Keya Paha County, Nebraska severe weather history spans 246 recorded events between 1956 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 73.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,132 nationally and #83 in Nebraska.
246
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$4.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Keya Paha County, Nebraska severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Keya Paha County, Nebraska severe weather history averages 3.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 77 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 31 events fall before 1990 and 215 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $3.3M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Keya Paha County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 181 | 0 | $122K | 2.75 | 1962–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 44 | 0 | $3.3M | 100 | 1974–2025 |
| Tornado | 11 | 0 | $280K | F2 | 1956–2010 |
| Flash Flood | 4 | 0 | $250K | 0 | 1999–2007 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2019 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $100K | 0 | 2019–2019 |
Decade by decade
Keya Paha County, Nebraska severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
12 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 10 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962-05-14 | EF3 | 0 | 8 | 53.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-05-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-05-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 44.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1963-06-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-06-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2007-05-05 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 16.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1985-07-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-06-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1963-06-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2003-06-24 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Keya Paha County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 2007 | Tornado | SPRINGVIEW | 0 | 1 | $100K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
At 930 PM CDT, a tornado touched down approximately 12 miles northwest of Springview and traveled northeast for 20 minutes before lifting 11 miles north of Springview. The tornado did extensive tree damage when it touched down, then moved northeast and struck two farmsteads. At the first farmstead, a loafing shed and stock trailer were destroyed, extensive tree and fence damage occurred, and a roof was torn off an old hog building. The most extensive damage occurred north of the farmstead where six rural electric association poles where broken. The tornado continued to move northeast and destroy a windmill. Then a second farmstead was hit with the tornado destroying a 40 by 60 feet quonset building before the tornado lifted at 950 PM CDT.
The cyclic supercell produced a tornado just as it entered southern Keya Paha County approximately 7 miles south southeast of Springview. The tornado tracked north northeastward for around 17 miles before lifting 5 miles north northeast of Burton. Along the path, the tornado took part of a roof off two homes, snapped trees, destroyed a barn and small outbuildings, overturned a center pivot irrigation system, and snapped 40 power poles. The tornado caused minor injuries to a gentleman that was on a farm tractor.
A storm system moved through Springview causing major damage to buildings, power poles and numerous trees. Surface wind estimates were 100 mph. The wind at the top of wind turbines west of Springview were measured at 136 mph about 200 feet above the surface.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
822
Population (ACS)
$109K
Median home value
13
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 15, 2010 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Feb 25, 2010 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
| Jul 31, 2009 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND TORNADOES | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Springview 139
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Keya Paha County, Nebraska?
246 events are on record between 1956 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $4.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Keya Paha County?
Hail, with 181 recorded events — 73.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Keya Paha County?
12 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 10 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Keya Paha County?
13 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Keya Paha County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Keya Paha County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Keya Paha County as very low risk, placing it in the 1 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Keya Paha 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
- Keith County 775
- Kimball County 426
- Kearney County 377
- Knox County 549
- Johnson County 233
- Lancaster County 965
Cite this page
“Keya Paha County, Nebraska.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/nebraska/keya-paha-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.