Tornado Risk in Nebraska

All Nebraska counties ranked by FEMA National Risk Index tornado score

Tornado risk — violently rotating columns of air capable of catastrophic local damage — is rated for 93 of 93 Nebraska counties in FEMA's National Risk Index. Douglas County carries the state's highest tornado score at 99.4, with $64M in expected annual tornado losses.

4 Nebraska counties are rated High or Very High for tornado, and expected annual losses from tornado total roughly $259M statewide. The full ranking below links to each county's complete 18-hazard risk profile.

County Rankings — Tornado

#CountyTornado ScoreRatingAnn. Freq.Ann. Loss
1 Douglas County
99.4
Very High 0.29 / yr $64M
2 Lancaster County
98.8
High 0.78 / yr $42M
3 Sarpy County
97.2
High 0.21 / yr $29M
4 Platte County
90.9
High 0.55 / yr $9M
5 Hall County
89.9
Medium 0.52 / yr $8M
6 Dodge County
84.2
Medium 0.44 / yr $6M
7 Madison County
83.1
Medium 0.42 / yr $6M
8 Adams County
79.6
Medium 0.57 / yr $5M
9 Gage County
78.4
Medium 0.80 / yr $4M
10 Dakota County
75.6
Medium 0.21 / yr $3M
11 Dawson County
72.7
Medium 0.71 / yr $3M
12 Buffalo County
72.0
Medium 0.85 / yr $4M
13 Cuming County
71.4
Medium 0.43 / yr $2M
14 Saline County
69.0
Medium 0.57 / yr $2M
15 York County
67.0
Medium 0.56 / yr $3M
16 Washington County
66.5
Medium 0.32 / yr $4M
17 Cass County
63.1
Low 0.48 / yr $3M
18 Lincoln County
62.8
Low 1.47 / yr $2M
19 Scotts Bluff County
60.0
Low 0.44 / yr $2M
20 Seward County
59.9
Low 0.55 / yr $3M
21 Saunders County
59.4
Low 0.66 / yr $3M
22 Colfax County
56.0
Low 0.34 / yr $2M
23 Clay County
54.3
Low 0.59 / yr $2M
24 Knox County
53.2
Low 0.74 / yr $1M
25 Boone County
52.0
Low 0.53 / yr $1M
26 Thurston County
51.7
Low 0.30 / yr $1M
27 Merrick County
51.5
Low 0.44 / yr $1M
28 Hamilton County
50.7
Low 0.51 / yr $2M
29 Butler County
50.6
Low 0.52 / yr $2M
30 Jefferson County
50.5
Low 0.55 / yr $1M
31 Otoe County
50.4
Low 0.53 / yr $2M
32 Custer County
50.3
Low 1.55 / yr $2M
33 Thayer County
49.3
Low 0.56 / yr $1M
34 Nemaha County
49.1
Low 0.35 / yr $1M
35 Richardson County
48.8
Low 0.44 / yr $1M
36 Burt County
46.6
Low 0.39 / yr $1M
37 Phelps County
45.0
Low 0.44 / yr $2M
38 Antelope County
43.8
Low 0.54 / yr $1M
39 Wayne County
43.5
Low 0.32 / yr $2M
40 Cedar County
42.8
Low 0.57 / yr $1M
41 Webster County
42.5
Low 0.59 / yr $709K
42 Fillmore County
41.9
Low 0.58 / yr $1M
43 Pierce County
41.6
Low 0.40 / yr $1M
44 Red Willow County
41.0
Low 0.51 / yr $1M
45 Holt County
38.9
Low 1.19 / yr $871K
46 Stanton County
38.9
Low 0.32 / yr $970K
47 Nuckolls County
38.4
Low 0.58 / yr $881K
48 Furnas County
37.2
Low 0.55 / yr $602K
49 Polk County
36.8
Low 0.40 / yr $1M
50 Howard County
35.9
Low 0.48 / yr $983K
51 Harlan County
35.8
Low 0.48 / yr $704K
52 Kearney County
35.8
Low 0.48 / yr $989K
53 Dixon County
35.6
Low 0.39 / yr $956K
54 Cheyenne County
35.4
Low 0.90 / yr $879K
55 Nance County
34.9
Low 0.39 / yr $752K
56 Franklin County
32.3
Low 0.53 / yr $497K
57 Box Butte County
31.1
Low 0.51 / yr $611K
58 Valley County
30.5
Low 0.39 / yr $547K
59 Frontier County
29.2
Low 0.66 / yr $361K
60 Johnson County
28.6
Low 0.33 / yr $675K
61 Pawnee County
28.2
Low 0.37 / yr $405K
62 Keith County
27.4
Low 0.63 / yr $483K
63 Cherry County
26.3
Low 1.86 / yr $339K
64 Chase County
25.3
Very Low 0.69 / yr $494K
65 Morrill County
25.2
Very Low 0.86 / yr $322K
66 Sherman County
25.0
Very Low 0.44 / yr $379K
67 Greeley County
24.7
Very Low 0.43 / yr $494K
68 Hitchcock County
24.6
Very Low 0.54 / yr $321K
69 Kimball County
23.9
Very Low 0.81 / yr $302K
70 Sheridan County
23.1
Very Low 0.90 / yr $265K
71 Dawes County
21.6
Very Low 0.52 / yr $354K
72 Gosper County
20.4
Very Low 0.34 / yr $315K
73 Perkins County
19.7
Very Low 0.61 / yr $314K
74 Brown County
19.3
Very Low 0.45 / yr $267K
75 Garfield County
17.8
Very Low 0.33 / yr $191K
76 Deuel County
17.4
Very Low 0.29 / yr $155K
77 Wheeler County
17.2
Very Low 0.37 / yr $181K
78 Dundy County
17.1
Very Low 0.77 / yr $243K
79 Boyd County
14.4
Very Low 0.26 / yr $179K
80 Garden County
14.1
Very Low 0.96 / yr $156K
81 Keya Paha County
13.5
Very Low 0.28 / yr $73K
82 Rock County
13.4
Very Low 0.42 / yr $153K
83 Hayes County
13.2
Very Low 0.50 / yr $128K
84 Hooker County
11.6
Very Low 0.25 / yr $65K
85 Sioux County
11.5
Very Low 0.86 / yr $107K
86 Blaine County
10.2
Very Low 0.31 / yr $61K
87 Loup County
10.0
Very Low 0.29 / yr $90K
88 Logan County
8.4
Very Low 0.26 / yr $65K
89 Thomas County
7.7
Very Low 0.27 / yr $62K
90 Banner County
7.6
Very Low 0.52 / yr $54K
91 Grant County
6.4
Very Low 0.30 / yr $39K
92 Arthur County
6.3
Very Low 0.33 / yr $38K
93 McPherson County
5.3
Very Low 0.37 / yr $33K

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Nebraska county has the highest tornado risk?

Douglas County has the highest FEMA tornado risk score in Nebraska at 99.4 (Very High), with $64M in expected annual losses and about 0.29 events per year.

How many Nebraska counties face significant tornado risk?

93 Nebraska counties record measurable tornado risk in FEMA's National Risk Index; 4 of them are rated High or Very High.

Other Hazards in Nebraska