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Douglas County, Nebraska severe weather history spans 1,022 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 47.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #134 nationally and #4 in Nebraska.
1,022
Recorded events
7
Direct deaths
184
Direct injuries
$883.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Douglas County, Nebraska severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Douglas County, Nebraska severe weather history averages 14.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 268 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 175 events fall before 1990 and 847 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Douglas County, Nebraska record is tornado, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is hail, with $501.8M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Douglas County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 488 | 0 | $501.8M | 4.5 | 1956–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 382 | 1 | $94.6M | 100 | 1960–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 55 | 2 | $11.9M | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Flood | 32 | 0 | $12.6M | 0 | 2007–2024 |
| Lightning | 30 | 1 | $3.4M | 0 | 1996–2010 |
| Tornado | 23 | 3 | $258.0M | F4 | 1956–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 8 | 0 | $1.0M | 0 | 2005–2014 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2024 |
Decade by decade
Douglas County, Nebraska severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
27 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 21 touched down inside it and 6 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975-05-06 | EF4 | 3 | 133 | 8.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2024-04-26 | EF4 | 0 | 4 | 31.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-04-17 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 8.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-04-26 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 19.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1968-08-18 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 21.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1988-05-07 | EF2 | 2 | 1 | 16.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 2008-06-08 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 10.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1988-05-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1975-03-27 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-04-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.7 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Douglas County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 6, 1975 | Tornado | 3 | 118 | $250.0M | |
| Aug 9, 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | WATERLOO | 1 | 1 | $3.8M |
| Jul 22, 2004 | Flash Flood | OMAHA | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 17, 2001 | Lightning | OMAHA | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 7, 1999 | Flash Flood | OMAHA | 1 | 0 | $11.0M |
| Jun 26, 1976 | Tornado | 0 | 23 | $2.5M | |
| Aug 19, 1987 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 12 | $0 | |
| Jul 25, 1988 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 11 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Heavy rainfall in the Omaha metropolitan area caused areas of flash flooding, especially near the Saddle Creek and Center Streets area, near the intersections of 96th and Q Streets, 17th and Ames Avenue and 108th and Q streets. It was near that last location where a 29-year-old male apparently drowned after his car became stalled in flood waters and he was swept away in a nearby drainage ditch as he was walking for help. His body was found more than 20 miles downstream in the Missouri River after it was surmised that his body traveled from the ditch into the Big Papillion Creek and then eventually into the Missouri River. Other flooding occurred when a pool of water 6 feet high developed near the Saddle Creek location carrying off a few vehicles and flooding at least one apartment complex. Several businesses were flooded and sewers backed up into properties. Eppley Airfield reported 2.66 inches of rain from the storm in just a several hour period, while some locations in midtown Omaha received almost 3.5 inches of rain.
A 46 year old man was killed when lightning struck him while he was riding alone on a bike trail in central Omaha. The lightning came from a high based thunderstorm that was producing occasional cloud to ground lighting but little rainfall as it tracked east across the city.
Lightning struck a midtown Omaha holiday decorating business starting a fire which quickly destroyed it. The storm responsible for the damage rolled across the city and produced a large number of cloud-to-ground lightning strokes as well as dropping at least 1 to 2 inches of rain on a large part of the metro area. There was over 15,000 lightning strikes, including cloud-to-ground stikes, in a four-county radius of Omaha according to the Omaha World Herald this night.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
590,736
Population (ACS)
$266K
Median home value
29
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 |
| Oct 21, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 24, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Aug 20, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| May 3, 2024 | Tornado | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Omaha 195
- Elkhorn 114
- Valley 110
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Douglas County, Nebraska?
1,022 events are on record between 1956 and 2026, causing 7 direct deaths and $883.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Douglas County?
Hail, with 488 recorded events — 47.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Douglas County?
27 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 21 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Douglas County?
29 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Douglas County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Douglas County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Douglas County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 96 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Douglas 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
- Dodge County 609
- Dundy County 550
- Dixon County 366
- Fillmore County 451
- Deuel County 340
- Franklin County 331
Cite this page
“Douglas County, Nebraska.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/nebraska/douglas-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.