Tornadoes and Hail in Nebraska, August 21, 1997

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in Nebraska, August 21, 1997
Start: 1997-08-21T04:30
End: 1997-08-21T21:15
Location: Nebraska

August 21, 1997 · NWS LBF · 23 events in 12 counties and zones

20 hail, 3 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $2.8 million
Crop damage: $4.3 million
Events: 23

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.

The radar

The North Platte radar (KLNX), 75 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 10:29 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

20 hail, 3 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Brown

When: August 21, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Brown County, 5 mi SSE of Johnstown
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 42.500, -100.030

Hail, Blaine

When: August 21, 5:45 AM CST
Where: Blaine County, 2 mi SE of Brewster
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 41.920, -99.830

Hail, Custer

When: August 21, 6:15 AM CST
Where: Custer County, 9 mi NNE of Broken Bow
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 41.520, -99.580

Hail, Cherry

When: August 21, 6:30 AM CST
Where: Cherry County, 2 mi W of Wood Lake
Measured: 1.25 in hail
Coordinates: 42.630, -100.270

Hail, Garfield

When: August 21, 1:30 PM CST
Where: Garfield County, 4 mi E of Burwell
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $2,000
Crop damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 41.780, -99.050

Hail, Deuel

When: August 21, 4:20 PM MST
Where: Deuel County, 1 mi SE of Big Spgs
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Coordinates: 41.050, -102.070

Hail, Keith

When: August 21, 4:25 PM MST
Where: Keith County, 9 mi WSW of Brule
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Coordinates: 41.050, -102.070

Hail, Keith

When: August 21, 4:29 PM MST
Where: Keith County, 2 mi S of Roscoe
Measured: 1.25 in hail
Coordinates: 41.100, -101.580

Hail, Keith

When: August 21, 4:38 PM MST
Where: Keith County, 1 mi E of Roscoe
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $10,000
Crop damage: $500,000
Coordinates: 41.130, -101.570

Tornado, Perkins

When: August 21, 5:08 PM MST to 5:16 PM MST
Where: Perkins County, Venango to 2 mi W of Venango
Rating: F0
Path length: 2.3 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Coordinates: 40.800, -102.030

The tornado touched down and remained in open fields north of Venango.

Hail, Perkins

When: August 21, 5:12 PM MST
Where: Perkins County, 2 mi ENE of Venango
Measured: 1 in hail
Property damage: $4,000
Crop damage: $200,000
Coordinates: 40.780, -102.000

Tornado, Perkins

When: August 21, 5:21 PM MST to 5:28 PM MST
Where: Perkins County, Venango to 3 mi S of Venango
Rating: F0
Path length: 11 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Coordinates: 40.750, -101.980

The tornado traveled over open country south of Venango into northern Chase county or 7 miles north of Lamar. The weak tornado did little if any damage.

Hail, Perkins

When: August 21, 5:30 PM MST
Where: Perkins County, 3 mi E of Grant
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $3,000
Crop damage: $300,000
Coordinates: 40.850, -101.670

Hail, Perkins

When: August 21, 5:45 PM MST
Where: Perkins County, Grant
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Property damage: $800,000
Coordinates: 40.850, -101.720

Hail, Chase

When: August 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where: Chase County, 9 mi N of Imperial
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Property damage: $1.0 million
Crop damage: $1.5 million
Coordinates: 40.650, -101.630

Hail ranging in size from peas to tennis balls along with winds in excess of 60 mph damaged growing corn and personal property.

Tornado, Chase

When: August 21, 6:17 PM MST
Where: Chase County, 2 mi SE of Enders Res
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.1 mi
Path width: 20 yd
Coordinates: 40.420, -101.500

A brief tornado touchdown occurred in open country and did little if any damage.

Hail, Chase

When: August 21, 6:20 PM MST
Where: Chase County, 2 mi SE of Imperial
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $1.0 million
Crop damage: $1.5 million
Coordinates: 40.500, -101.600

Large hail and damaging winds estimated at 100 mph broke windows and tree limbs and damaged crops in the area.

Hail, Hayes

When: August 21, 7:25 PM CST
Where: Hayes County, 7 mi NNW of Hamlet
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 40.480, -101.280

Hail, Hayes

When: August 21, 7:30 PM CST to 8:30 PM CST
Where: Hayes County, 13 mi WNW of Hayes Center
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 40.580, -101.250

Hail, Lincoln

When: August 21, 8:30 PM CST
Where: Lincoln County, 1 mi NE of Brady
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Coordinates: 41.050, -100.350

Hail, Lincoln

When: August 21, 8:40 PM CST
Where: Lincoln County, 7 mi S of Brady
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 40.930, -100.370

Hail, Lincoln

When: August 21, 8:50 PM CST
Where: Lincoln County, 6 mi SSW of Brady
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 40.950, -100.420

Hail, Frontier

When: August 21, 9:15 PM CST
Where: Frontier County, 5 mi NNE of Curtis
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 40.700, -100.480

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Nebraska, 1997 Warnings in Nebraska, August 1997

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: 5615146, 5615147, 5615148, 5615149, 5615150, 5615151, 5615152, 5615153, 5615154, 5615156, 5615155, 5615157, 5615158, 5615159, 5615160, 5615264, 5615161, 5615162, 5615163, 5615164, 5615165, 5615262, 5615263.