Hayes County, Nebraska severe weather history spans 353 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 65.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,474 nationally and #60 in Nebraska.
353
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$7.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Hayes County, Nebraska severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Hayes County, Nebraska severe weather history averages 5.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 127 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 31 events fall before 1990 and 322 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flash flood, with $3.1M 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 Hayes County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 231 | 0 | $2.4M | 4.5 | 1957–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 66 | 0 | $509K | 87 | 1960–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 25 | 0 | $3.1M | 0 | 1997–2023 |
| Tornado | 19 | 0 | $1.7M | F1 | 1960–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2019 |
| Heavy Rain | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2011 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $90K | 0 | 2010–2023 |
Decade by decade
Hayes County, Nebraska severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
19 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 18 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967-06-06 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 40.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 2025-05-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 17.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-08-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2000-10-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-10-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-07-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-05-23 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-08-29 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-08-29 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-06-04 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Tornado touched down in pastureland destroying a windmill and numerous trees. The tornado then tracked to the north northeast over the next 34 minutes destroying outbuildings at a farmstead and feed lot and overturning several center pivot irrigation systems. Numerous power poles were also snapped by the tornado before dissipating south of Dickens Nebraska.
A supercell storm moved through the area and dropped softball size hail. The hail severely damaged vehicles building roofs, broke windows, tore holes in the metal siding on homes, tore through the roof of a motel and through the roof of the newspaper building, The Times-Republican.
A severe thunderstorm produced a seven mile wide path of hail and wind damage from northwest of Hayes Center to North of Palisade. Hail up to walnut-size was driven into drifts 1 to 3 feet high by winds in excess of 60 mph. 9,800 acres of corn and 3,400 acres of beans were damaged. Many of these were totally destroyed with corn plants reduced to short stubs. Farm buildings, houses, and trees were also damaged by the wind and hail. Five power poles were blown down. Hitchcock County Culbertson,01,0510CST,,,0,0,?,?,Hail (1.00)
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
843
Population (ACS)
$128K
Median home value
19
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 20, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | 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 25, 2015 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Aug 12, 2011 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Hayes Center 267
- Hamlet 113
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Hayes County, Nebraska?
353 events are on record between 1957 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $7.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Hayes County?
Hail, with 231 recorded events — 65.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Hayes County?
19 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 18 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Hayes County?
19 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Hayes County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Hayes County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Hayes County as very low risk, placing it in the 1 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Hayes 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
- Harlan County 329
- Hitchcock County 553
- Hamilton County 498
- Holt County 886
- Hall County 709
- Hooker County 307
Cite this page
“Hayes County, Nebraska.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/nebraska/hayes-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.