Polk County, Nebraska severe weather history spans 325 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 43.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,638 nationally and #67 in Nebraska.
325
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
10
Direct injuries
$92.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Polk County, Nebraska severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Polk County, Nebraska severe weather history averages 4.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 108 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 56 events fall before 1990 and 269 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $86.4M 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 Polk County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 140 | 0 | $2.3M | 3 | 1956–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 95 | 0 | $3.2M | 80 | 1960–2025 |
| Tornado | 38 | 0 | $86.4M | F5 | 1955–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 30 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2019 |
| Flash Flood | 12 | 0 | $325K | 0 | 2005–2017 |
| Flood | 7 | 0 | $540K | 0 | 2006–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2005–2005 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2023–2023 |
Decade by decade
Polk County, Nebraska severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
44 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 31 touched down inside it and 13 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964-05-05 | EF5 | 4 | 50 | 79.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1990-03-13 | EF4 | 0 | 8 | 131.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1978-04-07 | EF4 | 0 | 1 | 31.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1978-04-07 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-06-20 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 9.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-10-09 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 18.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1993-05-07 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 75.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1975-06-15 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 63.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1962-07-21 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 25.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-06-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Polk County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 7, 2023 | Lightning | SHELBY | 0 | 6 | $0 |
| Jul 30, 1968 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $250K | |
| Jun 10, 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | SHELBY | 0 | 1 | $1.0M |
| Jul 22, 1962 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Tornado touched down four miles south of Blue Hill in northern Webster county. Two farm homes, and outbuildings were damaged. Two 12,00 bushel grain bins were destroyed. The tornado moved north into southeast Adams county, where it damaged 75 to 100 homes in Ayr and Pauline. It then moved into southwest Clay county where it derailed 25 cars from a train between Glenvill and Fairfield. A farm house, garage and grain bins were damaged near Glenvill. It then moved north and lifted to a funnel cloud over northern Clay and southern Hamilton counties but touched down again just north of Interstate 80 where it destroyed three domes, and one church. Other homes and outbuildings were damaged. The tornado was last spotted moving into western Polk county northeast of Hordville.
A brief EF0 rated tornado skirted its way across northern Polk County in the early morning hours of May 21st. The tornado damaged trees, downed power lines and poles, and overturned several irrigation pivots. The peak wind was estimated to be 80 MPH.
Heavy rainfall resulted in widespread flooding across Polk County. Clear Creek, Davis Creek and the Big Blue River were all out of their banks. The Clear Creek gauge, located in rural portions of Polk County north of Shelby, crested at 8.23 feet the afternoon of the 28th, and that was the 4th-highest crest on record. Numerous rural roads and bridges were covered in water. Due to the Davis Creek flooding, water covered a portion of Highway 81/92 just outside the west side of Osceola and threatened the highway as well as homes and property on the east side of town. To keep people from driving into Osceola, Highway 81/92 was closed approximately 3 miles east of town.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
5,225
Population (ACS)
$190K
Median home value
20
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2025 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Aug 20, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 27, 2022 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Feb 23, 2022 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| Apr 4, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Shelby 106
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Polk County, Nebraska?
325 events are on record between 1955 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $92.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Polk County?
Hail, with 140 recorded events — 43.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Polk County?
44 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 31 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Polk County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Polk County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Polk County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Polk County as very low risk, placing it in the 26 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Polk 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
- Platte County 523
- Red Willow County 596
- Pierce County 279
- Richardson County 348
- Phelps County 470
- Rock County 361
Cite this page
“Polk County, Nebraska.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/nebraska/polk-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.