Dawson County, Nebraska
Tornadoes, hail, floods and severe storms recorded here between 1953 and 2026, from NOAA's Storm Events Database. Search an address to see which tornadoes came closest to it.
58
Tornado reports
367
Hail reports
21
Floods since 1996
994
All events
5
Deaths
$105.0M
Property damage
Tornado paths in Dawson County
The part of each tornado’s path NOAA recorded in this county, 58 in all. Zoom in and the paths widen to their surveyed width.
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Year by year
All storm eventsTornadoes
NOAA's storm database records tornadoes back to 1950 and hail and thunderstorm wind back to 1955, but floods only from 1996 on. Older floods are missing here. For those, the U.S. Geological Survey's stream gauge records and flood reports are the place to look.
Most significant events
The strongest tornadoes, deadliest events and biggest damage here, up to 50.
Tornado F3 Tornado
Snowfall amounts ranged from 2 to 4 inches across the county, partially based off totals from surrounding counties. Local totals included 4.0 inches, reported by a CoCoRaHS observer located four miles east-southeast of Sumner, and 2.0 inches, reported by CoCoRaHS observer located…
Snowfall totals ranged from 2 to 5 inches, with the highest amounts occurring in northwestern portions of the county. A single fatality accident occurred late in the afternoon of the 24th near Interstate 80 interchange near Gothenburg.
A 46 year old female from Eustis died from injuries sustained in an automobile accident when she encountered flood waters over Highway 21 approximately 4 miles south of Cozad. The vehicle left the highway into a water-filled ditch and rolled onto its roof. The other occupant of t…
This tornado touched down southwest of Gothenburg and traveled north. It crossed Interstate 80 and passed about 2 miles west of the town of Gothenburg. The twister continued to the north and crossed from Dawson County into Custer County.
Emergency management reported widespread significant damage across Cozad from large hail up to four inches in diameter. The local hospital was damaged enough from broken windows, roof damage, and leaking water that patients had to be transferred to nearby hospitals for a period o…
There widespread reports of quarter to baseball size hail along and near this approximately 27 mile long path, causing widespread damage to vehicles, homes, and crops. The largest hail and most widespread vehicle and building damage occurred in Cozad. This hail was accompanied by…
A tornado developed within a line of thunderstorms northwest of Johnson Lake in far southern Dawson county just before 11:00 PM on Friday, May 5th. The tornado appeared to begin a couple miles northwest of the toppled three irrigation pivots before hitting the Lakeview Acres area…
An 81 MPH wind gust was measured by a mesonet station located 1 mile north-northeast of Cozad. Emergency management reported tree damage and downed power lines in the area, along with overturned pivots. One of the more notable damage scenes involved Cozad High School, where a lar…
Hail ranging in size from quarters to baseballs was reported in town by trained spotters and law enforcement officials.
High Wind High Wind
Sustained speeds near 40 MPH and wind gusts exceeding 50 MPH were common throughout the day based on surrounding observations.
Drought Drought
Hail Hail
Hail Hail
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A wind gust of 68 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located four miles southeast of Eddyville.
High Wind High Wind
The combination of a passing synoptic cold front and an outflow boundary from convection well to the north produced wind gusts near 60 MPH at times. A wind gust of 59 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located two miles north-northwest of Gothenburg. These wind gusts along wit…
Dust Storm Dust Storm
The combination of a passing synoptic cold front and an outflow boundary from convection well to the north produced wind gusts over 50 MPH at times. These wind gusts along with the dry conditions across the area resulted in widespread blowing dust, at times dropping visibility to…
Drought Drought
Drought Drought
Blizzard Blizzard
Snowfall amounts ranged from a trace in western portions of the county to near 4 inches in the far east-southeast. The highest reported totals included 3.0 inches from six miles southwest of Lexington and 2.0 inches from three miles west of Sumner. This snow, combined with the st…
High Wind High Wind
Wind gusts anywhere from 55 to near 70 MPH were common across the area. The peak measured wind gust for the county was 64 MPH, measured by a mesonet station located near Gothenburg.
High Wind High Wind
The peak measured wind gust was 62 MPH, recorded by a mesonet station located one mile north-northeast of Gothenburg.
