46
Recorded events
6
Direct deaths
38
Direct injuries
$10.9M
Property damage
Tornado in Madison County, Nebraska: 46 recorded events between 1953 and 2024. The strongest on record measured F4. That places the county #455 nationally and #23 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Madison County, Nebraska: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Madison County is the 1990s, when 9 of the county's 46 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Madison County archive, tornado makes up 8.8% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #455 for this hazard and #23 within Nebraska, putting it in the 84.3 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for tornado in Madison County with 23 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
| Date | Scale | Path length | Max width | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954-05-30 | EF4 | 29.9 mi | 400 yd | Crossed in |
| 1965-05-08 | EF4 | 125.7 mi | 10 yd | Crossed in |
| 1962-05-21 | EF3 | 71.7 mi | 500 yd | Crossed in |
| 1991-06-04 | EF2 | 3.0 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1984-04-25 | EF2 | 0.5 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1972-07-20 | EF2 | 0.3 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1970-06-15 | EF2 | 59.1 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1969-06-25 | EF2 | 20.5 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1967-06-13 | EF2 | 88.3 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1964-05-05 | EF2 | 71.5 mi | 10 yd | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 1954 | F4 | 6 | 23 | $2.5M | |
| Jun 21, 1954 | F1 | 0 | 7 | $25K | |
| May 22, 1962 | F3 | 0 | 6 | $2.5M | |
| Apr 26, 1984 | F2 | 0 | 1 | $25K | |
| Jun 14, 1967 | F2 | 0 | 1 | $250K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 25, 2024 | MADISON | EFU | $0 |
| Jun 25, 2024 | MEADOW GROVE | EF0 | $0 |
| Jun 15, 2024 | NEWMAN GROVE | EFU | $0 |
| Jun 15, 2024 | MEADOW GROVE | EF1 | $0 |
| Apr 26, 2024 | (OFK)STEFAN FLD NORF | EF0 | $0 |
| May 12, 2023 | BATTLE CREEK | EF1 | $0 |
| May 12, 2023 | NEWMAN GROVE | EFU | $0 |
| May 5, 2021 | MEADOW GROVE | EFU | $0 |
| Jun 2, 2018 | MADISON | EF0 | $0 |
| Jun 16, 2017 | MADISON | EF0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Madison County
- Hail 215
- Thunderstorm Wind 214
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A landspout tornado developed in a field, eventually merging with the mesocyclone and taking on some briefly supercellular features. The tornado was over mainly open fields but did break one tree, a powerline, and damaged a small shed. Peak estimated winds in this tornado were 70 miles per hour, with a width of 50 yards.
Trained spotter, law enforcement, and storm chaser accounts indicate that a tornado developed in this approximate location, moved a short distance, and lasted for approximately 2 minutes before dissipating. No damage was reported along the track.
This tornado began just southwest of the East Sherwood Road and 558th Avenue intersection. A few branches were noted to have been broken just south of East Sherwood Road before the tornado crossed 558th Avenue into Stanton County. The tornado continued for another half a mile on the east side of 558th Avenue in Stanton County producing EF-1 damage to trees and a warehouse building. The peak windspeeds from the tornado in Madison County were estimated to be at 60 miles per hour, with the average width of the tornado being at 25 yards.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Madison County, Nebraska?
46 tornado events are recorded in Madison County between 1953 and 2024, causing 6 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Madison County?
The strongest tornado on record in Madison County measured F4.
Where does the tornado data for Madison County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Tornado in Madison County, Nebraska.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/nebraska/madison-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.