NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Lexington, 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 Lexington, Nebraska since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 102 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 102
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Lexington
The highest rating among the 102 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 6 times; the most recent, on June 20, 2011, came within 20 miles. Of the 102, 12 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 34 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 32. The most recent tornado was on October 12, 2023. Of the 91 Nebraska cities on this site, 74% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Lexington. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 153 times since 1956, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Lexington has more hail reports within 10 miles than 57% of the 91 Nebraska cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Lexington
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s14(1 EF3+)
- 2000s16
- 1990s16(2 EF3+)
- 1980s15
- 1970s19(2 EF3+)
- 1960s5
- 1950s13(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 20, 2011 | EF3 | 20 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 6, 1993 | F3 | 14 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 6, 1993 | F3 | 17 mi | 60 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Sep 11, 1978 | F3 | 10 mi | 22.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 20, 1974 | F3 | 20 mi | 63.5 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Apr 20, 1954 | F3 | 21 mi | 5.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 2011 | EF2 | 19 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Oct 31, 2000 | F2 | 7 mi | 23 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 16, 1998 | F2 | 17 mi | 24 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 6, 1993 | F2 | 20 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 1977 | F2 | 17 mi | 1.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 22, 1975 | F2 | 17 mi | 1.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 102, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Lexington
The Storm Prediction Center has 153 hail reports within 10 miles of Lexington since 1956, made on 95 separate days. Of these, 102 were 1 inch across or larger, and 13 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on September 21, 2023. The most recent report is from July 19, 2025. May has the most reports, 46.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Lexington
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Canaday Steam Plt, NE, 7 miles south of Lexington at 2,362 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 38°F and 15°F. June is the wettest at 3.9 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.4 inches; the year adds up to 23.4 inches over 43 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 29 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 154 nights a year. Snowfall averages 20.0 inches a year, most of it in January. That 23.4 inches is more than at 14 of the 68 Nebraska stations used on this site (21%). Cozad, 14 miles northwest, has its own station (Gothenburg, NE): 24.2 inches a year, 0.8 more than here, and a July average high of 88°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38 | 15 | 0.4 | 1 | 5.9 |
| Feb | 41 | 18 | 0.5 | 2 | 4.9 |
| Mar | 53 | 27 | 1.2 | 3 | 2.3 |
| Apr | 62 | 37 | 2.5 | 4 | 1.0 |
| May | 72 | 48 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 82 | 59 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 64 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 62 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 78 | 52 | 1.8 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 65 | 38 | 1.7 | 3 | 0.6 |
| Nov | 51 | 26 | 0.7 | 2 | 1.9 |
| Dec | 40 | 18 | 0.6 | 1 | 3.3 |
| Year | 63 | 39 | 23.4 | 43 | 20.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Canaday Steam Plt, NE (2,362 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 Lexington
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 84 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Lexington: 76 thunderstorm wind reports, 5 flash floods, 2 floods and 1 heavy rain event. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $23.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 105 mph, on June 7, 2010. July 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 Lexington.
July 10, 2014: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Lexington — $5.0 million damage.
NWS: “Wind gusts near and in Lexington were estimated to be between 60 and 70 MPH. These winds accompanied hail ranging in size from quarters to half dollars.”
May 11, 2005: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Lexington — $4.0 million damage.
August 2, 2017: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Lexington — $3.0 million damage.
NWS: “Wind gusts estimated to be near 60 MPH accompanied hail to the size of golf balls.”
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 Lexington's ZIP code 68850 have filed 46 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1991, and were paid $196,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2019, with 24. 4% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 41 Nebraska cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 19 have fewer than Lexington.
Dawson County, which includes Lexington, 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 Lexington
- Cozad, NE14 mi
- Gothenburg, NE25 mi
- Holdrege, NE31 mi
- Kearney, NE35 mi
- Broken Bow, NE43 mi
- Gibbon, NE46 mi
- Minden, NE47 mi
- Ravenna, NE48 mi
- North Platte, NE59 mi
- Wood River, NE60 mi
- Mc Cook, NE61 mi
- Juniata, NE64 mi
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