NWS Hastings, NE

Picture taken by Doug Raflik.

Results of Tornado
Damage Survey
Webster County, NE Supercell
June 10, 2004

An incredible picture of the entire supercell thunderstorm structure as the storm produces a tornado near Red Cloud, Nebraska.
(Click on the picture to see a larger image.)

Click here for damage pictures.

The National Weather Service from Hastings conducted a damage survey of Smith County, Kansas and Webster County, Nebraska on July 11. The survey was an attempt to retrace the path of a tornado supercell thunderstorm which occurred on June 10. The results of that survey follow.

    One tornado skipped across Webster County with a 13 mile path. The tornado set down five miles south of Inavale and moved northeast before completely lifting four miles north and one mile west of Red Cloud. In general, the tornado was 50 to 150 yards wide for most of its path.

    Tornado damage was noted south of Inavale with several power poles snapped, a grain bin blown away, and a metal outbuilding destroyed. As the tornado traveled northeast, an abandoned hog facility was damaged southeast of Inavale. A pivot was overturned 3.5 miles southwest of Red Cloud. A house three miles north and one mile west of Red Cloud sustained window damage and minor roof damage. Another pivot was overturned four miles north of Red Cloud. Tree damage was consummate througout the path of the tornado.

    The maximum rating of the tornado on the Fujita scale was an F1 for winds between 73 and 112 mph. This rating was assigned based upon the damage observed. For most of its path, the tornado was rated an F0 with only two brief instances of F1 damage noted.

    No significant damage was found nor reported in Smith County, Kansas. Reports from the county suggest the most likely area for a tornado was around Womer, or about 13 miles north of Smith Center. It is believed these reports were associated with the tornado which set down just north of the state line south of Inavale.

    The National Weather Service would like to thank those who assisted with the damage survey and who provided valuable information regarding this event.

Pictures from the supercell of June 10, 2004
Click on any image to enlarge (enlarged images are larger files).


It appears as through Fido needs a new place to live. A dog house and nearby fence were destroyed as the tornado began to cross Highway 136 near the town of Inavale.	Pivot damage where the tornado moved through a corn field just north of the Republican River.

Tree damage on the north bank of the Republican river with a damaged storage tank in the foreground along with wind-blown corn.	The path of the tornado can be seen through this corn field. The corn directly underneath the tornadic circulation was heavily damaged as was the section of the pivot hit head-on by the strong winds. Note also the random distribution of tree branches in the field.

Another view of the damaged corn at the point where the tornado moved across the open field.	What remains of an old abandoned hog farm can be seen strewn across an alfalfa field.

More damage from the old hog farm litters the alfalfa field and a nearby wheat field yet to be cut.	Hay bales were moved by the strong winds and in some cases torn apart. The tornado was at its widest point here, at approximately 300 yards wide.

A heavily damaged grain bin came to rest beside the damaged hog farm. This particular grain bin was actually destroyed over a mile and a half away from the point where it finally landed.	Looking northeast back over the wheat field filled with debris from the hog farm.

This outbuilding was the only massive casualty from the tornado as it was completely destroyed, with some of the debris blown over 1000 feet away.	The tornado began at this point, just behind the row of trees in the foreground. This location is just north of the Nebrasa-Kansas border in southwestern Webster County.

This house sustained window damage as the tornado moved very close to the structure. Also, as was common across the area, power lines and poles were damaged from the strong winds.	More tree damage near the house pictured to the left. From this point, the tornado only traveled a few more miles before lifting.

Page Created by David Lawrence and Mike Moritz.
Pictures taken by David Lawrence, Cindy Fay, and Rick Ewald.

National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office