Buffalo County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Buffalo County: 0.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the county boundary (or inside the county).
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jun 12, 2002Hail$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A wicked severe thunderstorm ripped across Buffalo and Kearney counties, dumping hail larger than softballs and causing about 100 million dollars in damage in those two counties. As the severe storm rolled across Buffalo county, it moved southeast along Highway 40 through Amherst, near Riverdale and eventually into the city of Kearney. In excess of 6000 structures will require roof, window, and siding repairs. In some cases, hail stones penetrated the shingles, sheeting, and interior ceiling drywall. One person reported an 8 inch diameter hole in their roof. Another home owner sustained $60,000 in damage. One more home owner reported hail stones landing on the living room couch,…

2. Jul 8, 2019Flash Flood$25.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Excessive rainfall, flash flooding, and severe winds occurred on this Monday afternoon and evening. Widely scattered thunderstorms began forming around 1 PM CST along and west of Highway 183. By 2 PM CST, a persistent line segment of thunderstorms began affecting western Dawson county. Over the following four hours, this southwest-northeast oriented line slowly crept east across Dawson county into western Buffalo county, with its southwest end moving from Gosper county into Phelps county. A downburst occurred in Cozad where winds were measured at 63 mph. Further east, trees were damaged near Elm Creek. This line of storms subsequently weakened as it moved into eastern Buffalo…

3. May 29, 2008Tornado$11.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado was the most organized tornado that hit the city of Kearney this night and was the most persistent. It appeared to stay on the ground for the majority of its 22 mile path in Buffalo County. The tornado did exit Buffalo County and entered Hall County. The tornado started in the northwest part of the city of Kearney where it damaged an apartment complex. It took the roof off of part of the complex, blew out a wall and stacked a couple of cars in the parking lot. The tornado then moved east, damaging trees in Harmon Park and took a part of the roof off a building near the hospital. At the Buffalo County Fairgrounds, it caused a portion of the Expo Center building to…

4. Jun 12, 2002Hail$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A wicked severe thunderstorm ripped across Buffalo and Kearney counties, dumping hail larger than softballs and causing about 100 million dollars in damage in those two counties. As the severe storm rolled across Buffalo county, it moved southeast along Highway 40 through Amherst, near Riverdale and eventually into the city of Kearney. In excess of 6000 structures will require roof, window, and siding repairs. In some cases, hail stones penetrated the shingles, sheeting, and interior ceiling drywall. One person reported an 8 inch diameter hole in their roof. Another home owner sustained $60,000 in damage. One more home owner reported hail stones landing on the living room couch,…

5. Jun 12, 2002Hail$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A wicked severe thunderstorm ripped across Buffalo and Kearney counties, dumping hail larger than softballs and causing about 100 million dollars in damage in those two counties. As the severe storm rolled across Buffalo county, it moved southeast along Highway 40 through Amherst, near Riverdale and eventually into the city of Kearney. In excess of 6000 structures will require roof, window, and siding repairs. In some cases, hail stones penetrated the shingles, sheeting, and interior ceiling drywall. One person reported an 8 inch diameter hole in their roof. Another home owner sustained $60,000 in damage. One more home owner reported hail stones landing on the living room couch,…

6. May 5, 2023Hail$8.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hail up to the size of ping pong balls was reported across Kearney.

7. Jun 20, 2011Tornado$6.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   After producing tornadoes in the Elm Creek area, this supercell thunderstorm continued on a northward path and produced what would be the strongest and one of two EF3 tornadoes of the day. This tornado touched down approximately 5 miles southwest of Amherst, curving to the north-northeast and missing the town by around 2 miles, before dissipating approximately 4 miles north of Amherst. Soon after the tornado touched down, a home suffered significant damage, and as the tornado crossed Highway 40, it intensified and produced a damage path at least 3/4 of a mile wide. The tornado knocked down large transmission lines along Highway 40, and overturned irrigation pivots. As it continued…

8. Jul 9, 2021Thunderstorm Wind$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Wind gusts estimated to be as high as 80 MPH, tree damage, and power outages occurred along and near this path. The peak measured gust was 68 MPH, recorded at 10:38 PM CDT by a mesonet station located three miles east-southeast of Kearney. Other measured gusts included 66 MPH at 10:24 PM CDT by a mesonet located 2 miles north-northeast of Kearney, 65 MPH at 10:22 PM CDT by a mesonet located 1 mile north of Kearney, and 63 MPH at 10:25 PM CDT by the Kearney Regional Airport AWOS. Law enforcement and emergency management reported at least one semi-truck, other trailers and campers were blown over on Interstate 80 in the Elm Creek area, with zero visibility due to wind and blowing…

9. Jul 8, 2019Flash Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Excessive rainfall, flash flooding, and severe winds occurred on this Monday afternoon and evening. Widely scattered thunderstorms began forming around 1 PM CST along and west of Highway 183. By 2 PM CST, a persistent line segment of thunderstorms began affecting western Dawson county. Over the following four hours, this southwest-northeast oriented line slowly crept east across Dawson county into western Buffalo county, with its southwest end moving from Gosper county into Phelps county. A downburst occurred in Cozad where winds were measured at 63 mph. Further east, trees were damaged near Elm Creek. This line of storms subsequently weakened as it moved into eastern Buffalo…

10. Aug 10, 2023Hail$5.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    A supercell thunderstorm produced a swath of severe weather across portions of south central Nebraska during the evening of August 10th. A weak upper level disturbance and associated surface front/trough sparked isolated thunderstorms in Dawson and Buffalo Counties between 4-5 PM CDT. These storms developed amidst warm surface temperatures (near 90 degrees) and strong instability (CAPE values near 2000 J/kg). The strong instability and adequate deep layer shear allowed the isolated storms to morph into a singular, dominant supercell that tracked from the Kearney area at around 5 PM, southeastward towards Superior by around 9 PM. Large hail was the primary severe threat, with…

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

114°FJul 24, 1936

All-time low

−30°FDec 23, 1989

Warmest night

80°F4 times, most recently Jul 25, 1940

Coldest day

−10°FFeb 7, 1933

Wettest day

5.95 inJun 25, 1989

Snowiest day

16.0 inMar 16, 1917

Hottest year

1938mean 54.8°F

Coldest year

1924mean 46.7°F

Wettest year

191540.07 in

Driest year

193411.22 in

Snowiest season

80.1 in1983-84

Station Kearney 4 Ne (USC00254335), 2,130 ft elevation, 3.2 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1901 to October 27, 2026; 99.5% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

Neighbouring counties

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00254335.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.