| Tornado Outbreak Across South Central Nebraska Twister Moment in Thayer County |
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A warm front sitting across south central Nebraska served as the focus for tornadic thunderstorms late Saturday afternoon and evening. Warm and moist air was drawn north into the region Saturday which led to very unstable conditions by late afternoon. As an upper level disturbance moved out of eastern Colorado, it helped provide a trigger to break the cap and allow thunderstorms to develop.
Another factor was the dryline which started to push east along the warm front by 4 PM CDT. The first supercell thunderstorms developed near the intersection of the warm front and the dryline between 3 and 4 PM. At 5:28 PM CDT, the first tornadic thunderstorm of the day was reported in southern Furnas county, 3 miles south of Beaver City. By 5:32 PM, storm spotters reported that it was a large tornado just to the east of Beaver City. Initial damage survey of the area found that the tornado tracked from 3 to 4 miles southwest of Hendley, to near Beaver City, to near Stamford. A farm was damaged 2 miles north of Precept, and several trees were completely denuded of barks and limbs. The thunderstorm weakened as it moved further to the northeast, but large hail up to tennis ball size continued to fall across Furnas county. As the thunderstorm continued towards Harlan county, it became tornadic once again. At 6:04 PM CDT, a tornado was reported 5 miles northwest of Alma. Near Stamford, softball size hail caused extensive tree damage. The thunderstorm continued to move to the east northeast through Harlan and into Franklin county. In Franklin county, the thunderstorm generated a funnel cloud 4 miles north of the city of Franklin. As the storm tracked to the northeast through northern Webster county and into southern Adams county, several tornadoes touched down. The tornadoes caused some damage in Blue Hill in Webster county, then in Pauline in southern Adams county. Initial damage surveys estimates there were 3 seperate touchdowns. The first touchdown was about 3 miles northwest of Bladen. The second tornado was 2 miles south of Pauline, where Showboat road turns to the east, and it tracked northeast into Clay county near Spring Ranch. The third tornado was 2 miles southwest of Pauline, and it tracked just north of Pauline where it damaged trees and outbuildings. All three of these tornadoes have been initially rated as F1s. Meanwhile in Thayer county, a supercell thunderstorm quickly developed on the intersection of the warm front and an old outflow boundary from the previous nights convection. At 6:52 PM CDT, a tornado was reported 3 miles northwest of Hebron. The thunderstorm tracked to the northeast, and there were reports of tornadoes near Bruning between 7:12 PM CDT and 7:28 PM CDT. As the tornadic thunderstorm moved through the county; it also produced large hail up to the size of a baseball. This tornadic thunderstorm eventually moved east of our area into Jefferson and Saline counties. The original long lived supercell thunderstorm moved out of Adams county into Clay county where it spawned another tornado. The tornado caused extensive damage in Clay county. It was reported to be 4 miles northwest of Fairfield at 7:42 PM CDT. The tornado caused a freight train to derail near Fairfield. The tornado continued to the east and moved just south of Clay Center. Damage was reported to homes and farms to the south and east of Clay Center. At the USDA Animal Research Center near Clay Center, numerous large trees and power poles were downed, a calving