NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Broken Bow, 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 Broken Bow, Nebraska since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 88 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 88
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Broken Bow
The strongest of the 88 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on May 30, 1961; its path came within 15 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on July 8, 1955, killed 1 person. Of the 88, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 35 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 32. The most recent tornado was on July 23, 2025. Of the 91 Nebraska cities on this site, 89% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Broken Bow. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 139 times since 1955, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Of the 91 Nebraska cities, 54% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Broken Bow.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Broken Bow
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s7
- 2000s23
- 1990s11(1 EF3+)
- 1980s4
- 1970s20(4 EF3+)
- 1960s7(3 EF3+)
- 1950s11
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 30, 1961 | F4 | 15 mi | 48.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 1, 1990 | F3 | 1 mi | 25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 26, 1974 | F3 | 22 mi | 6.1 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 26, 1974 | F3 | 4 mi | 5.6 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Apr 20, 1974 | F3 | 23 mi | 63.5 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jul 20, 1972 | F3 | 6 mi | 32.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 1961 | F3 | 15 mi | 48.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 1961 | F3 | 15 mi | 48.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 8, 1955 | F2 | 23 mi | 31.2 mi | 1 / 13 |
| Jun 7, 2024 | EF2 | 22 mi | 1.73 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 31, 2000 | F2 | 4 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 31, 2000 | F2 | 17 mi | 23 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 88, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Broken Bow
The Storm Prediction Center has 139 hail reports within 10 miles of Broken Bow since 1955, made on 100 separate days. Of these, 109 were 1 inch across or larger, and 18 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on June 14, 1980. The most recent report is from July 23, 2025. June has the most reports, 45.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Broken Bow
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Broken Bow Municipal Airport, NE, 2 miles north of Broken Bow at 2,530 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 38°F and 15°F. May is the wettest at 4.0 inches of precipitation on average and January and December the driest at 0.4 inches; the year adds up to 23.2 inches over 44 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 31 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 164 nights a year. That 23.2 inches is more than at 12 of the 68 Nebraska stations used on this site (18%). Ord, 39 miles east, has its own station (Ord Evelyn Sharp Field, NE): 24.1 inches a year, 0.9 more than here, and the same July average high, 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38 | 15 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Feb | 41 | 17 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Mar | 53 | 27 | 1.2 | 3 |
| Apr | 62 | 36 | 2.7 | 5 |
| May | 71 | 47 | 4.0 | 7 |
| Jun | 82 | 58 | 3.5 | 7 |
| Jul | 87 | 63 | 3.2 | 6 |
| Aug | 86 | 60 | 2.6 | 5 |
| Sep | 78 | 50 | 2.2 | 4 |
| Oct | 65 | 37 | 1.9 | 3 |
| Nov | 51 | 24 | 0.6 | 2 |
| Dec | 40 | 17 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Year | 63 | 38 | 23.2 | 44 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Broken Bow Municipal Airport, NE (2,530 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 Broken Bow
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 91 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Broken Bow: 73 thunderstorm wind reports, 16 flash floods, 1 flood and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on June 21, 2013. May has had the most flash floods, 6 of 16. Of the 89 Nebraska cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 75 have had fewer than Broken Bow.
October 12, 2023: flash flood in Broken Bow — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “Public reports flooding with buildings inundated at the Custer County Fairgrounds.”
June 21, 2013: thunderstorm wind in Broken Bow — $200,000 damage.
NWS: “Strong winds downed power lines and produced extensive tree damage in Broken Bow. Additional damage included overturned center pivots east of town and in Callaway.”
June 22, 2012: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Broken Bow — $150,000 damage.
NWS: “Downburst winds up to 70 mph caused extensive tree damage and loss of power to half the city of Broken Bow. Reports of wind damage extended through west central Custer County to include Callaway and Arnold, where fallen tree limbs caused damage to homes, parks and power lines.”
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
Custer County, which includes Broken Bow, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1978, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 12 severe storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Straight-Line Winds, on July 27, 2022. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Custer County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and strong wind; Very Low for lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $11.1 million a year, the 35th highest of 93 Nebraska counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.6 million (59%), 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 Broken Bow
- Ord, NE39 mi
- Burwell, NE39 mi
- Cozad, NE41 mi
- Gothenburg, NE41 mi
- Lexington, NE43 mi
- Ravenna, NE47 mi
- Kearney, NE55 mi
- Gibbon, NE60 mi
- Saint Paul, NE61 mi
- North Platte, NE62 mi
- Wood River, NE68 mi
- Holdrege, NE68 mi
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