Tornadoes in Nebraska, July 20, 1972

Name: Tornadoes in Nebraska, July 20, 1972
Start: 1972-07-20T14:10
End: 1972-07-20T16:00
Location: Nebraska

July 20, 1972 · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

4 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $30,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

4 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Howard

When: July 20, 2:10 PM CST
Where: Howard County
Rating: F1
Path length: 14 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Property damage: $250
Coordinates: 41.300, -98.370

Tornado, Custer

When: July 20, 2:40 PM CST
Where: Custer County
Rating: F3
Path length: 32.8 mi
Path width: 150 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 41.480, -99.600

Tornado, Valley

When: July 20, 3:55 PM CST
Where: Valley County
Rating: F2
Path width: 33 yd
Property damage: $3,000
Coordinates: 41.500, -98.930

Tornado, Madison

When: July 20, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Madison County
Rating: F2
Path length: 0.3 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Property damage: $3,000
Coordinates: 41.850, -97.670

What these are

Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Nebraska in 1972 Every state in 1972 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Nebraska, 1972

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10064839, 10064840, 10064841, 10064842.