States › Nebraska › 1978

Nebraska, 1978

The year's recorded storm events, federal disaster declarations and flood insurance claims.

265events recorded256 in 1977

0deaths recorded9 injuries

$72Mproperty damage (estimates)

1disaster declarations237 NFIP claims, $1.2M paid

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders.

Events by hazard

Wind112

Hail102

Tornado51

Includes events recorded by forecast zone. The state's yearly total for 1978 was 265 against 256 in 1977.

Counties with the most recorded events

County	Events in 1978
Cherry County	13
Buffalo County	11
Gage County	10
Hall County	9
Douglas County	8
Scotts Bluff County	8
Adams County	7
Sherman County	7
Butler County	6
Clay County	6
Fillmore County	6
Keya Paha County	6
Lancaster County	6
Lincoln County	6
Thayer County	6
Webster County	6
Brown County	5
Dawson County	5
Jefferson County	5
Phelps County	5
Box Butte County	4
Custer County	4
Dawes County	4
Hamilton County	4
Holt County	4

Notable events

Date	County	Event type	Magnitude	Property damage	Deaths	Injuries
25 Jun 1978	Sheridan	Tornado	F2	$2,500,000	—	8
7 Apr 1978	Hamilton	Tornado	—	$25,000,000	—	1
7 Apr 1978	Polk	Tornado	—	$25,000,000	—	—
5 Apr 1978	Adams	Tornado	F2	$2,500,000	—	—
5 Apr 1978	Clay	Tornado	F2	$2,500,000	—	—
7 Apr 1978	Polk	Tornado	—	$2,500,000	—	—
7 Apr 1978	Butler	Tornado	—	$2,500,000	—	—
19 Jun 1978	Fillmore	Tornado	—	$2,500,000	—	—
6 Jul 1978	Jefferson	Tornado	F2	$2,500,000	—	—
6 Jul 1978	Gage	Tornado	F2	$2,500,000	—	—
18 Jul 1978	Gage	Tornado	—	$250,000	—	—
26 May 1978	Hitchcock	Tornado	—	$250,000	—	—
27 May 1978	Keith	Tornado	—	$250,000	—	—
30 May 1978	Fillmore	Tornado	F2	$250,000	—	—
20 Jul 1978	Sioux	Tornado	—	$250,000	—	—
11 Sep 1978	Frontier	Tornado	—	$25,000	—	—
11 Sep 1978	Dawson	Tornado	—	$25,000	—	—
26 May 1978	Chase	Tornado	—	$25,000	—	—
26 May 1978	Dundy	Tornado	—	$25,000	—	—
7 Apr 1978	Butler	Tornado	—	$25,000	—	—
30 May 1978	Saline	Tornado	—	$25,000	—	—
30 May 1978	Thayer	Tornado	—	$25,000	—	—
30 May 1978	Thayer	Tornado	—	$25,000	—	—
19 Jun 1978	Gage	Tornado	—	$25,000	—	—
25 Jun 1978	Cherry	Tornado	—	$25,000	—	—
7 Apr 1978	Webster	Tornado	—	$25,000	—	—
6 Jul 1978	Gage	Tornado	—	$25,000	—	—
17 Jul 1978	Webster	Tornado	—	$25,000	—	—
21 Jul 1978	Jefferson	Tornado	—	$25,000	—	—
13 Sep 1978	Pawnee	Tornado	—	$2,500	—	—
31 Aug 1978	Banner	Tornado	—	$2,500	—	—
31 Aug 1978	Kimball	Tornado	—	$2,500	—	—
31 Aug 1978	Banner	Tornado	—	$2,500	—	—
31 Aug 1978	Morrill	Tornado	—	$2,500	—	—
21 Jun 1978	Brown	Tornado	—	$2,500	—	—
21 Jun 1978	Valley	Tornado	—	$2,500	—	—
8 Apr 1978	Washington	Tornado	—	$250	—	—
7 Apr 1978	Webster	Tornado	F2	$250	—	—
24 May 1978	Custer	Tornado	—	—	—	—
26 May 1978	Hitchcock	Tornado	—	—	—	—

Up to 40 events with deaths, injuries, damage of $50,000 or more, or a tornado rating, ranked by deaths, injuries and damage.

Federal disaster declarations in 1978

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Counties
24 Mar 1978	DR-552	Major disaster	Flood	Storms, Ice Jams, Snowmelt & Flooding	21

Flood insurance claims with a 1978 date of loss

237 NFIP claims, 208 of them paid, for $1,230,553.

Sources: NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 (1 Oct 2026); OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 (8 Sep 2026). Built 1 Oct 2026.