barn was destroyed, and a well house was destroyed. The tornado lifted somewhere east of Clay Center, but the supercell thunderstorm continued into Fillmore county. The thunderstorm produced large hail up to golf ball size 9 miles north of Carleton. The next supercell thunderstorm to develop began its life in northeastern Jewell county in Kansas. The storm quickly developed rotation and moved northeast into Republic county then into Thayer county Nebraska. Storm spotters reported a tornado near Byron at 8:54 PM CDT.The tornado move towards the northeast and was reported near 5 miles north of Byron at 9:07 PM CDT. Another tornado was reported 2 miles west of Alexandria at 9:27 PM CDT. Several reports of damaged or missing outbuildings were received from just north of Alexandria. A storm chaser near the Fillmore-Thayer county line reported seeing cows flying through the air. A report has been received from a farm 4 miles north of Alexandria that their herd of 20 to 25 head of cattle was missing on the morning of May 23rd. The storm chaser also reported hail of 4 to 6 inches in diameter falling out of the thunderstorm. |
| Click Images for a larger view | |
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| 0.5 degree reflectivity scan completed at 5:33 pm CDT zoomed in on Furnas county. Note the hook echo evident in the higher reflectivity values. It is not always present and not all storms that have one will go on to produce a tornado. However, this is a strong indication that a supercell thunderstorm is capable of producing a tornado, and prior to the velocity data that Doppler radar provides, it was often the only radar basis for tornado warnings. | 5:33 pm CDT 0.5 degree SRM (velocity) scan. The cool colors (greens & blues) are targets moving toward the radar, which is located to the southeast. The warm colors (browns and reds) are targets moving away from the radar. When these colors appear adjacent to each other, it is termed gate to gate shear or a velocity couplet. |
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| 0.5 degree reflectivity scan completed at 5:49 pm CDT, a tornado enters Harlan county and approaches Stamford. The tornado lifted before it reached Stamford. | 0.5 degree SRM scan completed at 5:49 pm CDT, Note that the velocity data indicates two strong circulations. The circulation near the Furnas-Harlan county line had a tornado on the ground as it approached Stamford. The second circulation to the southeast of Stamford eventually spawned a second tornado which moved just south of Orleans. |
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| 6:41 pm CDT 0.5 degree reflectivity scan zoomed in on Adams and Webster counties. Note again the obvious presence of a hook echo in the higher reflectivities in the extreme northesat corner of Franklin County. | 6:41 pm CDT 0.5 degree SRM (velocity) scan. The velocity couplet here depicts greater than 140kts of gate to gate shear, which is the sum of the magnitude of the inbound and outbound velocities. |
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| 7:03 pm CDT 0.5 degree reflectivity scan zoomed in on Adams and Webster counties. The radar reflectivity shows a slight hook in the higher reflectivities extending towards the radar. The reflectivity signature is much more difficult to see because the storm is extremely close to the radar, and it moved through an area known as the cone of silence where the radar can not see the storm. | 7:03 pm CDT 0.5 degree SRM (velocity) scan. The velocity pattern shows that the storm is wrapped up on itself. The inbound and outbound velocities are seen in a spiral pattern. |
