Franklin County, Nebraska severe weather history spans 331 recorded events between 1953 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 56.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,599 nationally and #64 in Nebraska.
331
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$14.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Franklin County, Nebraska severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Franklin County, Nebraska severe weather history averages 4.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 114 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 44 events fall before 1990 and 287 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is hail, with $6.7M 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 Franklin County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 186 | 0 | $6.7M | 4 | 1956–2024 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 83 | 0 | $4.0M | 80 | 1956–2025 |
| Tornado | 31 | 0 | $3.3M | F4 | 1953–2023 |
| Heavy Rain | 19 | 0 | $40K | 0 | 2005–2021 |
| Flash Flood | 5 | 0 | $285K | 0 | 2000–2019 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $150K | 0 | 2011–2019 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $65K | 0 | 1996–2018 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2004 |
Decade by decade
Franklin County, Nebraska severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
35 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 32 touched down inside it and 3 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985-05-10 | EF4 | 0 | 2 | 56.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1993-05-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 40.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-06-24 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 15.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-10-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-05-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-05-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-05-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-06-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-03-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 13.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1990-06-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 15.0 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Franklin County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 11, 1985 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $2.5M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A weakening cluster of thunderstorms sliding east just north of the Nebraska-Kansas state line produced severe weather across southwestern portions of Franklin County. The NWS Cooperative Observer in Naponee reported hail around golf ball size and wind gusts exceeding 60 MPH.
A weakening cluster of thunderstorms sliding east just north of the Nebraska-Kansas state line produced severe weather across southwestern portions of Franklin County. The NWS Cooperative Observer in Naponee reported hail around golf ball size and wind gusts exceeding 60 MPH.
Wind gusts were estimated at 65 MPH. Roof damage was reported in Hildreth, and a large tree was uprooted in the Campbell park and fell on a gazebo roof, with many other tree limbs up to 3 to 4 inches in diameter blown down around town. Small hail also accompanied these winds, and together resulted in a swath of crop damage approximately 3 to 4 miles wide, with the path running along and near Highway 4.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
2,846
Population (ACS)
$96K
Median home value
10
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Jul 24, 2014 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jan 7, 2007 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR |
| Sep 13, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUEES | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Franklin County, Nebraska?
331 events are on record between 1953 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $14.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Franklin County?
Hail, with 186 recorded events — 56.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Franklin County?
35 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 32 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Franklin County?
10 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Franklin County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Franklin County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Franklin County as very low risk, placing it in the 32 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Franklin 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
- Fillmore County 451
- Frontier County 537
- Dundy County 550
- Furnas County 560
- Douglas County 1,022
- Gage County 621
Cite this page
“Franklin County, Nebraska.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/nebraska/franklin-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.