Boone County, Nebraska severe weather history spans 356 recorded events between 1953 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 52.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,451 nationally and #55 in Nebraska.
356
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
55
Direct injuries
$27.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Boone County, Nebraska severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Boone County, Nebraska severe weather history averages 4.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 126 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 65 events fall before 1990 and 291 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Boone County, Nebraska record is tornado, responsible for 4 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $26.8M 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 Boone County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 187 | 0 | $0 | 3 | 1955–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 106 | 0 | $243K | 73 | 1960–2025 |
| Tornado | 29 | 4 | $26.8M | F4 | 1953–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 21 | 0 | $210K | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Flood | 9 | 0 | $157K | 0 | 2007–2019 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $77K | 0 | 1996–1998 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2018–2018 |
Decade by decade
Boone County, Nebraska severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
33 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 26 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 |
| 1964-05-05 | EF4 | 0 | 11 | 51.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1962-05-21 | EF3 | 0 | 7 | 71.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1953-06-07 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 8.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-04-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 26.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1970-08-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-06-05 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 0.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1964-05-05 | EF2 | 0 | 7 | 71.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2023-05-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-07-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Boone County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 9, 1965 | Tornado | 4 | 53 | $25.0M | |
| Jun 5, 1966 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $0 | |
| Jun 7, 1953 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A swath of 2 to 4 inches of rain fell across Boone county from the evening of the 21st into the early morning hours on the 22nd. This produced flash flooding across several county roads, and washed sections out of a few. Six to 8 inches of flood waters also crossed Highway 14 in Albion. The damage to county roads alone was estimated at around 100 thousand dollars.
Although three day rain totals in the area through 7am June 12th were in the 3 to 4 inch range, the rain fell on saturated soil due to rains earlier in the month plus heavier rain fell upstream of Boone county. The heavier rain upstream of Boone county caused flooding along the Cedar River which was aggravated by the failure of a dam on the river near Ericson which sent flood waters to another dam near Spalding which was then over-topped. The flooding in Boone county washed away 2 sections of a wooden bridge southwest of Primrose and also flooded farmland and a few county roads in the area.
Another 1 to 1.5 inches of rain fell across Boone county ending 7am June 12th, bringing three day totals into the 3 to 4 inch range. This was on top of several inches that fell prior to June 10th. This additional rain brought more flooding to the county, especially along Beaver Creek and its tributaries from around Petersburg to Boone to near St. Edward. Highway 39 just west of St. Edward was either briefly closed or down to one lane due to flood waters much of the 12th into the 13th. Highways 14 and 32 were closed around the Petersburg area for a while and many county roads from Petersburg to Boone were closed because of flood waters. Several homes and businesses in the St. Edward area were sandbagged to protect from high water. Agricultural lands near these creeks also sustained some flood damage.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
5,356
Population (ACS)
$174K
Median home value
20
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2025 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| May 3, 2024 | Tornado | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| 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 |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Boone County, Nebraska?
356 events are on record between 1953 and 2025, causing 4 direct deaths and $27.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Boone County?
Hail, with 187 recorded events — 52.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Boone County?
33 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 26 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Boone County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Boone County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Boone County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Boone County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 43 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Boone 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
- Blaine County 292
- Box Butte County 538
- Banner County 215
- Boyd County 248
- Arthur County 248
- Brown County 458
Cite this page
“Boone County, Nebraska.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/nebraska/boone-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.