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| 7:29 pm CDT 0.5 degree reflectivity scan zoomed in on Adams and Clay counties. The tornadic thunderstorm has emerged from the cone of silence. The hook echo is no longer readily apparent, but the storm inflow notch is apparent by the lower reflectivities just south of Glenvil. | 7:29 pm CDT 0.5 degree SRM (velocity) scan. The velocity pattern shows a circulation to the west northwest of Fairfield approximately 13 minutes before it touches down in Clay county. |
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| 7:40 pm CDT 0.5 degree reflectivity scan zoomed in on Clay county. The tornado is located north of Fairfield just to the southwest of Clay Center. | 7:40 pm CDT 0.5 degree SRM (velocity) scan. The velocity product indicates a very strong circulation to the southwest of Clay Center. The velocity shows shear of over 170 kts with 81 kts of inbound wind and 91 kts of outbound wind. |
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| 6:57 pm CDT 0.5 degree reflectivity scan zoomed in on Thayer county. Hook echo can be seen just to the west of Belvidere. The storm was moving to the east. | 6:57 pm CDT 0.5 degree SRM (velocity) scan. The velocity product shows the rotation in the tornadic thunderstorm. The radar algorithms recognized a Tornado Vortex Signature (TVS) which was displayed as a red triangle. |
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| 7:14 pm CDT 0.5 degree reflectivity scan zoomed in on Thayer county. Hook echo remained very evident as the storm moved to the east. A tornado was reported with the storm until it exited the county. | 7:14 pm CDT 0.5 degree SRM (velocity) scan. The velocity product continued to show the tornadic rotation in the thunderstorm. |
| Below is a preliminary summary of the severe weather reports received. |
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
1125 AM CDT SUN MAY 23 2004
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0510 PM HAIL WILSONVILLE 40.11N 100.11W
05/22/2004 1.25 INCH FURNAS NE LAW ENFORCEMENT
0520 PM HAIL 6 SE WILSONVILLE 40.05N 100.03W
05/22/2004 1.75 INCH FURNAS NE TRAINED SPOTTER
0523 PM TSTM WND GST 3 NW GOTHENBURG 40.96N 100.20W
05/22/2004 52 MPH DAWSON NE PUBLIC
0532 PM TORNADO BEAVER CITY 40.14N 99.83W
05/22/2004 FURNAS NE LAW ENFORCEMENT
LARGE TORNADO JUST EAST OF BEAVER CITY
0536 PM HAIL BEAVER CITY 40.14N 99.83W
05/22/2004 0.75 INCH FURNAS NE LAW ENFORCEMENT
0556 PM HAIL 1 E OXFORD 40.25N 99.61W
05/22/2004 1.00 INCH HARLAN NE PUBLIC
0604 PM TORNADO 5 WNW ALMA 40.13N 99.45W
05/22/2004 HARLAN NE STORM CHASER
0611 PM TORNADO 2 E ALMA 40.10N 99.32W
05/22/2004 HARLAN NE STORM CHASER
0621 PM HAIL 2 N REPUBLICAN CITY 40.13N 99.22W
05/22/2004 2.00 INCH HARLAN NE TRAINED SPOTTER
0621 PM HAIL FUNK 40.46N 99.25W
05/22/2004 1.00 INCH PHELPS NE LAW ENFORCEMENT
50 MPH WIND GUSTS
0623 PM HAIL RAGAN 40.31N 99.29W
05/22/2004 2.50 INCH HARLAN NE TRAINED SPOTTER
0630 PM HAIL 2 NW REPUBLICAN CITY 40.12N 99.25W
05/22/2004 2.75 INCH HARLAN NE PUBLIC
0633 PM HAIL 7 S WILCOX 40.26N 99.17W
05/22/2004 1.00 INCH FRANKLIN NE LAW ENFORCEMENT
0636 PM TORNADO 1 W CAMPBELL 40.30N 98.75W
05/22/2004 FRANKLIN NE LAW ENFORCEMENT
POWER LINES DOWNED
0639 PM FUNNEL CLOUD 4 N FRANKLIN 40.15N 98.95W
05/22/2004 FRANKLIN NE NWS EMPLOYEE
0643 PM FUNNEL CLOUD 10 WNW CAIRO 41.06N 98.79W
05/22/2004 SHERMAN NE PUBLIC
0645 PM HAIL CARLETON 40.30N 97.67W
05/22/2004 2.00 INCH THAYER NE CO-OP OBSERVER
0646 PM TORNADO BLADEN 40.32N 98.60W
05/22/2004 WEBSTER NE LAW ENFORCEMENT
TREES UPROOTED AND POWER LINES DOWNED IN BLADEN
