NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Valentine, 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 Valentine, Nebraska since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 42 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 42
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Valentine
The highest rating among the 42 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on August 11, 2011, came within 25 miles. Of the 42, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 17 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 11. The most recent tornado was on July 27, 2025. Of the 91 Nebraska cities on this site, 99% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Valentine. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 59 times since 1974, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 91 Nebraska cities, 98% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Valentine.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Valentine
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s7(1 EF3+)
- 2000s6
- 1990s7
- 1980s4
- 1970s9(1 EF3+)
- 1960s4
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 11, 2011 | EF3 | 25 mi | 0.52 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 1977 | F3 | 23 mi | 18.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 27, 2025 | EF2 | 15 mi | 11.44 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 27, 2025 | EF2 | 15 mi | 0.01 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 22, 2016 | EF2 | 24 mi | 4.64 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 13, 2009 | EF2 | 10 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 19, 1975 | F2 | 14 mi | 20.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 2, 1953 | F2 | 16 mi | 80 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 11, 2011 | EF1 | 20 mi | 1.38 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 24, 2000 | F1 | 25 mi | 22 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 6, 1987 | F1 | 12 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 16, 1985 | F1 | 19 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 42, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Valentine
The Storm Prediction Center has 59 hail reports within 10 miles of Valentine since 1974, made on 43 separate days. Of these, 44 were 1 inch across or larger, and 7 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), was reported on 3 days, most recently July 1, 2005. The most recent report is from July 3, 2024. July has the most reports, 27.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Valentine
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Valentine Nwr, NE, 10 miles south of Valentine at 2,940 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 38°F and 17°F. June is the wettest at 4.5 inches of precipitation on average and December the driest at 0.3 inches; the year adds up to 23.2 inches over 45 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 28 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 150 nights a year. That 23.2 inches is more than at 13 of the 68 Nebraska stations used on this site (19%). Mission, SD, 36 miles north, has its own station (Mission, SD): 21.1 inches a year, 2.1 less than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 88°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38 | 17 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Feb | 41 | 20 | 0.5 | 2 |
| Mar | 52 | 28 | 1.0 | 3 |
| Apr | 61 | 37 | 2.6 | 5 |
| May | 71 | 48 | 3.8 | 7 |
| Jun | 81 | 58 | 4.5 | 6 |
| Jul | 88 | 63 | 3.2 | 6 |
| Aug | 86 | 62 | 2.6 | 4 |
| Sep | 79 | 52 | 2.0 | 4 |
| Oct | 64 | 40 | 1.6 | 3 |
| Nov | 51 | 28 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Dec | 40 | 20 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Year | 63 | 39 | 23.2 | 45 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Valentine Nwr, NE (2,940 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 Valentine
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 15 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Valentine: 14 thunderstorm wind reports and 1 heavy rain event. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $34,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on August 7, 2011.
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
Cherry County, which includes Valentine, has been named in 11 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 8 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 1 fire). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Cherry County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes and hail; Very Low for inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $4.8 million a year, the 64th highest of 93 Nebraska counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.6 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 Valentine
- Mission, SD36 mi
- Rosebud, SD38 mi
- Ainsworth, NE41 mi
- Winner, SD52 mi
- Martin, SD62 mi
- Gordon, NE70 mi
- Atkinson, NE87 mi
- Kyle, SD90 mi
- Burwell, NE99 mi
- Chamberlain, SD100 mi
- Pine Ridge, SD100 mi
- Platte, SD101 mi
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