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Dawson County, NE hail & severe wind history
317 storm reports on file for Dawson County between 2010-05-23 and 2025-05-18 — 182 hail and 135 severe thunderstorm wind. That averages 19.8 reports a year, and Jul is the busiest month.
At a glance
- Most recent hail report: May 18, 2025 — 1" (quarter), 5.24 mi W of Overton.
- Hail was reported on 86 days since 2010 — about 5.4 hail days a year.
- Largest hail on record: 4" (grapefruit) on Jun 29, 2024.
- Dawson County has more hail reports than 87% of the 93 Nebraska counties we cover.
Search every Dawson 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 Dawson County storm reports…
Worst storm days in Dawson County
| Date | Reports that day | Largest hail | Peak gust |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-05-30 | 16 | 1.75" (golf ball) | 60 mph |
| 2024-07-06 | 9 | 2.5" (tennis ball) | — |
| 2013-08-01 | 8 | 1.75" (golf ball) | 81 mph |
| 2024-07-16 | 6 | 1.75" (golf ball) | 64 mph |
| 2011-07-05 | 6 | 1.75" (golf ball) | 70 mph |
| 2011-06-16 | 6 | 0.75" (penny) | 70 mph |
| 2011-06-01 | 5 | 2.75" (baseball) | — |
| 2010-08-03 | 5 | 2.75" (baseball) | 70 mph |
| 2019-05-17 | 5 | 1.75" (golf ball) | — |
| 2011-06-20 | 5 | 1.75" (golf ball) | 60 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-07-06 | 2.5" tennis ball | 5.76 mi NNW of Gothenburg | Hail ranging in size from quarters to tennis balls was reported along this path. |
| 2024-07-06 | 2" hen egg | 1.73 mi NE of Willow Is | Hail up to two inches in diameter was reported in the area. |
| 2024-07-06 | 2" hen egg | 5.42 mi SE of Buffalo | No narrative filed |
| 2024-07-06 | 2" hen egg | 2.81 mi S of Lexington | Hail up to two inches in diameter was reported in the area. |
| 2024-06-29 | 2.75" baseball | .87 mi NW of Gothenburg | There widespread reports of quarter to baseball size hail along and near this approximately 27 mile long path, causing widespread damage to vehicles, homes, and crops. The largest hail and most widespread vehicle and building damage occurred in Cozad. This hail was accompanied by wind gusts likely at least 50 MPH. |
| 2024-06-29 | 4" grapefruit | .87 mi SW of Cozad | Emergency management reported widespread significant damage across Cozad from large hail up to four inches in diameter. The local hospital was damaged enough from broken windows, roof damage, and leaking water that patients had to be transferred to nearby hospitals for a period of time. One injury was reported, a pers… |
| 2023-09-21 | 2.75" baseball | 3.82 mi S of Darr | Hail up to the size of baseballs was reported in the area. |
| 2023-09-21 | 4" grapefruit | 5.33 mi WSW of Lexington Arpt | Storm chaser reported large hail, with isolated stones up to the size of softballs, south of the Darr exit of Interstate 80. Hail caused damage to their vehicle. |
When does hail hit Dawson County?
Across 16 years of records, July produced the most reports (86), followed by the months either side of it. Monthly totals:
| Month | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | 0.0% |
| February | 0 | 0.0% |
| March | 2 | 0.6% |
| April | 24 | 7.6% |
| May | 80 | 25.2% |
| June | 60 | 18.9% |
| July | 86 | 27.1% |
| August | 41 | 12.9% |
| September | 14 | 4.4% |
| October | 9 | 2.8% |
| November | 1 | 0.3% |
| December | 0 | 0.0% |
Neighboring counties
Counties that share a border with Dawson County (U.S. Census county adjacency), where we have storm records:
| County | Storm reports | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|
| Lincoln County, NE | 799 | 4.25" |
| Custer County, NE | 525 | 3" |
| Buffalo County, NE | 318 | 4" |
| Phelps County, NE | 184 | 2.75" |
| Frontier County, NE | 174 | 3" |
| Gosper County, NE | 102 | 2.75" |
See all 93 Nebraska counties →
Common questions about hail in Dawson County
- How often does it hail in Dawson County?
- Hail was reported on 86 separate days between 2010 and 2025, about 5.4 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 31047). 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.