Seward County

Every recorded tornado

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

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. May 11, 2014Tornado$2.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado crossed into Seward county from York county and was the most intense tornado during this outbreak with a track of around 14 miles in Seward county. The tornado moved just north of the city of Cordova crossing State Highway 76A. Here the tornado impacted several rural residents. High end EF2 damage was done to one brick home where the roof was completely removed and some external walls were knocked down. The tornado continued northeast crossing Yankee Hill Rd less than a mile from State Highway 76A, and this is where the most significant damage occurred. Here a well built brick home had the roof completely removed, exterior walls knocked down, and a couple of interior…

2. Oct 25, 1997Heavy Snow, Seward$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A major early season snowstorm struck the area. A heavy wet snowfall of 6 to 14 inches fell on trees, many of which were still fully or partially leafed, and caused extensive damage and/or total destruction. At least 205,000 residents in the affected area were without power just after the storm, many of the outages lasted for several days. Omaha Public Power District estimated that it was the worst outage in 50 years. Nearly 85% of the trees in the Omaha area and 25% of the trees in the Lincoln area sustained damage or were totally destroyed. Many emergency shelters in and around the Omaha and Lincoln areas were opened for use by those who suffered a hardship from the storm.

3. Aug 9, 2025Thunderstorm Wind$1.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A damaging wind event tracked across Seward County, Nebraska, on the morning of August 9th, 2025, impacting areas from the southwest to the eastern portion of the county. The storm produced a number of strong, measured wind gusts, with the highest recorded being 82 miles per hour from a public weather station 3 miles south-southwest of Seward. Other measured gusts were consistently severe, including 80 miles per hour 2 miles south of Milford, and 76 miles per hour 2 miles southeast of Seward, indicating a widespread high-wind event across the county.||The measured gusts translated into significant damage, with numerous reports estimating winds in the 70 to 80 miles per hour range.…

4. Jun 13, 2001Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A slow moving tornado tracked from south of Seward to just east of town with a total track length of 8 miles. The tornado was caught on film by several chasers. The tornado destroyed an entire farmstead and a propane and anhydrous ammonia tank farm and machine shed. Several vehicles were tumbled and tossed into a field across from the farm house. The tornado was at its maximum intensity at the farmstead it destroyed. Northeast of highway 34 the tornado struck several sheds and barns.

5. Jun 15, 1996Lightning$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning destroyed a landmark church in Goehner.

6. May 12, 2005Flood, Seward$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Very heavy rain fell along the Lincoln Creek and Big Blue River basins in Seward county and locations upstream. Rainfall of 3 to 5 inches was common over this area during the 24 hours ending on the morning of May 12th. The rain caused Lincoln Creek, the Big Blue River and Plum Creek to flood near Seward. Lincoln Creek reached 19.8 feet at 745 pm May 12th, flood stage is 15 feet. The Big Blue River reached 19.5 feet at 1000 pm May 14th, flood stage is 18 feet. Both the Creek and River dropped below flood stage by the 15th. Farm fields and many county roads from around Staplehurst to near Seward were flooded along with some farm outbuildings and a few basements of farm homes. A few…

7. Mar 15, 2014Wildfire, Seward$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Wind fueled a fire that started as controlled burn causing to get out of control and burn 1,000 acres from 168th and Bluff Roads nearly all the way to Highway 34 two miles to the south. The area is a few miles southeast of Garland. The flames destroyed a machine shed with machinery in it, scorched the side of a horse barn and also damaged equipment at another property nearby. Crews from more than a dozen fire departments responded. The Nebraska State Patrol helicopter helped spot the fire from the air.

8. May 27, 1996Flood, Seward$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rains throughout the month of May saturated soils and produced flooding along the Big Blue River and the Lincoln Creek from May 27th through the 28th. Damage to roads and ditches was estimated at $100,000.

9. Jun 5, 2015Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Significant flooding occurred along the West Fork of Big Blue River, especially upstream of Dorchester near Beaver Crossing. Here some county road were closed and structures near the river channel at Beaver Crossing were flooded. Only minor low-land agricultural flooding near the river channel was observed near Dorchester.

10. Jul 16, 2008Flood$25,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Rainfall of 3.5 inches fell overnight on July 15-16 in the Milford area. This caused flooding along Coon Creek which flooded a park and golf course on the south side of town and also closed a few county roads in the area.

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°F2 times, most recently Jul 26, 1936

All-time low

−30°F2 times, most recently Jan 27, 1936

Warmest night

91°FJul 25, 1936

Coldest day

−10°F4 times, most recently Dec 24, 1983

Wettest day

6.00 inJul 5, 1908

Snowiest day

13.5 inJan 21, 1915

Hottest year

1931mean 55.6°F

Coldest year

2014mean 48.0°F

Wettest year

190845.91 in

Driest year

193415.62 in

Snowiest season

62.0 in1948-49

Station Seward (USC00257715), 1,501 ft elevation, 3.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1900 to October 27, 2026; 86.3% 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 USC00257715.
• 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.