Thayer County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Thayer County: 6.
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 (5).

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. Jun 22, 2003Tornado$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong tornado set down on the southeast side of Deshler near the fairgrounds and moved west through the south side of Deshler. The slow moving tornado lifted a couple of miles west of town.

2. May 22, 2004Tornado$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado traveled 8 miles and damaged 6 farmsteads. One house was hit by the tornado. Damage was so severe; the owners burnt the 120 year old house. A machine shed was destroyed toward the end of the tornadoes path. Three semi-trucks were stacked on top of each other at one site. Several center pivot systems were destroyed.

3. Aug 9, 2025Thunderstorm Wind$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A swath of wind with gusts estimated to be as high as 90 MPH swept through the west-northwest portions of Thayer County. Peak measured gusts included the following: 85 MPH, measured by a mesonet station located four miles east-southeast of Deshler; 85 MPH, measured by a mesonet station located three miles west-southwest of Carleton; 83 MPH, measured by mesonet stations located four miles northwest of Deshler and one mile north of Deshler; 72 MPH, measured by a mesonet station located five miles south-southwest of Carleton. Widespread tree and crop damage was reported along and within a few miles either side of this path. Several large trees were snapped and large limbs were…

4. May 8, 1996Tornado$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado set down 5 miles southwest of Gilead and traveled northeast. The tornado totally destroyed the St. Paul Lutheran Church and did extensive damage to the Parsonage. The roof of the church ended up entering the kitchen of the Parsonage. The tornado also did considerable damage to 3 other farmsteads along its path.

5. Jul 9, 2021Thunderstorm Wind$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The peak measured wind gusts was 71 MPH, recorded at 11:37 PM CDT by a mesonet station located three miles east-southeast of Carleton. Other gusts included: 67 MPH, recorded at 11:45 PM CDT by a mesonet station located three miles east-southeast of Belvidere; 59 MPH, recorded at 11:41 PM CDT by a mesonet station located four miles northeast of Belvidere; 59 MPH, recorded at 11:21 PM CDT by a mesonet station located 2 miles south-southeast of Davenport. Emergency management reported power outages, tree and crop damage along and near this path, including a tree that fell onto a car in Alexandria. Corn was flattened in many spots, with at least a half-dozen pivots overturned. A power…

6. Jun 22, 2003Flash Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms erupted during the evening in south-central Nebraska. One storm near Aurora produced very large hail. One stone measured by an NWS Storm Survey team was determined to be the largest sized stone to fall in the United States. It measured 7 inches in diameter and 18.75 inches in circumference. Many other large stones were noted on the northern side of Aurora. Given the lack of wind, damage was limited to roofs, a few windows and some crop land near town. The storm also produced a couple of brief small tornadoes as it slowly moved through northern Hamilton county.At nearly the same time, another very slow moving storm produced several tornadoes, hail and extremely heavy…

7. May 6, 2015Tornado$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This is a continuation of the tornado that touched down west-northwest of Webber in Jewell County, KS, traveling northeast through the very northwest corner of Republic County, KS, before entering Nebraska near the town of Hardy in Nuckolls County. It continued traveling northeast into Thayer County, lifting northwest of Deshler. This tornado was rated an EF2, with an estimated peak wind speed of 122 MPH. EF2 damage was noted in both Jewell County, KS and Nuckolls County, NE.||Damage along this tornado path included numerous pivots overturned and snapped power poles. There was a large amount of tree damage noted. In addition, in Thayer County, grain bins and outbuildings were…

8. May 6, 2015Flash Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Central portions of Thayer County was the hardest hit in the NWS Hastings coverage area. A swath of 5 to 9 inches of rain, with locally higher amounts of 10 to 11 inches, was reported across the the county. Portions of Highways 81, 136 and 53 were closed for a period of time during the evening. In Hebron, a bridge was washed out, reducing the access to the local hospital and nursing/assisted living facilities down to just one road. In Deshler, water at least 6 inches deep resulted in the evacuation of 6 homes as well as a nursing home. A total of 43 residents were taken to a shelter at the local high school. At least 4 bridges and many miles of county roads were damaged by the flooding.

9. Jun 23, 2003Flood, Thayer$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms erupted during the evening in south-central Nebraska. One storm near Aurora produced very large hail. One stone measured by an NWS Storm Survey team was determined to be the largest sized stone to fall in the United States. It measured 7 inches in diameter and 18.75 inches in circumference. Many other large stones were noted on the northern side of Aurora. Given the lack of wind, damage was limited to roofs, a few windows and some crop land near town. The storm also produced a couple of brief small tornadoes as it slowly moved through northern Hamilton county.At nearly the same time, another very slow moving storm produced several tornadoes, hail and extremely heavy…

10. Sep 10, 2015Hail$1.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Photos received via social media showed several hailstones between 2 and 3 inches in diameter. There were numerous reports of significant vehicle, home window and siding damage in the area. There was also damage to crops.

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°F2 times, most recently Jul 13, 1954

All-time low

−34°FFeb 12, 1899

Warmest night

89°FAug 26, 1955

Coldest day

−9°F2 times, most recently Jan 18, 1943

Wettest day

8.59 inMay 7, 2015

Snowiest day

15.0 inMar 17, 1924

Hottest year

1934mean 57.4°F

Coldest year

1993mean 48.5°F

Wettest year

190246.01 in

Driest year

193412.35 in

Snowiest season

63.8 in1959-60

Station Hebron (USC00253735), 1,480 ft elevation, 2.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 26, 2026; 96.1% 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 USC00253735.
• 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.