NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Imperial, 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 Imperial, Nebraska since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 86 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 86
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Imperial
The highest rating among the 86 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on May 2, 1991, came within 17 miles. Of the 86, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 39 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 34. The most recent tornado was on May 23, 2024. Of the 91 Nebraska cities on this site, 91% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Imperial. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 147 times since 1955, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Imperial has more hail reports within 10 miles than 54% of the 91 Nebraska cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Imperial
By decade
- 2020s11
- 2010s11
- 2000s17
- 1990s19(1 EF3+)
- 1980s8
- 1970s7
- 1960s7(1 EF3+)
- 1950s6(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 1991 | F3 | 17 mi | 13 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 6, 1967 | F3 | 18 mi | 40.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 5, 1953 | F3 | 17 mi | 9.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 26, 2021 | EF2 | 18 mi | 8.29 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 28, 2007 | EF2 | 17 mi | 15.93 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 21, 1995 | F2 | 23 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 1, 1990 | F2 | 7 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 1984 | F2 | 11 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 24, 1969 | F2 | 22 mi | 9.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 1967 | F2 | 1 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 1960 | F2 | in town | 1 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Aug 19, 2021 | EF1 | 23 mi | 0.01 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 86, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Imperial
The Storm Prediction Center has 147 hail reports within 10 miles of Imperial since 1955, made on 101 separate days. Of these, 122 were 1 inch across or larger, and 18 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on August 17, 1999. The most recent report is from May 5, 2023. June has the most reports, 52.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Imperial
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Imperial, NE, 2 miles southeast of Imperial at 3,294 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 42°F and 12°F. June is the wettest at 3.3 inches of precipitation on average and January and December the driest at 0.4 inches; the year adds up to 19.9 inches over 40 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 45 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 170 nights a year. Snowfall averages 26.0 inches a year, most of it in March. That 19.9 inches is more than at 9 of the 68 Nebraska stations used on this site (13%). Holyoke, CO, 33 miles west, has its own station (Holyoke, CO): 17.9 inches a year, 2.0 less than here, and a July average high of 88°F against 91°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42 | 12 | 0.4 | 1 | 4.0 |
| Feb | 45 | 15 | 0.6 | 2 | 4.8 |
| Mar | 56 | 23 | 1.1 | 3 | 5.1 |
| Apr | 64 | 31 | 2.0 | 4 | 2.7 |
| May | 73 | 44 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 85 | 55 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 91 | 60 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 89 | 58 | 2.5 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 81 | 48 | 1.4 | 3 | 0.1 |
| Oct | 67 | 33 | 1.6 | 3 | 2.3 |
| Nov | 54 | 22 | 0.5 | 2 | 3.7 |
| Dec | 43 | 14 | 0.4 | 1 | 3.2 |
| Year | 66 | 34 | 19.9 | 40 | 26.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Imperial, NE (3,294 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 Imperial
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 100 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Imperial: 90 thunderstorm wind reports, 6 flash floods, 2 heavy rain events, 1 flood and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $861,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 89 mph, on May 27, 2019. June 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 Imperial.
April 20, 2001: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Imperial — $250,000 damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorm wind blew down power lines and damaged trees.”
July 11, 2011: lightning strike 2 miles from the centre of Imperial — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Lightning struck the Imperial substation where major damage occurred to one of the eight reclosers, or breakers in the substation. A lightning strike hit the city shop taking out the city's $8,000 load management system as well.”
May 26, 2023: flood 4 miles from the centre of Imperial — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Highway 6 southeast of Imperial is closed with water over the roadway.”
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
Chase County, which includes Imperial, has been named in 12 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1990, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 flood, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Chase County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail; Relatively Low for strong wind; Very Low for tornadoes, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $4.8 million a year, the 65th highest of 93 Nebraska counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.7 million (36%), 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 Imperial
- Holyoke, CO33 mi
- Ogallala, NE40 mi
- Wray, CO43 mi
- Mc Cook, NE59 mi
- Yuma, CO59 mi
- North Platte, NE63 mi
- Oberlin, KS77 mi
- Sterling, CO81 mi
- Sidney, NE83 mi
- Goodland, KS83 mi
- Akron, CO84 mi
- Gothenburg, NE85 mi
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