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Box Butte County, NE hail & severe wind history
239 storm reports on file for Box Butte County between 2010-05-24 and 2026-06-27 — 169 hail and 70 severe thunderstorm wind. That averages 14.1 reports a year, and Jun is the busiest month.
At a glance
- Most recent hail report: Jun 27, 2026 — 1" (quarter), 0.51 mi W of Hemingford.
- Hail was reported on 71 days since 2010 — about 4.2 hail days a year.
- Largest hail on record: 4.3" (grapefruit) on Jul 9, 2021.
- Box Butte County has more hail reports than 84% of the 93 Nebraska counties we cover.
Search every Box Butte County report
Check a single date first, or filter the full record below — pick a year, narrow to a month, or drag the hail-size slider to see only the larger stones (1", quarter size, is the National Weather Service severe threshold).
Loading Box Butte County storm reports…
Worst storm days in Box Butte County
| Date | Reports that day | Largest hail | Peak gust |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-05-24 | 17 | 2.5" (tennis ball) | 81 mph |
| 2021-07-09 | 15 | 4.3" (grapefruit) | 86 mph |
| 2015-06-25 | 11 | 4.25" (grapefruit) | 66 mph |
| 2019-07-29 | 6 | 2.75" (baseball) | — |
| 2021-08-14 | 6 | 2.5" (tennis ball) | — |
| 2020-07-09 | 6 | 2" (hen egg) | — |
| 2017-07-27 | 6 | 1.75" (golf ball) | 81 mph |
| 2013-08-01 | 6 | 1" (quarter) | 60 mph |
| 2013-07-24 | 5 | 2.75" (baseball) | — |
| 2010-07-19 | 5 | 2.75" (baseball) | — |
Reports by year
Report counts are driven partly by how many people were around to report a storm, so recent years tend to look busier than the early 2010s. Treat the trend as a reporting trend, not purely a weather trend.
Notable large-hail events (2" and up)
| Date | Size | Near | What was reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-07-06 | 2.75" baseball | 3.71 mi NW of Birdsell | Golf ball to baseball size hail broke several windows. Time estimated from radar. |
| 2024-06-20 | 2" hen egg | .51 mi W of Hemingford | The public reported 2-inch diameter hail in Hemingford. |
| 2021-08-14 | 2.5" tennis ball | 11.47 mi SSW of Nonpareil | Spotter measured tennis ball sized hail 20 miles west northwest of Alliance. |
| 2021-08-14 | 2.5" tennis ball | 20.03 mi W of Letan | Tennis ball sized hail reported by spotter 6 miles south southwest of Kilpatrick Lake. |
| 2021-08-14 | 2.5" tennis ball | 17.98 mi W of Letan | Tennis ball sized hail reported by spotter 14 miles northwest of Angora. |
| 2021-07-09 | 4.3" grapefruit | 14.83 mi SW of Berea | No narrative filed |
| 2021-07-09 | 2" hen egg | 3.07 mi W of Hemingford | No narrative filed |
| 2021-07-09 | 2.5" tennis ball | 3.07 mi W of Hemingford | No narrative filed |
When does hail hit Box Butte County?
Across 17 years of records, June produced the most reports (74), followed by the months either side of it. Monthly totals:
| Month | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | 0.0% |
| February | 0 | 0.0% |
| March | 0 | 0.0% |
| April | 2 | 0.8% |
| May | 43 | 18.0% |
| June | 74 | 31.0% |
| July | 74 | 31.0% |
| August | 35 | 14.6% |
| September | 9 | 3.8% |
| October | 2 | 0.8% |
| November | 0 | 0.0% |
| December | 0 | 0.0% |
Neighboring counties
Counties that share a border with Box Butte County (U.S. Census county adjacency), where we have storm records:
| County | Storm reports | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|
| Scotts Bluff County, NE | 418 | 4.25" |
| Sheridan County, NE | 398 | 4" |
| Dawes County, NE | 228 | 3" |
| Morrill County, NE | 200 | 4.5" |
| Sioux County, NE | 168 | 4" |
See all 93 Nebraska counties →
Common questions about hail in Box Butte County
- How often does it hail in Box Butte County?
- Hail was reported on 71 separate days between 2010 and 2026, about 4.2 days a year, with June the busiest month for storm reports. 162 reports were quarter size (1") or larger.
- Does a report here mean hail hit my street?
- Not necessarily. Each report is one observation tied to a nearby landmark, and a county can be large. Storms also go unreported where few people live. Use the date check above to see what was reported nearby, and treat it as a starting point.
- How big is a 1.75" hailstone?
- Forecasters describe hail by everyday objects: 1" is a quarter, 1.75" a golf ball, 2.75" a baseball. The sizes in these reports are estimates made by the person reporting, not lab measurements.
- Where do I get the official record?
- All reports here come from the NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, which you can search directly. For anything formal, use NOAA’s own records rather than this page.
Look up another place
About these numbers
Every row above is a report filed with the National Weather Service and archived in the NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (FIPS 31013). Reports are eyewitness, trained-spotter and damage-survey observations, so they cluster near roads and towns and miss storms over empty country. Hail sizes are estimates. Damage figures are preliminary as filed and are never revised in this archive. Use this page for background, not for an insurance claim, a legal filing, or a roof assessment — for those, get the official record from NOAA directly.