Drought Drought
Winter Weather Winter Weather
Snowfall totals across the county were generally in the 2 to 6 inch range, with the highest reported total of 6.5 inches from a CoCoRaHS observer located six miles southwest of Lexington.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Some of the coldest wind chills of the event were recorded across the county, including -46 degrees by the Lexington Airport AWOS, -46 degrees by a Nebraska Mesonet station located four miles south of Lexington, and -44 degrees by a Nebraska Mesonet station located two miles nort…
Winter Weather Winter Weather
Snowfall totals across the county generally ranged from a dusting to around 4 inches, with the highest totals located across northeastern portions of the county.
Winter Weather Winter Weather
Snowfall totals across the county were generally in the 2 to 5 inch range, based on surrounding area observations.
Drought Drought
Winter Weather Winter Weather
Storm total amounts generally in the 2 to 5 inch range were reported across the county.
Drought Drought
Drought Drought
Drought Drought
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Wind gusts were estimated to be near 60 MPH.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A wind gust of 59 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located four miles north-northwest of Sumner.
Hail Hail
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A wind gust of 65 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located four miles southeast of Eddyville.
Hail Hail
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Wind gusts of 60 MPH were measured by mesonet stations located three miles north of Overton and two miles east-southeast of Overton.
Hail Hail
Hail ranging in size from quarters to tennis balls was reported along this path.
Hail Hail
Hail up to two inches in diameter was reported in the area.
Hail Hail
Events by year, as a table
| Year | Events | Tornadoes |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 3 | 0 |
| 2025 | 18 | 0 |
| 2024 | 44 | 0 |
| 2023 | 36 | 3 |
| 2022 | 40 | 0 |
| 2021 | 24 | 0 |
| 2020 | 24 | 0 |
| 2019 | 48 | 3 |
| 2018 | 29 | 0 |
| 2017 | 35 | 0 |
| 2016 | 22 | 0 |
| 2015 | 17 | 0 |
| 2014 | 31 | 0 |
| 2013 | 51 | 1 |
| 2012 | 40 | 0 |
| 2011 | 44 | 2 |
| 2010 | 42 | 0 |
| 2009 | 16 | 0 |
| 2008 | 37 | 1 |
| 2007 | 37 | 1 |
| 2006 | 18 | 0 |
| 2005 | 25 | 1 |
| 2004 | 29 | 1 |
| 2003 | 17 | 1 |
| 2002 | 10 | 0 |
| 2001 | 16 | 0 |
| 2000 | 30 | 2 |
| 1999 | 26 | 1 |
| 1998 | 20 | 3 |
| 1997 | 10 | 0 |
| 1996 | 12 | 0 |
| 1995 | 3 | 0 |
| 1994 | 9 | 0 |
| 1992 | 4 | 0 |
| 1991 | 1 | 0 |
| 1990 | 6 | 1 |
| 1989 | 5 | 1 |
| 1988 | 5 | 1 |
| 1987 | 3 | 1 |
| 1986 | 12 | 4 |
| 1985 | 6 | 1 |
| 1984 | 6 | 2 |
| 1983 | 2 | 0 |
| 1982 | 5 | 0 |
| 1981 | 4 | 0 |
| 1980 | 1 | 0 |
| 1979 | 7 | 0 |
| 1978 | 5 | 1 |
| 1977 | 5 | 1 |
| 1976 | 1 | 1 |
| 1975 | 4 | 3 |
| 1974 | 7 | 3 |
| 1973 | 1 | 0 |
| 1971 | 4 | 2 |
| 1970 | 5 | 1 |
| 1969 | 5 | 0 |
| 1968 | 4 | 1 |
| 1967 | 1 | 0 |
| 1965 | 1 | 0 |
| 1964 | 1 | 1 |
| 1960 | 2 | 1 |
| 1959 | 5 | 3 |
| 1958 | 6 | 3 |
| 1956 | 1 | 0 |
| 1955 | 3 | 3 |
| 1954 | 2 | 2 |
| 1953 | 1 | 1 |
Search your address
See every tornado that passed within 25 miles of a place in Dawson County, measured to its path.
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