NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Aurora, NE
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Aurora, Nebraska since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 202 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 15 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 202
- EF3 or stronger
- 15
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
9 deaths in all
What the records show for Aurora
The strongest of the 202 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on May 5, 1964; its path came within 1 mile, and it killed 4 people. Of the 202, 25 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 69 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 69. The most recent tornado was on June 24, 2025. Aurora has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 94% of the 91 Nebraska cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 128 times since 1957, with stones up to 7 inches. Of the 91 Nebraska cities, 63% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Aurora.
Compare Aurora's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Aurora
By decade
- 2020s21
- 2010s22(2 EF3+)
- 2000s26(1 EF3+)
- 1990s31(3 EF3+)
- 1980s30(3 EF3+)
- 1970s28(3 EF3+)
- 1960s22(2 EF3+)
- 1950s22(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 1964 | F5 | 1 mi | 79.7 mi | 4 / 50 |
| Jun 3, 1980 | F4 | 16 mi | 1.1 mi | 3 / 110 |
| Mar 13, 1990 | F4 | 13 mi | 131 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Apr 7, 1978 | F4 | 9 mi | 31.2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 3, 1980 | F3 | 18 mi | 2.3 mi | 1 / 40 |
| Jun 3, 1980 | F3 | 20 mi | 6.4 mi | 1 / 25 |
| May 11, 2014 | EF3 | 17 mi | 20.21 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 2011 | EF3 | 22 mi | 9.49 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 9, 2001 | F3 | 18 mi | 18 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 1993 | F3 | 1 mi | 75 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 13, 1990 | F3 | 22 mi | 27 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 11, 1977 | F3 | 18 mi | 6.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 202, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Aurora
The Storm Prediction Center has 128 hail reports within 10 miles of Aurora since 1957, made on 95 separate days. Of these, 95 were 1 inch across or larger, and 15 reached 2 inches. The largest, 7 inches, fell on June 22, 2003. The most recent report is from April 17, 2025. May has the most reports, 33.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Aurora
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Aurora, NE, 2 miles north of Aurora at 1,785 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 36°F and 15°F. May is the wettest at 5.1 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 30.5 inches over 56 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 28 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 143 nights a year. Snowfall averages 27.3 inches a year, most of it in January. That 30.5 inches is more than at 48 of the 68 Nebraska stations used on this site (71%). Grand Island, 19 miles west, has its own station (Grand Island Airport, NE): 26.5 inches a year, 4.0 less than here, and a July average high of 88°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36 | 15 | 0.7 | 2 | 7.2 |
| Feb | 40 | 18 | 0.8 | 2 | 5.8 |
| Mar | 52 | 28 | 1.6 | 4 | 4.1 |
| Apr | 63 | 38 | 3.0 | 5 | 2.2 |
| May | 73 | 51 | 5.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 61 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 87 | 65 | 2.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 63 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 78 | 53 | 2.5 | 5 | 0.1 |
| Oct | 66 | 40 | 2.7 | 4 | 1.2 |
| Nov | 51 | 28 | 1.5 | 3 | 2.9 |
| Dec | 39 | 19 | 1.1 | 2 | 3.8 |
| Year | 63 | 40 | 30.5 | 56 | 27.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Aurora, NE (1,785 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Aurora
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 91 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Aurora: 70 thunderstorm wind reports, 16 heavy rain events and 5 flash floods. They killed 0 people and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $59.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on July 9, 2021. May has had the most flash floods, 3 of 5. Of the 89 Nebraska cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 19 have had fewer than Aurora.
May 29, 2008: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Aurora — 5 injured, $350,000 damage.
NWS: “A supercell that spawned a couple of tornadoes produced a rear flank downdraft (RFD) that traveled along Interstate 80. The event was recorded by a storm chaser that was located south of Aurora at the I-80 and Highway 14 junction.”
July 9, 2021: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Aurora — $20.0 million damage.
NWS: “A wind gust of 78 MPH was recorded by a mesonet station located just west of Aurora at 10:54 PM CDT and a gust of 64 MPH was recorded by a mesonet station located in Aurora at 10:57 PM CDT.”
July 9, 2021: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Aurora — $20.0 million damage.
NWS: “Wind gusts were estimated to be near 95 MPH through this area. Widespread significant tree damage, crop damage, downed power lines, snapped power poles, and power outages were reported along and near this path.”
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Hamilton County, which includes Aurora, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 21 of them major disasters (by incident: 14 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm and Straight-Line Winds, on May 21, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Hamilton County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes and lightning; Very Low for inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $20.4 million a year, the 13th highest of 93 Nebraska counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.6 million (37%), is from hail.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 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).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets 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).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Aurora
- Grand Island, NE19 mi
- Central City, NE20 mi
- Doniphan, NE21 mi
- York, NE22 mi
- Hastings, NE26 mi
- Geneva, NE31 mi
- Wood River, NE31 mi
- Juniata, NE33 mi
- Saint Paul, NE37 mi
- Gibbon, NE45 mi
- Seward, NE47 mi
- Ravenna, NE47 mi
All Nebraska cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Aurora with another place →