NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Cozad, 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 Cozad, 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 Cozad
The highest rating among the 88 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 8 times; the most recent, on May 17, 2019, came within 22 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on June 18, 1975, killed 1 person. Of the 88, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 32 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 31. The most recent tornado was on May 5, 2023. Of the 91 Nebraska cities on this site, 89% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Cozad. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 142 times since 1959, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Cozad has more hail reports within 10 miles than 49% of the 91 Nebraska cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Cozad
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s11(1 EF3+)
- 2000s20(2 EF3+)
- 1990s11
- 1980s10
- 1970s19(4 EF3+)
- 1960s5
- 1950s11(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 18, 1975 | F3 | 17 mi | 28.4 mi | 1 / 3 |
| May 17, 2019 | EF3 | 22 mi | 2.12 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 20, 2007 | EF3 | 18 mi | 15.74 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 17, 2000 | F3 | 21 mi | 11.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Sep 11, 1978 | F3 | 3 mi | 22.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 18, 1975 | F3 | 12 mi | 9.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 18, 1975 | F3 | 22 mi | 21.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 20, 1954 | F3 | 21 mi | 5.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 20, 2007 | EF2 | 12 mi | 18.92 mi | 0 / 9 |
| Oct 31, 2000 | F2 | 7 mi | 23 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 29, 1992 | F2 | 17 mi | 0.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 1986 | F2 | 20 mi | 1.5 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 Cozad
The Storm Prediction Center has 142 hail reports within 10 miles of Cozad since 1959, made on 98 separate days. Of these, 103 were 1 inch across or larger, and 11 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on August 10, 1996. The most recent report is from June 30, 2025. May has the most reports, 52.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Cozad
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Gothenburg, NE, 10 miles northwest of Cozad at 2,603 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 39°F and 16°F. May is the wettest at 4.1 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.4 inches; the year adds up to 24.2 inches over 47 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 34 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 155 nights a year. That 24.2 inches is more than at 17 of the 68 Nebraska stations used on this site (25%). Lexington, 14 miles southeast, has its own station (Canaday Steam Plt, NE): 23.4 inches a year, 0.8 less than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 88°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 39 | 16 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Feb | 42 | 19 | 0.6 | 2 |
| Mar | 54 | 27 | 1.1 | 3 |
| Apr | 63 | 37 | 2.7 | 5 |
| May | 72 | 48 | 4.1 | 7 |
| Jun | 83 | 59 | 3.7 | 7 |
| Jul | 88 | 63 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Aug | 85 | 62 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Sep | 78 | 52 | 1.7 | 4 |
| Oct | 65 | 39 | 1.9 | 4 |
| Nov | 51 | 26 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Dec | 40 | 17 | 0.6 | 2 |
| Year | 63 | 39 | 24.2 | 47 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Gothenburg, NE (2,603 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 Cozad
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 67 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Cozad: 57 thunderstorm wind reports, 6 flash floods and 4 heavy rain events. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $18.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on July 21, 2006. May has had the most flash floods, 5 of 6. Of the 89 Nebraska cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 29 have had fewer than Cozad.
May 11, 2005: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Cozad — $4.0 million damage.
July 10, 2014: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Cozad — $4.0 million damage.
August 11, 2019: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Cozad — $1.5 million damage.
NWS: “An 81 MPH wind gust was measured by a mesonet station located 1 mile north-northeast of Cozad. Emergency management reported tree damage and downed power lines in the area, along with overturned pivots.”
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
Flood insurance policyholders in Cozad's ZIP code 69130 have filed 15 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 2008, and were paid $213,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. Of the 41 Nebraska cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 5 have fewer than Cozad.
Dawson County, which includes Cozad, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1978, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 fire). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on September 24, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Dawson County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for hail and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes; Relatively Low for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $23.4 million a year, the 12th highest of 93 Nebraska counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $9.2 million (39%), 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 Cozad
- Gothenburg, NE11 mi
- Lexington, NE14 mi
- Broken Bow, NE41 mi
- Holdrege, NE44 mi
- North Platte, NE45 mi
- Kearney, NE48 mi
- Mc Cook, NE56 mi
- Ravenna, NE58 mi
- Gibbon, NE59 mi
- Minden, NE61 mi
- Wood River, NE72 mi
- Norton, KS72 mi
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