Kimball County, Nebraska severe weather history spans 426 recorded events between 1954 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 61.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,147 nationally and #45 in Nebraska.
426
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$7.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Kimball County, Nebraska severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Kimball County, Nebraska severe weather history averages 6.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 147 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 63 events fall before 1990 and 363 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Kimball County, Nebraska record is winter weather, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is hail, with $6.1M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Kimball County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 260 | 0 | $6.1M | 4.25 | 1958–2025 |
| Tornado | 61 | 0 | $109K | F3 | 1954–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 59 | 0 | $93K | 78 | 1962–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 29 | 0 | $1.0M | 0 | 1997–2022 |
| Heavy Rain | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2016 |
| Funnel Cloud | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2015 |
| Flood | 4 | 0 | $2K | 0 | 1996–2014 |
| Winter Weather | 1 | 2 | $40K | 0 | 1997–1997 |
| Wildfire | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–1998 |
Decade by decade
Kimball County, Nebraska severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
66 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 63 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960-06-20 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 26.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-06-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 17.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1978-08-31 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 25.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-06-29 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-06-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 19.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-06-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-06-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1979-06-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-05-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-06-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 59.9 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Kimball County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 8, 1997 | Winter Weather | COUNTYWIDE | 2 | 1 | $40K |
| May 7, 2000 | Hail | KIMBALL | 0 | 1 | $5.0M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Thunderstorms produced rainfall amounts of 3 to 6 inches around the Kimball area. Flood waters covered roads from 2 miles north of Kimball to 1 mile south of Dix. The flood waters also damaged or destroyed bean, wheat and corn crops around the area.
At approximately 6:47 PM, video evidence from multiple sources|shows a satellite tornado formed to the northeast of the original|tornado after it dissipated. This tornado lasted about 1 to 2|minutes and remained over open farmland near the intersection|of County Road 10 and 31. No damage was reported, therefore the|tornado is classified as an EF-U.
A thin rope tornado began along Interstate 80 around 5 miles southwest of Kimball at 8:01 PM MDT. The tornado remained over mainly open farmland south of the Interstate. The tornado did impact one property, where a cinder block outbuilding was destroyed. Cinder blocks were thrown approximately 50 yards in a scattered debris pattern north of CR 28. Additionally, a large shipping container was moved off its foundation by 6 inches. Finally, a large tandem-disk plow weighing 20,000 pounds was pushed approximately 15 feet in a field just north of CR 28. The tornado dissipated about 4 miles WSW of Kimball at 8:05 PM MDT.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
3,248
Population (ACS)
$109K
Median home value
8
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 24, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | 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 |
| Jan 7, 2007 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR |
| Sep 13, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUEES | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Kimball 207
- Bushnell 113
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Kimball County, Nebraska?
426 events are on record between 1954 and 2025, causing 2 direct deaths and $7.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Kimball County?
Hail, with 260 recorded events — 61.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Kimball County?
66 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 63 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Kimball County?
8 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Kimball County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Kimball County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Kimball County as very low risk, placing it in the 8 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Kimball 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
- Keya Paha County 246
- Knox County 549
- Keith County 775
- Lancaster County 965
- Kearney County 377
- Lincoln County 1,855
Cite this page
“Kimball County, Nebraska.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/nebraska/kimball-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.