Thayer County, Nebraska severe weather history spans 601 recorded events between 1953 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 46.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #580 nationally and #19 in Nebraska.
601
Recorded events
6
Direct deaths
93
Direct injuries
$53.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Thayer County, Nebraska severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Thayer County, Nebraska severe weather history averages 8.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 190 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 94 events fall before 1990 and 507 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Thayer County, Nebraska record is tornado, responsible for 6 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $32.0M 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 Thayer County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 281 | 0 | $5.4M | 4 | 1955–2024 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 190 | 0 | $10.9M | 79 | 1960–2025 |
| Tornado | 63 | 6 | $32.0M | F4 | 1953–2022 |
| Heavy Rain | 41 | 0 | $525K | 0 | 2002–2020 |
| Flash Flood | 15 | 0 | $4.3M | 0 | 2003–2020 |
| Funnel Cloud | 7 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2006 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $501K | 0 | 1998–2007 |
| Flood | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2019–2019 |
Decade by decade
Thayer County, Nebraska severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
67 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 53 touched down inside it and 14 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955-06-04 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 61.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1953-05-09 | EF3 | 5 | 82 | 46.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-05-29 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 55.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1990-03-13 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 25.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-03-13 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 13.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-06-12 | EF3 | 0 | 5 | 13.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-04-20 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 41.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1965-05-08 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 40.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-04-28 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 39.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2003-06-22 | EF2 | 1 | 7 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Thayer County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 10, 1953 | Tornado | 5 | 80 | $2.5M | |
| Jun 22, 2003 | Tornado | DESHLER | 1 | 7 | $10.0M |
| Jun 12, 1984 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $2.5M | |
| Apr 11, 2001 | Tornado | HEBRON | 0 | 1 | $30K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A tornado traveled 8 miles and damaged 6 farmsteads. One house was hit by the tornado. Damage was so severe; the owners burnt the 120 year old house. A machine shed was destroyed toward the end of the tornadoes path. Three semi-trucks were stacked on top of each other at one site. Several center pivot systems were destroyed.
The peak measured wind gusts was 71 MPH, recorded at 11:37 PM CDT by a mesonet station located three miles east-southeast of Carleton. Other gusts included: 67 MPH, recorded at 11:45 PM CDT by a mesonet station located three miles east-southeast of Belvidere; 59 MPH, recorded at 11:41 PM CDT by a mesonet station located four miles northeast of Belvidere; 59 MPH, recorded at 11:21 PM CDT by a mesonet station located 2 miles south-southeast of Davenport. Emergency management reported power outages, tree and crop damage along and near this path, including a tree that fell onto a car in Alexandria. Corn was flattened in many spots, with at least a half-dozen pivots overturned. A power pole was snapped near the intersection of Highway 4 and Highway 5.
Central portions of Thayer County was the hardest hit in the NWS Hastings coverage area. A swath of 5 to 9 inches of rain, with locally higher amounts of 10 to 11 inches, was reported across the the county. Portions of Highways 81, 136 and 53 were closed for a period of time during the evening. In Hebron, a bridge was washed out, reducing the access to the local hospital and nursing/assisted living facilities down to just one road. In Deshler, water at least 6 inches deep resulted in the evacuation of 6 homes as well as a nursing home. A total of 43 residents were taken to a shelter at the local high school. At least 4 bridges and many miles of county roads were damaged by the flooding.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
4,901
Population (ACS)
$123K
Median home value
23
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 22, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| May 21, 2025 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM 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 |
| Mar 21, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Thayer County, Nebraska?
601 events are on record between 1953 and 2025, causing 6 direct deaths and $53.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Thayer County?
Hail, with 281 recorded events — 46.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Thayer County?
67 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 53 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Thayer County?
23 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Thayer County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Thayer County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Thayer County as very low risk, placing it in the 38 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Thayer 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
- Stanton County 299
- Thomas County 264
- Sioux County 336
- Thurston County 239
- Sherman County 329
- Valley County 356
Cite this page
“Thayer County, Nebraska.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/nebraska/thayer-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.