Tornado, Jefferson
- When
- May 8, 8:30 PM CST to 8:50 PM CST
- Where
- Jefferson County, Gladstone to 3 mi SE of Alexandria
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 1.5 mi
- Path width
- 100 yd
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Coordinates
- 40.130, -97.330
Tornado in Nebraska, May 8, 1996
A tornado that touched down near Gilead in Thayer County continued east into Jefferson County. The tornado destroyed or damaged parts of four farmsteads in its path from 21/2 miles southwest of Gladstone to 3 miles southeast of Alexandria.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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.
What happened
The episode as NWS OAX wrote it up.
A tornado that touched down near Gilead in Thayer County continued east into Jefferson County. The tornado destroyed or damaged parts of four farmsteads in its path from 21/2 miles southwest of Gladstone to 3 miles southeast of Alexandria. At least six cattle were also killed. Total damage was estimated at $250,000.
The radar
The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 97 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:29 UTC.
Event by event
1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Tornado in Nebraska, May 8, 1996
- Tornado in Indiana, May 8, 1996
- Tornado in Kentucky, May 8, 1996
- Tornado in Nebraska, May 8, 1996
- Flash Flood in Illinois, May 8, 1996
- Flash Flood in Nebraska, May 8, 1996
- Tornado in Nebraska, May 8, 1996
- Flash Flood in Ohio, May 8, 1996
- Flash Flood in Illinois, May 8, 1996
- Tornado in Indiana, May 8, 1996
- Tornado in Kentucky, May 8, 1996
- Hail in Nebraska, May 8, 1996
More
Every storm in Nebraska in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Nebraska, 1996Warnings in Nebraska, May 1996
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: 5554689.