Thomas County, Nebraska
Tornadoes, hail, floods and severe storms recorded here between 1962 and 2026, from NOAA's Storm Events Database. Search an address to see which tornadoes came closest to it.
9
Tornado reports
184
Hail reports
4
Floods since 1996
429
All events
1
Deaths
$6.1M
Property damage
Tornado paths in Thomas County
The part of each tornado’s path NOAA recorded in this county, 9 in all. Zoom in and the paths widen to their surveyed width.
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated
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.
A fire initiated along a trail during the mid afternoon hours of October 2nd in north central portions of the Nebraska National Forest at Halsey. Aided by very strong southerly winds, the fire quickly spread to the north and north northwest consuming the Nebraska 4 H camp. At thi…
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Drought Drought
Extreme (D3) drought conditions persisted across most of Thomas County through the end of June. Over northeastern portions of the county, extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to severe (D2) drought by the end of the month. The Cocorahs station at Thedford 0.3 E reported 3.66 …
Drought Drought
Extreme (D3) drought conditions persisted across all of Thomas County through the end of May.
Drought Drought
Severe (D2) drought conditions, transitioned to extreme (D3) drought conditions across all of Thomas County by the end of April.
Wildfire Wildfire
Fire initiated during the mid afternoon hours approximately 8 miles west-southwest of Halsey. Aided by strong west, then north winds, the fire moved east then south across a large portion of the Nebraska National Forest. By the time the fire was contained, 27,292 acres were consu…
Drought Drought
Moderate (D1) drought conditions, transitioned to severe (D2) drought conditions across all of Thomas County by the end of March.
High Wind High Wind
Northwest winds of 35 to 45 mph with gusts to as high as 70 mph were common across Thomas County during the late evening hours on December 17th through the morning hours on December 18th. The strongest winds occurred during the late evening hours on December 17th. A mesonet site …
High Wind High Wind
Northwest winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts as high as 60 mph were common across Thomas County during the mid afternoon hours into the mid evening hours. A mesonet site 10 miles south southeast of Thedford recorded a peak wind gust of 59 mph at 705 pm CST.
High Wind High Wind
Northwest winds of 30 to 40 mph with gusts to around 60 mph were common across Thomas County during the morning hours into the mid afternoon hours. A mesonet site 10 miles south southeast of Thedford recorded the highest peak wind gust of 61 mph at 1215 pm CST, while the Thedford…
Drought Drought
Severe (D2) drought conditions across far southeastern portions of Thomas County, improved to moderate (D1) drought conditions by the end of July.
Drought Drought
Severe (D2) drought conditions across far eastern and north central portions of Thomas County, improved to moderate (D1) drought conditions by the end of June. Over far southeastern portions of the county, severe (D2) drought conditions persisted through the end of June.
Drought Drought
Severe (D2) drought conditions persisted across far eastern and north central portions of Thomas County through the end of May. Over the remainder of the county, severe (D2) drought improved to moderate (D1) drought conditions by the end of the month.
Drought Drought
Severe (D2) drought conditions persisted across all of Thomas County through the end of April.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Across Thomas County, dangerous wind chill values of 30 below or colder began during the early morning hours on February 19th and again during the early morning hours February 20th. Although winds remained generally light throughout the event, winds combined to produce a lowest w…
Drought Drought
Severe (D2) drought conditions persisted across all of Thomas County through the end of February.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Across Thomas County, dangerous wind chill values of 30 below or colder began during the evening hours on January 20th through the early morning hours on January 21st. As winds diminished to light southwest and temperatures fell to 10 to 15 below zero, the winds combined to produ…
Drought Drought
Severe (D2) drought conditions persisted across all of Thomas County through the end of January.
Drought Drought
Severe (D2) drought conditions persisted across all of Thomas County through the end of December. The cooperative observer in Purdum reported 0.00 inches of precipitation in December.
Drought Drought
Severe (D2) drought conditions persisted across all of Thomas County through the end of November. The cooperative observer in Purdum reported 0.94 inches of precipitation in November.
Drought Drought
Abnormally dry (D0) and moderate (D1) drought conditions deteriorated to severe (D2) drought conditions across all of Thomas County by the end of October. The cooperative observer in Purdum reported 0.63 inches of precipitation in October.
