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Dawes County, NE hail & severe wind history
228 storm reports on file for Dawes County between 2010-05-24 and 2026-06-28 — 144 hail and 84 severe thunderstorm wind. That averages 13.4 reports a year, and Jul is the busiest month.
At a glance
- Most recent hail report: Jun 28, 2026 — 1.5" (ping pong ball), 10.36 mi S of Chadron.
- Hail was reported on 82 days since 2010 — about 4.8 hail days a year.
- Largest hail on record: 3" (teacup) on Jun 25, 2020.
- Dawes County has more hail reports than 80% of the 93 Nebraska counties we cover.
Search every Dawes 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 Dawes County storm reports…
Worst storm days in Dawes County
| Date | Reports that day | Largest hail | Peak gust |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-07-26 | 6 | 1.75" (golf ball) | 64 mph |
| 2016-06-27 | 6 | 1.75" (golf ball) | 72 mph |
| 2010-07-22 | 6 | 1.75" (golf ball) | 64 mph |
| 2010-05-24 | 5 | 2" (hen egg) | 70 mph |
| 2019-06-02 | 5 | 1.75" (golf ball) | — |
| 2015-06-17 | 5 | 1.5" (ping pong ball) | — |
| 2016-06-28 | 5 | — | 104 mph |
| 2021-07-09 | 4 | 2.5" (tennis ball) | 62 mph |
| 2017-08-26 | 4 | 2" (hen egg) | — |
| 2014-07-22 | 4 | 1.75" (golf ball) | 74 mph |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-07-09 | 2.5" tennis ball | .86 mi SW of Marsland | No narrative filed |
| 2020-07-02 | 2.75" baseball | 3.63 mi E of Marsland | NWS damage survey team confirmed baseball sized hail at a ranch residence. Time estimated from radar. |
| 2020-06-25 | 2.5" tennis ball | .86 mi NW of Crawford | No narrative filed |
| 2020-06-25 | 3" teacup | .86 mi NW of Crawford | Large hail damaged resident's windows and neighbor's car. |
| 2020-06-05 | 2" hen egg | 1.23 mi SE of Whitney | No narrative filed |
| 2017-08-26 | 2" hen egg | 12 mi S of Chadron | Hen egg size hail was observed south of Chadron. |
| 2011-05-09 | 2.75" baseball | 15 mi S of Chadron | No narrative filed |
| 2010-05-24 | 2" hen egg | 0 mi N of Crawford | No narrative filed |
When does hail hit Dawes County?
Across 17 years of records, July produced the most reports (77), 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 | 4 | 1.8% |
| May | 28 | 12.3% |
| June | 73 | 32.0% |
| July | 77 | 33.8% |
| August | 37 | 16.2% |
| September | 8 | 3.5% |
| October | 1 | 0.4% |
| November | 0 | 0.0% |
| December | 0 | 0.0% |
Neighboring counties
Counties that share a border with Dawes County (U.S. Census county adjacency), where we have storm records:
| County | Storm reports | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|
| Oglala Lakota County, SD | 399 | 4.25" |
| Sheridan County, NE | 398 | 4" |
| Fall River County, SD | 384 | 4.25" |
| Box Butte County, NE | 239 | 4.3" |
| Sioux County, NE | 168 | 4" |
See all 93 Nebraska counties →
Common questions about hail in Dawes County
- How often does it hail in Dawes County?
- Hail was reported on 82 separate days between 2010 and 2026, about 4.8 days a year, with July the busiest month for storm reports. 137 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 31045). 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.