Burt County, Nebraska severe weather history spans 290 recorded events between 1950 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 46.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,832 nationally and #74 in Nebraska.
290
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
37
Direct injuries
$10.1M
Property damage
The record
What the Burt County, Nebraska severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Burt County, Nebraska severe weather history averages 3.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 85 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 51 events fall before 1990 and 239 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $9.2M 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 Burt County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 136 | 0 | $127K | 78 | 1959–2026 |
| Hail | 109 | 0 | $50 | 4.5 | 1958–2026 |
| Tornado | 22 | 0 | $9.2M | F4 | 1950–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 12 | 0 | $505K | 0 | 1999–2023 |
| Flood | 7 | 0 | $200K | 0 | 2010–2024 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 1997–2000 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–1998 |
Decade by decade
Burt County, Nebraska severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
24 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 19 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977-07-07 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 22.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1950-07-15 | EF4 | 0 | 33 | 10.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2008-06-11 | EF3 | 4 | 48 | 13.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-05-27 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-05-12 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 11.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-05-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1992-06-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-05-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-06-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-05-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Burt County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 15, 1950 | Tornado | 0 | 33 | $2.5M | |
| May 12, 2023 | Tornado | OAKLAND | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| May 28, 1991 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $2.5M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A NWS storm survey team assessed that a tornado touched down around 5 miles south-southwest of Craig and lifted about 4 miles south-southwest of town causing damage up to weak EF1 intensity. An outbuilding and large storage bins were damaged, blown over or completely destroyed. A storage shed garage door was also blown out. Damage to the bins alone was estimated at close to $1 million. Telephone poles were bent, two center pivots were flipped and a tree was topped along the path which was estimated at close to 2.5 miles long and around 75 yards wide.
Heavy rainfall of 3 to 6 inches fell over much of Burt county from 8/6/99 into early 8/7/99. This caused extensive street flooding in Tekamah and Oakland and also flooded Bell and Logan Creeks. Damage was done primarily to basements, but 50 thousand dollars damage was done to roads in the Summit Township alone.
Flooding along the Missouri River gradually worsened over the area during June as record releases from Gavins Point Dam brought widespread flooding along the river. In Burt county the flooding generally began during the first week of the month as the gauge at Decatur didn't surpass flood stage until around June 6th. However, by the middle of the month the gauge had climbed above 38 feet and reached around 40 feet by the end of the month. Flood stage at Decatur is 35 feet. Flooding in Burt county especially affected agricultural lowlands, recreation areas and roads near the river but also forced evacuation of 150 to 200 homes. Late in the month the Highway 175 bridge over the Missouri between Decatur and Onawa was closed due to erosion of the abutment on the Iowa side of the bridge. The flooding persisted into July.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
6,740
Population (ACS)
$147K
Median home value
20
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 22, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| May 21, 2025 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Aug 20, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 27, 2022 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Feb 23, 2022 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| Apr 4, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Burt County, Nebraska?
290 events are on record between 1950 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $10.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Burt County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 136 recorded events — 46.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Burt County?
24 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 19 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Burt County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Burt County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Burt County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Burt County as very low risk, placing it in the 21 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Burt 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
- Buffalo County 795
- Butler County 372
- Brown County 458
- Cass County 571
- Boyd County 248
- Cedar County 389
Cite this page
“Burt County, Nebraska.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/nebraska/burt-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.