NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Bayard, 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 Bayard, Nebraska since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 117 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 117
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Bayard
The strongest of the 117 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on June 27, 1955; its path passed within a mile of the city centre, and it killed 2 people. Of the 117, 17 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 45 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 47. The most recent tornado was on August 8, 2023. Of the 91 Nebraska cities on this site, 58% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Bayard. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 127 times since 1956, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Of the 91 Nebraska cities, 65% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Bayard.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Bayard
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s22
- 2000s15
- 1990s27(1 EF3+)
- 1980s11(1 EF3+)
- 1970s15(1 EF3+)
- 1960s9
- 1950s10(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 27, 1955 | F4 | in town | 26 mi | 2 / 29 |
| Jun 9, 1991 | F3 | 8 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 1985 | F3 | 15 mi | 48 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 20, 1978 | F3 | 21 mi | 53.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 23, 2023 | EF2 | 15 mi | 2.48 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 12, 2017 | EF2 | 3 mi | 31.65 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 27, 2005 | F2 | 16 mi | 17 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 6, 1994 | F2 | 18 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 26, 1993 | F2 | 19 mi | 3.8 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Aug 31, 1978 | F2 | 20 mi | 25.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 31, 1978 | F2 | 9 mi | 20.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 1977 | F2 | 7 mi | 1.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 117, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Bayard
The Storm Prediction Center has 127 hail reports within 10 miles of Bayard since 1956, made on 97 separate days. Of these, 99 were 1 inch across or larger, and 21 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on June 3, 2014. The most recent report is from July 6, 2025. June and July have the most reports, 45 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Bayard
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Bridgeport, NE, 13 miles southeast of Bayard at 3,666 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 60°F; December is the coolest, at 41°F and 16°F. May is the wettest at 3.3 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.4 inches; the year adds up to 18.8 inches over 42 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 57 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 164 nights a year. Snowfall averages 38.7 inches a year, most of it in February. That 18.8 inches is more than at 6 of the 68 Nebraska stations used on this site (9%). Minatare, 10 miles northwest, has its own station (Scottsbluff Heilig Airport, NE): 15.6 inches a year, 3.2 less than here, and a July average high of 91°F against 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41 | 16 | 0.4 | 1 | 6.2 |
| Feb | 45 | 18 | 0.5 | 2 | 8.0 |
| Mar | 56 | 26 | 0.9 | 3 | 5.1 |
| Apr | 64 | 33 | 2.2 | 5 | 4.3 |
| May | 73 | 44 | 3.3 | 7 | 0.7 |
| Jun | 85 | 54 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 92 | 60 | 2.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 89 | 58 | 2.1 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 81 | 48 | 1.7 | 4 | 0.3 |
| Oct | 66 | 34 | 1.3 | 3 | 1.5 |
| Nov | 52 | 24 | 0.6 | 2 | 4.8 |
| Dec | 41 | 16 | 0.5 | 1 | 7.8 |
| Year | 65 | 36 | 18.8 | 42 | 38.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Bridgeport, NE (3,666 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 Bayard
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 33 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Bayard: 26 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 flash floods, 3 heavy rain events and 1 flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $29,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on July 24, 2009.
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
Morrill County, which includes Bayard, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 2001, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 fires, 2 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Wildfires, on June 30, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Morrill County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail and lightning; Relatively Low for strong wind; Very Low for tornadoes, inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $8.0 million a year, the 54th highest of 93 Nebraska counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.7 million (21%), is from inland flooding.
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 Bayard
- Minatare, NE10 mi
- Gering, NE18 mi
- Scottsbluff, NE19 mi
- Mitchell, NE27 mi
- Alliance, NE34 mi
- Kimball, NE41 mi
- Sidney, NE45 mi
- Torrington, WY51 mi
- Chadron, NE73 mi
- Sterling, CO79 mi
- Gordon, NE87 mi
- Cheyenne, WY89 mi
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