Merrick County, Nebraska severe weather history spans 374 recorded events between 1951 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 51.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,362 nationally and #51 in Nebraska.
374
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$22.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Merrick County, Nebraska severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Merrick County, Nebraska severe weather history averages 5.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 98 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 112 events fall before 1990 and 262 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $7.6M 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 Merrick County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 194 | 0 | $3.7M | 4 | 1955–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 126 | 0 | $4.8M | 91 | 1956–2024 |
| Tornado | 25 | 0 | $7.6M | F3 | 1951–2024 |
| Flood | 10 | 0 | $2.1M | 0 | 2006–2019 |
| Flash Flood | 8 | 0 | $3.7M | 0 | 2005–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 8 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2017 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $112K | 0 | 1996–2000 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2001 |
Decade by decade
Merrick County, Nebraska severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
41 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 25 touched down inside it and 16 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965-05-08 | EF4 | 4 | 53 | 125.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1990-03-13 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 27.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1977-05-16 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 47.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1975-06-15 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 63.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 2001-10-09 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-05-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 11.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-03-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 13.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1982-05-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-06-03 | EF2 | 0 | 18 | 3.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-05-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 20.8 mi | Crossed in |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Wind gusts estimated to be near 75 MPH resulted in tree and crop damage in the area, as well as flipped irrigation pivots. Power outages were reported in the area, and trees were reported down in Clarks. A wind gust of 70 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located four miles west-southwest of Clarks, and a wind gust of 60 MPH was measured by a mesonet station four miles northeast of Clarks.
Emergency management reported several pivots were flipped over and mangled north of Chapman. At a convenience store in Chapman, a metal light pole was blown down, and a large metal ice chest was moved away from the main building into the parking lot.
A tornado touched down near the Platte River three miles south of Central City and then moved north to the east edge of town where it lifted back into the clouds. Outbuildings were damaged and tree tops were twisted off at three separate farms. The tornado blew the roof off of an auto body shop on the east edge of town.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
7,724
Population (ACS)
$176K
Median home value
15
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 |
| Jun 29, 2018 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Feb 25, 2010 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
| Jun 20, 2008 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Merrick County, Nebraska?
374 events are on record between 1951 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $22.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Merrick County?
Hail, with 194 recorded events — 51.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Merrick County?
41 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 25 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Merrick County?
15 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Merrick County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Merrick County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Merrick County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 43 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Merrick 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
- Madison County 521
- Morrill County 466
- McPherson County 263
- Nance County 241
- Loup County 234
- Nemaha County 356
Cite this page
“Merrick County, Nebraska.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/nebraska/merrick-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.