 Antelope County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 247 | 0 | $216K | 4.5 | 1956–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 131 | 1 | $45K | 74 | 1956–2025 |
| Tornado | 34 | 0 | $28.7M | F4 | 1956–2013 |
| Flash Flood | 16 | 0 | $250K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 9 | 0 | $4.1M | 0 | 2007–2019 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2011 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 1996–1996 |
Decade by decade
Antelope County, Nebraska severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
38 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 31 touched down inside it and 7 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965-05-08 | EF4 | 4 | 53 | 125.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1965-05-08 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 78.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1964-05-05 | EF4 | 0 | 11 | 51.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 2013-10-04 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 6.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-05-21 | EF3 | 0 | 7 | 71.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2013-10-04 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-10-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1964-04-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 26.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-06-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 11.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-05-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 15.0 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Antelope County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 7, 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | ELGIN | 1 | 0 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Local law enforcement, as well as local print media, indicated that flash flooding occurred from heavy repeated thunderstorms across parts of Antelope County. The worst of the flooding was near the areas of Oakdale and Elgin. The flooding led to water covering U.S. Highway 275 and State Highway 70 into the morning on the 29th.
Local media indicated that areal flooding continued into the morning on the 28th of August. This included water across U.S. Highway 275 and State Highway 70. In addition numerous farm fields, ditches, and small streams flooded during this time as well. The flooding slowly receded through the morning as the rainfall had ended.
Another round of heavy rain producing thunderstorms caused additional flash flooding across a few county roads from near Clearwater to around Brunswick. Earlier in the evening over 3 inches of rain was reported around Clearwater and an additional inch or two of rain likely fell across the area either causing additional flooding or prolonging flooding that had already been occurring. The flooding caused some crop and culvert damage and also washed gravel off of sections of county roads.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
6,305
Population (ACS)
$130K
Median home value
13
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 27, 2022 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Apr 4, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Mar 21, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jun 29, 2018 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Jul 15, 2010 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Antelope County, Nebraska?
440 events are on record between 1956 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $33.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Antelope County?
Hail, with 247 recorded events — 56.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Antelope County?
38 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 31 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Antelope County?
13 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Antelope County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Antelope County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Antelope County as very low risk, placing it in the 19 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Antelope County, Nebraska 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
- Adams County 793
- Arthur County 248
- Banner County 215
- Blaine County 292
- Boone County 356
- Box Butte County 538
Cite this page
“Antelope County, Nebraska.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/nebraska/antelope-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.