0652 PM TORNADO 3 NW HEBRON 40.20N 97.63W
05/22/2004 THAYER NE STORM CHASER
0705 PM TORNADO BLUE HILL 40.33N 98.45W
05/22/2004 WEBSTER NE LAW ENFORCEMENT
TRAILERS DAMAGED
0705 PM HAIL 8 S HASTINGS 40.47N 98.39W
05/22/2004 0.75 INCH ADAMS NE AMATEUR RADIO
0708 PM HAIL GRAFTON 40.63N 97.72W
05/22/2004 2.75 INCH FILLMORE NE EMERGENCY MNGR
0712 PM TORNADO BRUNING 40.34N 97.56W
05/22/2004 THAYER NE STORM CHASER
TORNADO ESTIMATED TO BE NEAR BRUNING FROM SPOTTER 3WSW OF
ALEXANDRIA.
0713 PM TSTM WND GST 2 E AYR 40.44N 98.40W
05/22/2004 60 MPH ADAMS NE AMATEUR RADIO
0713 PM HAIL MCCOOL JUNCTION 40.74N 97.60W
05/22/2004 1.00 INCH YORK NE PUBLIC
0714 PM TORNADO 3 S AYR 40.39N 98.44W
05/22/2004 ADAMS NE AMATEUR RADIO
POWER LINES DOWNED
0715 PM FUNNEL CLOUD 4 NE BRADSHAW 40.92N 97.69W
05/22/2004 YORK NE TRAINED SPOTTER
0715 PM HAIL AYR 40.44N 98.44W
05/22/2004 1.75 INCH ADAMS NE EMERGENCY MNGR
0718 PM TORNADO 4 SE AYR 40.40N 98.39W
05/22/2004 ADAMS NE AMATEUR RADIO
POWER LINES DOWNED
0719 PM TORNADO 4 SE AYR 40.40N 98.39W
05/22/2004 ADAMS NE EMERGENCY MNGR
POWER LINES ON ROAD
0719 PM HAIL MCCOOL JUNCTION 40.74N 97.60W
05/22/2004 2.50 INCH YORK NE LAW ENFORCEMENT
0722 PM TORNADO 5 ESE AYR 40.44N 98.44W
05/22/2004 ADAMS NE EMERGENCY MNGR
ROOF DAMAGE TO HOUSE AND DEBRIS ON ROAD
0723 PM TORNADO 5 E AYR 40.44N 98.35W
05/22/2004 ADAMS NE EMERGENCY MNGR
CENTER PIVOT IRRIGATION SYSTEM FLIPPED OVER AND POWER
LINES DOWNED
0723 PM TORNADO 1 S BLUE HILL 40.32N 98.45W
05/22/2004 WEBSTER NE AMATEUR RADIO
POWER LINES DOWNED AND IRRIGATION PIPE STREWN ACROSS ROAD
0724 PM TORNADO 6 E AYR 40.44N 98.33W
05/22/2004 ADAMS NE EMERGENCY MNGR
POWER LINES DOWNED WITHIN TOWN OF PAULINE
0724 PM TORNADO 6 E AYR 40.44N 98.33W
05/22/2004 ADAMS NE EMERGENCY MNGR
DAMAGE DONE TO BUILDINGS
0725 PM TORNADO 3 N ALEXANDRIA 40.29N 97.39W
05/22/2004 THAYER NE NWS EMPLOYEE
0726 PM TORNADO 7 E AYR 40.44N 98.31W
05/22/2004 ADAMS NE EMERGENCY MNGR
POWER LINES DOWNED
0732 PM TORNADO 3 SE GLENVIL 40.47N 98.21W
05/22/2004 CLAY NE LAW ENFORCEMENT
0735 PM TSTM WND GST 5 N GOTHENBURG 41.00N 100.16W
05/22/2004 88 MPH DAWSON NE TRAINED SPOTTER
0737 PM TORNADO 4 NW FAIRFIELD 40.47N 98.16W
05/22/2004 CLAY NE LAW ENFORCEMENT
0742 PM TORNADO 4 NW FAIRFIELD 40.47N 98.16W
05/22/2004 CLAY NE LAW ENFORCEMENT
TORNADO DERAILED FREIGHT TRAIN.
0744 PM TORNADO 2 SW CLAY CENTER 40.52N 98.05W
05/22/2004 CLAY NE LAW ENFORCEMENT
0745 PM TSTM WND GST LEXINGTON 40.78N 99.74W
05/22/2004 60 MPH DAWSON NE LAW ENFORCEMENT
0745 PM TORNADO 5 W LEXINGTON 40.78N 99.84W
05/22/2004 DAWSON NE PUBLIC
NEAR DARR
0756 PM FUNNEL CLOUD STROMSBURG 41.12N 97.59W
05/22/2004 POLK NE FIRE DEPT/RESCUE
0842 PM HAIL 2 NE HEBRON 40.19N 97.56W
05/22/2004 1.75 INCH THAYER NE NWS EMPLOYEE
0845 PM HAIL 9 N CARLETON 40.43N 97.67W
05/22/2004 1.75 INCH FILLMORE NE TRAINED SPOTTER
0855 PM TORNADO 10 WSW CHESTER 39.95N 97.79W
05/22/2004 REPUBLIC KS STORM CHASER
0905 PM DOWNBURST 5 NW CHESTER 40.06N 97.68W
05/22/2004 THAYER NE STORM CHASER
0907 PM TORNADO 5 N BYRON 40.08N 97.77W
05/22/2004 THAYER NE TRAINED SPOTTER
0910 PM TSTM WND GST DANNEBROG 41.12N 98.55W
05/22/2004 81 MPH HOWARD NE PUBLIC
0913 PM HAIL 1 S HEBRON 40.15N 97.59W
05/22/2004 1.75 INCH THAYER NE TRAINED SPOTTER
0927 PM TORNADO 2 W ALEXANDRIA 40.25N 97.42W
05/22/2004 THAYER NE LAW ENFORCEMENT
MODERATE TO EXTREME DAMAGE TO SEVERAL HOMES BETWEEN
ALEXANDRIA AND BELVIDERE. NUMEROUS OUTBUILDINGS DAMAGED
AND POWER LINES DOWNED.
0934 PM HAIL HEBRON 40.17N 97.59W
05/22/2004 2.00 INCH THAYER NE LAW ENFORCEMENT
1010 PM HAIL 5 E HARDY 40.01N 97.83W
05/22/2004 1.75 INCH NUCKOLLS NE STORM CHASER
| Page Created by Michael Nelson on 05/23/04 |
