Wheeler County

Every recorded tornado

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

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

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.

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.

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.

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jun 13, 2010Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Ericson Dam in Wheeler County, Nebraska failed Sunday evening, June 13th. Heavy rainfall contributed to water levels at the Ericson Dam that exceeded the maximum dam height, and water flowed into the emergency spillway. As debris gathered the spillway began to erode before 7 p.m. CST and the spillway breached, thereafter causing water to drain from the lake. Water levels behind the dam were estimated at 23 or 24 feet prior to dam failure. The floodwater flowed down Cedar River where the floodwater impacted approximately 15 homes and farmland in Wheeler County. At 845 p.m. CST, the floodwater reached the Wheeler and Greeley County line, with 6 inches of water was flowing over the…

2. Jul 1, 2012Drought, Wheeler$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe drought conditions (D2) set in during the third week of July and intensified to extreme drought conditions (D3) by the end of the month. Pastures that make up 67 percent of land use in Wheeler County (2007 Census USDA) were rated 69% poor or very poor by the end of the month. Pastures provided limited grazing capacity as the rainfall departure from normal fell below 3 inches. On July 23rd all counties in Nebraska were approved for CRP Emergency Haying and Grazing. Some producers began silage of corn. The drought continued into August.

3. Jul 5, 2000Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Extensive wind damage in and around Bartlett. A canopy was torn off a gas station, several trees branches and power lines were down, and several grain bins were damaged or destroyed. In addition, 20 R.E.A poles were snapped off and several center pivot irrigation systems were overturned south of Bartlett.

4. Mar 13, 2019Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Wheeler County EM reported extensive roadway flooding throughout the entire county. Nebraska Department of Roads reports roadway flooding from Ericson to the Junction of U.S. Highway 281 and Highway 91.

5. Jul 12, 2004Tornado$170,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down in a cornfield and overturned a center pivot irrigation system as it moved west southwestwards. Nearby, large tree limbs were broken off and a roof was taken off an open detached garage at a farmstead. Then the tornado encountered a second farmstead where it lifted an unanchored manufactured home and smashed it on top of a camper trailer and a detached garage, destroying them. It also lifted a semi-trailer and dropped it onto a John Deere tractor and a pickup sitting next to it. Debris from the house and garage was carried into the cornfield to the west. The tornado continued moving west southwestwards breaking tree limbs before lifting. A husband, wife,…

6. May 6, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$140,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Five center pivot irrigation systems were overturned from thunderstorm wind gusts south and southeast of Bartlett. In addition, a grain bin was pushed in and wind mills were destroyed.

7. Jul 12, 2004Tornado$130,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down in an grove of trees, uprooting and breaking off numerous large trees. As the tornado moved southeastwards, it encountered a farmstead where it ripped off the roof of the home, destroyed a machine shed and garage, and broke power poles. Before lifting, the tornado moved through a field and overturned the end of a center pivot irrigation system.

8. Jul 12, 2004Tornado$90,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down in open rangeland and then moved south breaking off and uprooting numerous large trees as it encountered a farmstead. One large tree fell on the roof of a home. As the tornado moved south across the road, it hit another farmstead. Again, it broke off and uprooted numerous large trees and broke many power poles. The barn and steel fencing was lifted and tossed 50 yards northwestwards into a tree belt behind the house. The roof of the home was taken off. A detached garage was demolished. Before lifting, the tornado moved through a corral south of the home where it severely injured or killed several horses. After the storm, two colts and a mare were found up in a tree.

9. Jun 12, 2010Flood$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms with prolonged heavy rain falling on already saturated ground caused widespread minor flooding. Three to five inches of rain contributed to numerous secondary roads being under water or washed away.

10. Apr 15, 2012Tornado$54,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A tornado briefly touched down and caused damage to a farmstead five miles northeast of Ericson. Damage occurred to two buildings where a pole barn sustained major damage and the canvas roof of a second larger outbuilding was destroyed.

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 11, 1954

All-time low

−38°FJan 12, 1912

Warmest night

80°FJun 18, 1953

Coldest day

−14°FJan 14, 2024

Wettest day

12.00 inJun 4, 1896

Snowiest day

22.0 inNov 26, 1919

Hottest year

1963mean 52.4°F

Coldest year

1996mean 44.3°F

Wettest year

199342.94 in

Driest year

201211.61 in

Snowiest season

54.5 in2000-01

Station Greeley (USC00253425), 2,020 ft elevation, 23.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1907 to October 27, 2026; 99.3% 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 USC00253425.
• 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.