Hail Hail
Hail Hail
Hail Hail
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Across Thomas County, a long duration of dangerous wind chill values of 30 below or colder began during the evening hours on January 12th through the morning hours on January 16th. Northerly winds as high as 20 to 35 mph occurred at times during the event. The winds combined to p…
Blizzard Blizzard
Northerly winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts to 45 mph at times occurred during the event, causing blizzard conditions. The Thedford AWOS recorded visibilities of a quarter mile or less at times during the afternoon hours on December 25th. Considerable blowing and drifting occurred…
Drought Drought
Severe (D2) drought conditions over the southern quarter of Thomas County, improved to abnormally dry (D0) conditions by the end of October.
Drought Drought
Severe (D2) drought conditions persisted through the end of September across the southern quarter of Thomas County.
Drought Drought
Severe (D2) drought conditions persisted through the end of August across the southern quarter of Thomas County. Over the remainder of the county, severe (D2) drought conditions improved to moderate (D1) drought by the end of the month.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Thedford / Thomas County Airport AWOS measured a 64 mph wind gust.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Public estimated peak wind gusts around 60 mph.
Hail Hail
Public reported hail to quarter size east of Seneca.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Public estimated 60 mph winds near Seneca.
Hail Hail
An NWS employee reported hail to quarter size south of Thedford.
Drought Drought
Severe (D2) drought conditions persisted through the end of July across most of Thomas County. Over far northeastern portions of the county, severe (D2) drought conditions improved to moderate (D1) drought conditions by the end of the month.
Drought Drought
Severe (D2) drought conditions persisted through the end of June across all of Thomas County.
Flash Flood Flash Flood
Highway 2 partially closed just east of Thedford with water over the road.
Flood Flood
Street flooding reported in Thedford.
Hail Hail
Hail Hail
Hail Hail
Hail Hail
Hail Hail
Hail Hail
Drought Drought
Extreme (D3) drought conditions improved to severe (D2) drought conditions by the end of May across all of Thomas County.
Drought Drought
Extreme (D3) drought conditions persisted over the northern half of Thomas County through the end of April. Across the southern half of the county, severe (D2) drought conditions deteriorated to extreme (D3) drought conditions by the end of the month.
Drought Drought
Extreme (D3) drought conditions persisted over the northern half of Thomas County through the end of March. Across the southern half of the county, severe (D2) drought conditions persisted through the end of the month.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Across Thomas County, dangerous wind chill values of 30 below or colder began during the early morning hours on February 23nd through the morning hours on February 23rd. Northerly winds as high as 20 to 35 mph occurred to produce a lowest wind chill of 34 below at the Thedford AW…
Events by year, as a table
| Year | Events | Tornadoes |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 7 | 0 |
| 2025 | 11 | 0 |
| 2024 | 7 | 0 |
| 2023 | 27 | 0 |
| 2022 | 17 | 0 |
| 2021 | 3 | 0 |
| 2020 | 10 | 1 |
| 2019 | 16 | 0 |
| 2018 | 7 | 0 |
| 2017 | 4 | 0 |
| 2016 | 5 | 0 |
| 2015 | 17 | 1 |
| 2014 | 24 | 0 |
| 2013 | 18 | 0 |
| 2012 | 12 | 0 |
| 2011 | 10 | 1 |
| 2010 | 19 | 1 |
| 2009 | 24 | 0 |
| 2008 | 11 | 0 |
| 2007 | 11 | 0 |
| 2006 | 16 | 0 |
| 2005 | 11 | 0 |
| 2004 | 8 | 0 |
| 2003 | 4 | 0 |
| 2002 | 15 | 0 |
| 2001 | 16 | 0 |
| 2000 | 10 | 0 |
| 1999 | 11 | 1 |
| 1998 | 12 | 0 |
| 1997 | 11 | 0 |
| 1996 | 18 | 0 |
| 1995 | 2 | 0 |
| 1994 | 1 | 0 |
| 1992 | 6 | 0 |
| 1990 | 2 | 0 |
| 1989 | 1 | 0 |
| 1988 | 1 | 0 |
| 1987 | 1 | 0 |
| 1986 | 6 | 2 |
| 1985 | 3 | 0 |
| 1983 | 3 | 0 |
| 1982 | 1 | 0 |
| 1981 | 2 | 0 |
| 1980 | 3 | 0 |
| 1978 | 1 | 0 |
| 1974 | 1 | 1 |
| 1973 | 1 | 0 |
| 1972 | 1 | 0 |
| 1962 | 1 | 1 |
Search your address
See every tornado that passed within 25 miles of a place in Thomas County, measured to its path.
We couldn’t get your location. Check that location access is allowed for this site, or type an address.