NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Seward, 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 Seward, Nebraska since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 130 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 13 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 130
- EF3 or stronger
- 13
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
6 deaths in all
What the records show for Seward
The highest rating among the 130 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on June 13, 2001, came within 4 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on May 9, 1953, killed 5 people. Of the 130, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 44 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 44. The most recent tornado was on July 1, 2024. Seward has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 60% of the 91 Nebraska cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 103 times since 1958, with stones up to 4.25 inches. Of the 91 Nebraska cities, 77% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Seward.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Seward
By decade
- 2020s9
- 2010s17(1 EF3+)
- 2000s18(1 EF3+)
- 1990s17(4 EF3+)
- 1980s15
- 1970s17(2 EF3+)
- 1960s15(1 EF3+)
- 1950s22(4 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 25, 1957 | F4 | 9 mi | 89.8 mi | 1 / 8 |
| Jun 13, 2001 | F4 | 4 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Mar 13, 1990 | F4 | 19 mi | 131 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Apr 7, 1978 | F4 | 25 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 9, 1953 | F3 | 10 mi | 46.9 mi | 5 / 82 |
| May 11, 2014 | EF3 | 6 mi | 19.14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 1992 | F3 | 9 mi | 14 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 15, 1992 | F3 | 10 mi | 21 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 13, 1990 | F3 | 25 mi | 25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 1975 | F3 | 6 mi | 63.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 1965 | F3 | 17 mi | 40.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 21, 1957 | F3 | 12 mi | 5.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 130, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Seward
The Storm Prediction Center has 103 hail reports within 10 miles of Seward since 1958, made on 74 separate days. Of these, 77 were 1 inch across or larger, and 13 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 4.25 inches, was reported on 2 days, most recently July 26, 2014. The most recent report is from September 14, 2025. June has the most reports, 38.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Seward
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Seward, NE, 1 mile southeast of Seward at 1,445 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 12°F. May is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 28.9 inches over 53 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 35 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 142 nights a year. Snowfall averages 21.5 inches a year, most of it in February. That 28.9 inches is more than at 41 of the 68 Nebraska stations used on this site (60%). Crete, 21 miles south, has its own station (Crete 4ESE, NE): 31.1 inches a year, 2.2 more than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 12 | 0.7 | 2 | 5.4 |
| Feb | 38 | 16 | 0.7 | 2 | 6.0 |
| Mar | 50 | 27 | 1.5 | 4 | 3.0 |
| Apr | 62 | 38 | 2.5 | 6 | 0.9 |
| May | 72 | 50 | 4.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 82 | 61 | 4.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 65 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 62 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 78 | 53 | 2.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 65 | 39 | 2.2 | 4 | 0.7 |
| Nov | 50 | 26 | 1.2 | 2 | 1.5 |
| Dec | 36 | 16 | 0.9 | 2 | 4.0 |
| Year | 61 | 39 | 28.9 | 53 | 21.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Seward, NE (1,445 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 Seward
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 72 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Seward: 57 thunderstorm wind reports, 10 floods, 3 flash floods and 2 heavy rain events. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $68,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on May 11, 2014.
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 Seward's ZIP code 68434 have filed 26 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1982, and were paid $137,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 19% 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, 13 have fewer than Seward.
Seward County, which includes Seward, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 severe storms, 5 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding, on October 22, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Seward County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes; Very Low for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $13.6 million a year, the 25th highest of 93 Nebraska counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.4 million (32%), 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 Seward
- Milford, NE10 mi
- Crete, NE21 mi
- Lincoln, NE24 mi
- David City, NE24 mi
- York, NE25 mi
- Ceresco, NE26 mi
- Wilber, NE30 mi
- Waverly, NE31 mi
- Wahoo, NE32 mi
- Hickman, NE33 mi
- Eagle, NE36 mi
- Geneva, NE37 mi
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