Rock County, Nebraska severe weather history spans 361 recorded events between 1956 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 73.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,423 nationally and #54 in Nebraska.
361
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$3.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Rock County, Nebraska severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Rock County, Nebraska severe weather history averages 5.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 142 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 33 events fall before 1990 and 328 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $1.6M 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 Rock County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 265 | 0 | $778K | 4.25 | 1962–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 61 | 0 | $623K | 103 | 1962–2025 |
| Tornado | 18 | 0 | $1.6M | F4 | 1956–2011 |
| Lightning | 4 | 0 | $47K | 0 | 2004–2011 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2020 |
| Flood | 4 | 0 | $395K | 0 | 2010–2019 |
| Flash Flood | 3 | 0 | $350K | 0 | 1999–2019 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2014–2014 |
Decade by decade
Rock County, Nebraska severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
21 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956-10-29 | EF4 | 0 | 2 | 147.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2009-06-24 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-06-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 29.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1979-07-07 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 11.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1965-05-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 44.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2007-05-05 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 16.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-06-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-10-26 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-06-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-06-10 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
An intermittent line of wind damage was observed along and north of Highway 20 in Rock County. The wind damage began about 5 miles northeast of Bassett and continued into Holt County to 5 miles northeast of Newport. Peak wind gusts of 118 mph were estimated, where wooden power poles were snapped 3.5 miles east of Newport. Wind damage included uprooted trees, downed power lines, two outbuildings and a machine shop destroyed, and over 50 center pivot irrigation systems overturned.
Thunderstorms which slowed and began back building across parts of Northern Rock county resulted in flash flooding. Culverts and bridges were washed out as storms began to train with torrential rainfall over a 3.5 hour period. Rainfall up to 8 inches was indicated on the KLNX WSR-88D 3 hour precipitation graphic. The Department of Roads reported a close 7.7 inches of rainfall as of 1630 pm CST. The excessive rains resulted in increased runoff with over 2 feet of water flowing over roadways 7 miles north of Newport, on Highway 137, by 1608 PM CST and water over Highway 20, 8 miles west of Bassett, by 1720 pm CST as thunderstorms redeveloped to the west.
A tornado touched down north of Newport and overturned 2 center pivot irrigation systems, moved a 5000 bushel gran bin approximately 75 yards, snapped a large electrical transmission line pole, snapped a smaller wooden power pole, broke off numerous tree limbs, damaged the roof of an outbuilding, and picked up and spun around an empty grain truck traveling on Highway 20. The truck was heading west and was picked up and deposited in the south ditch. A storm chaser on Highway 20 also witnessed the tornado.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
1,319
Population (ACS)
$118K
Median home value
14
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 |
| Jun 26, 2017 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Jul 28, 2014 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Bassett 153
- Rose 110
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Rock County, Nebraska?
361 events are on record between 1956 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $3.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Rock County?
Hail, with 265 recorded events — 73.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Rock County?
21 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 19 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Rock County?
14 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Rock County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Rock County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Rock County as very low risk, placing it in the 1 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Rock 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
- Richardson County 348
- Saline County 536
- Red Willow County 596
- Sarpy County 531
- Polk County 325
- Saunders County 624
Cite this page
“Rock County, Nebraska.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/nebraska/rock-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.