Lightning Risk in Nebraska

All Nebraska counties ranked by FEMA National Risk Index lightning score

Lightning risk — electrical discharges from storms that ignite fires and cause casualties — is rated for 93 of 93 Nebraska counties in FEMA's National Risk Index. Lancaster County carries the state's highest lightning score at 92.1, with $2M in expected annual lightning losses.

3 Nebraska counties are rated High or Very High for lightning, and expected annual losses from lightning total roughly $18M statewide. The full ranking below links to each county's complete 18-hazard risk profile.

County Rankings — Lightning

#CountyLightning ScoreRatingAnn. Freq.Ann. Loss
1 Lancaster County
92.1
High 45.87 / yr $2M
2 Adams County
90.0
High 43.46 / yr $1M
3 Douglas County
88.7
High 46.03 / yr $1M
4 Webster County
78.1
Medium 44.36 / yr $495K
5 Buffalo County
72.8
Medium 43.14 / yr $805K
6 Gage County
72.7
Medium 46.72 / yr $650K
7 Sarpy County
70.3
Medium 46.72 / yr $792K
8 Holt County
68.3
Medium 39.33 / yr $496K
9 Hall County
64.9
Medium 42.90 / yr $480K
10 Garden County
63.6
Medium 44.10 / yr $493K
11 Cheyenne County
63.2
Medium 47.46 / yr $488K
12 Scotts Bluff County
61.7
Medium 45.42 / yr $374K
13 Morrill County
60.6
Medium 45.01 / yr $298K
14 Keith County
58.7
Medium 44.09 / yr $358K
15 Clay County
53.5
Low 43.94 / yr $286K
16 Box Butte County
53.3
Low 43.81 / yr $298K
17 Kearney County
52.1
Low 43.22 / yr $354K
18 Sheridan County
49.9
Low 41.59 / yr $198K
19 Platte County
49.3
Low 43.06 / yr $253K
20 Dawson County
49.0
Low 43.28 / yr $214K
21 York County
48.9
Low 43.62 / yr $332K
22 Saline County
48.4
Low 44.73 / yr $205K
23 Polk County
46.4
Low 43.57 / yr $298K
24 Lincoln County
45.0
Low 43.11 / yr $211K
25 Madison County
44.5
Low 41.85 / yr $235K
26 Nuckolls County
44.1
Low 44.65 / yr $209K
27 Franklin County
41.8
Low 43.51 / yr $148K
28 Deuel County
39.4
Low 45.25 / yr $130K
29 Dodge County
37.4
Low 44.62 / yr $186K
30 Hamilton County
36.8
Low 43.20 / yr $218K
31 Butler County
36.6
Low 44.36 / yr $177K
32 Dawes County
35.4
Low 42.75 / yr $179K
33 Red Willow County
33.7
Low 42.76 / yr $141K
34 Phelps County
33.0
Low 43.14 / yr $176K
35 Thayer County
33.0
Low 44.98 / yr $129K
36 Knox County
26.3
Low 39.34 / yr $93K
37 Jefferson County
26.1
Low 45.59 / yr $95K
38 Dakota County
25.3
Low 41.76 / yr $91K
39 Boone County
24.6
Low 41.81 / yr $81K
40 Kimball County
23.2
Very Low 49.26 / yr $73K
41 Chase County
22.6
Very Low 43.69 / yr $103K
42 Cass County
21.8
Very Low 46.86 / yr $115K
43 Cuming County
21.7
Very Low 43.03 / yr $66K
44 Fillmore County
21.6
Very Low 44.03 / yr $109K
45 Otoe County
21.3
Very Low 47.17 / yr $119K
46 Furnas County
21.2
Very Low 42.75 / yr $58K
47 Custer County
20.3
Very Low 43.32 / yr $83K
48 Harlan County
19.8
Very Low 42.83 / yr $68K
49 Antelope County
19.5
Very Low 40.30 / yr $84K
50 Cherry County
19.5
Very Low 40.77 / yr $57K
51 Seward County
19.2
Very Low 44.29 / yr $107K
52 Nance County
18.7
Very Low 42.80 / yr $72K
53 Saunders County
18.6
Very Low 45.39 / yr $105K
54 Richardson County
17.9
Very Low 48.30 / yr $62K
55 Valley County
17.4
Very Low 42.21 / yr $62K
56 Cedar County
17.4
Very Low 40.17 / yr $72K
57 Garfield County
17.0
Very Low 41.35 / yr $56K
58 Nemaha County
16.9
Very Low 47.57 / yr $53K
59 Gosper County
13.8
Very Low 42.74 / yr $61K
60 Perkins County
13.6
Very Low 44.31 / yr $66K
61 Merrick County
13.4
Very Low 42.70 / yr $50K
62 Hitchcock County
13.1
Very Low 43.05 / yr $42K
63 Pierce County
12.6
Very Low 40.67 / yr $62K
64 Colfax County
12.5
Very Low 44.04 / yr $58K
65 Frontier County
11.8
Very Low 42.71 / yr $30K
66 Johnson County
11.7
Very Low 47.51 / yr $58K
67 Howard County
10.6
Very Low 42.67 / yr $49K
68 Wayne County
10.2
Very Low 41.48 / yr $55K
69 Washington County
9.7
Very Low 45.20 / yr $54K
70 Thurston County
9.6
Very Low 42.47 / yr $25K
71 Pawnee County
9.4
Very Low 47.92 / yr $28K
72 Sherman County
9.1
Very Low 42.67 / yr $31K
73 Stanton County
8.8
Very Low 42.57 / yr $34K
74 Dixon County
8.0
Very Low 40.56 / yr $35K
75 Greeley County
7.5
Very Low 42.12 / yr $33K
76 Arthur County
7.3
Very Low 42.32 / yr $30K
77 Brown County
7.1
Very Low 41.09 / yr $27K
78 Burt County
7.0
Very Low 43.72 / yr $26K
79 Boyd County
6.8
Very Low 38.02 / yr $30K
80 Grant County
6.7
Very Low 41.56 / yr $29K
81 Dundy County
6.1
Very Low 42.65 / yr $26K
82 Hooker County
5.0
Very Low 42.05 / yr $12K
83 Rock County
4.5
Very Low 40.70 / yr $20K
84 Wheeler County
3.9
Very Low 41.27 / yr $13K
85 Sioux County
3.9
Very Low 44.59 / yr $17K
86 Keya Paha County
3.6
Very Low 39.36 / yr $8K
87 Hayes County
3.0
Very Low 43.07 / yr $11K
88 Loup County
1.9
Very Low 41.99 / yr $9K
89 McPherson County
1.5
Very Low 42.54 / yr $8K
90 Banner County
1.4
Very Low 46.72 / yr $7K
91 Logan County
1.4
Very Low 42.97 / yr $7K
92 Blaine County
1.1
Very Low 42.34 / yr $4K
93 Thomas County
1.0
Very Low 41.65 / yr $7K

93 Nebraska counties with measurable lightning risk. See the national lightning ranking or all Nebraska counties by overall risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Nebraska county has the highest lightning risk?

Lancaster County has the highest FEMA lightning risk score in Nebraska at 92.1 (High), with $2M in expected annual losses and about 45.87 events per year.

How many Nebraska counties face significant lightning risk?

93 Nebraska counties record measurable lightning risk in FEMA's National Risk Index; 3 of them are rated High or Very High.

Other Hazards in Nebraska

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