Nemaha County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Nemaha County: 1.
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.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by NE Univ of NE Lincoln (3).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

Costliest events since 1996

1. Aug 10, 2025Thunderstorm Wind$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A damaging wind event impacted Nemaha County, Nebraska, on the morning of August 10th, 2025, primarily affecting the northwest to north-central portion of the county. The severity of the storm was characterized by a single, significant damage report 4 miles southeast of Julian, where straight-line wind gusts were estimated as high as 95 miles per hour by Emergency Management. This high-end wind estimate was based on the destruction of a grain bin and a shed in the area.||Although only one report was officially documented in the county, the resulting damage was larger. The estimated cost for repairs to public infrastructure in Nemaha County was $1,224,827.00. This relatively high…

2. May 23, 1996Flash Flood$680,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rains resulted in flash flooding and flooding along the Little Nemaha River and across Nemaha County from the 9th through the 12th, the 23rd, and the 25th through the 31st. Damage to bridges and culverts was estimated at $682,000 and damage to crops was $2.1 million.

3. Dec 10, 2007Ice Storm, Nemaha$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Freezing rain accumulated between 1/2 and 1 inch across the county causing widespread minor to moderate tree damage, especially across the eastern and southern ends of the county. Signifcant tree damage was noted in Auburn and Peru and along the Steamboat Trace Trail between Peru and Brownville, which caused the trails closure for over a week. A few power lines were downed and other damage was also noted in a few locations.

4. Jun 11, 2010Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain over much of eastern Nebraska and western Iowa during most of June caused a prolonged period of flooding along the Missouri River, especially downstream of Omaha through Rulo. The river near Brownville climbed above flood stage during the afternoon on June 11th and remained above flood stage into July. The river at Brownville crested at close to 43 feet during the evening of June 23rd, flood stage is 32 feet. This was the 2nd highest crest at Brownville second only to the flood of July 1993. An earlier crest of around 42 feet was recorded on 6/16/10. Besides considerable flooding of lowlands along the river, several roads were flooded including one that lead to the…

5. Apr 24, 2008Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down on the southwest edge of Johnson near Chestnut and 1st Streets. The tornado moved northeast across town causing EF1 damage to several buildings in downtown Johnson along Main Street between 2nd and 3rd Streets. The tornado weakened as it approached the high school and then lifted around Walnut and 5th Streets.||Roofing material and the facade of several buildings were peeled or collapsed. Hardwood and softwood trees were snapped along the path and 2 garages were pushed off of their foundations. A building next to the fire station also had a large garage door blown in. No injuries were reported.

6. Jun 1, 2011Flood$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding along the Missouri River gradually worsened during June as record releases from Gavins Point Dam and periodic heavy rains brought widespread flooding along the river. The Missouri River at Brownville started June around 39 feet, flood stage is 33 feet. The river gradually climbed to a record crest around 45 feet by the end of the month before falling as downstream levees were breached and widened by flooding. However, significant flooding persisted into July. One man drowned early on June 26th when the boat he was fishing in capsized as it traveled from the Little Nemaha River, where it was launched, onto the flood waters of the Missouri River. Roads, including Highway…

7. Sep 1, 2011Flood$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding along the Missouri River gradually worsened over Nemaha county during June as record releases from Gavins Point Dam and periodic heavy rains brought widespread flooding along the river. The river at Brownville started June around 39 feet, flood stage is 33 feet. The river gradually climbed to a record crest around 45 feet by the end of that month before falling as downstream levees were breached and widened by flooding. Moderate flooding persisted through July and into late August before the river fell even more due to decreased releases from upstream reservoirs. However, minor flooding persisted through September and into early October. At the peak of the flooding…

8. Oct 31, 2000Tornado$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A brief touchdown of a tornado destroyed 3 outbuildings and did some roof damage of a farm house southwest of Brock.

9. Jun 17, 2014Flood$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several episodes of heavy rain caused prolonged flooding along the Missouri River. At Brownville the river reached around 38.5 feet during the early morning hours of June 25th, flood stage is 33 feet. The flooding impacted a few roads and cabins near the river and also flooded farmland. This flooding continued into July.

10. Aug 1, 2011Flood$25,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Flooding along the Missouri River gradually worsened over Nemaha county during June as record releases from Gavins Point Dam and periodic heavy rains brought widespread flooding along the River. The river at Brownville started June around 39 feet, flood stage is 33 feet. The river gradually climbed to a record crest around 45 feet by the end of that month before falling as downstream levees were breached and widened by flooding. Moderate flooding persisted through July and into late August before the river fell even more due to decreased releases from upstream reservoirs. However, minor flooding persisted into September. Roads, including Highway 136 in Missouri, and the access…

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

113°FAug 9, 1934

All-time low

−35°FFeb 13, 1905

Warmest night

87°F2 times, most recently Jul 25, 1936

Coldest day

−11°F2 times, most recently Dec 22, 1989

Wettest day

6.62 inJul 6, 1929

Snowiest day

15.0 inNov 20, 1900

Hottest year

1921mean 57.4°F

Coldest year

1917mean 49.4°F

Wettest year

192957.15 in

Driest year

198815.83 in

Snowiest season

61.7 in2009-10

Station Auburn 5 Ese (USC00250435), 968 ft elevation, 5.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1899 to October 27, 2026; 99.6% 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 USC00250435.
• 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.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• 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.