Tornadoes · United States · Nebraska

1957 tornadoes in Nebraska

53 tornadoes touched down in Nebraska in 1957, 26 percent above the average of the record for the state. They killed 1 people and injured 9. 1 were rated F4 or EF4 and above.

1956 1958 The whole country in 1957

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F040 to 72 mph

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F173 to 112 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2113 to 157 mph

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. F3158 to 206 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4207 to 260 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5261 to 318 mph

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

Every tornado in Nebraska in 1957

April 8 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 84:45 PM GMT-7F2Sheridan9.8880$50,000 to $500,000

April 18 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 1810:59 PM GMT-7F1Sheridan0.150$500 to $5,000

April 19 3 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 195:40 PM GMT-6F1Hitchcock0.110under $50
April 197:00 PM GMT-6F1Antelope10.750$500 to $5,000
April 198:30 PM GMT-6F1Madison2.017$50 to $500

April 22 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 2211:30 AM GMT-7F1Perkins0.110$50 to $500
April 221:30 PM GMT-6F0Hitchcock0.110under $50

April 25 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 256:00 PM GMT-6F4Fillmore89.833318$500,000 to $5 million
April 257:00 PM GMT-6F3Clay34.7220$50,000 to $500,000

May 9 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 94:40 PM GMT-5F2Otoe9.9120$5,000 to $50,000

May 13 3 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 132:45 PM GMT-5F0Red Willow0.110under $50
May 137:45 PM GMT-5F1Sarpy2.010$500 to $5,000
May 138:00 PM GMT-5F1Douglas0.110under $50

May 16 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 161:00 PM GMT-5F1Sarpy0.210$500 to $5,000

May 19 3 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 196:30 PM GMT-7F1Scotts Bluff1.710under $50
May 198:30 PM GMT-7F2Scotts Bluff5.167$5,000 to $50,000
May 199:00 PM GMT-7F1Cheyenne2.010$5,000 to $50,000

May 20 7 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 203:15 PM GMT-5F0Webster0.110under $50
May 203:17 PM GMT-5F1Custer2.7300under $50
May 203:20 PM GMT-5F0Nuckolls0.110under $50
May 204:00 PM GMT-5F1Custer0.110$500 to $5,000
May 205:00 PM GMT-5F2Thayer75.310$50,000 to $500,000
May 206:00 PM GMT-5F2Hall18.210
May 206:20 PM GMT-5F2Saline23.910$5,000 to $50,000

May 24 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 246:30 PM GMT-7F1Perkins0.110$500 to $5,000

June 6 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 610:30 PM GMT-5F1York4.310$500 to $5,000

June 10 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 105:00 PM GMT-7F1Scotts Bluff0.210$500 to $5,000

June 13 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 137:20 PM GMT-5F1Platte2.310$500 to $5,000
June 137:30 PM GMT-5F1Butler0.310$500 to $5,000

June 15 5 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 151:15 PM GMT-5F1Adams0.510$50 to $500
June 153:00 PM GMT-5F1Pawnee6.210
June 159:00 PM GMT-5F1Lancaster0.110under $50
June 159:15 PM GMT-5F2Seward13.210$5,000 to $50,000
June 1510:00 PM GMT-5F1Saunders22.110$5,000 to $50,000

June 16 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 161:30 AM GMT-5F1Furnas12.810$5,000 to $50,000

June 21 3 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 217:15 PM GMT-5F3York5.410$50,000 to $500,000
June 217:30 PM GMT-5F1Butler1.0100$50 to $500
June 217:52 PM GMT-5F0Saunders0.110under $50

June 27 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 278:00 PM GMT-5F1Nuckolls9.710$5,000 to $50,000
June 278:05 PM GMT-5F0Thayer5.910under $50

July 2 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 26:00 PM GMT-5F2Frontier0.1880
July 29:30 PM GMT-5F1Cuming0.210under $50

July 3 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 38:00 PM GMT-7F1Keith0.810$500 to $5,000
July 311:30 PM GMT-5F0Custer0.110under $50

July 4 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 46:15 PM GMT-5F1Frontier0.133$5,000 to $50,000

July 7 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 76:30 PM GMT-7F2Dundy34.2101under $50

July 12 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 127:38 PM GMT-5F0Frontier0.110under $50

July 19 4 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 192:30 PM GMT-5F1Platte0.110
July 196:30 PM GMT-5F1Hamilton13.810
July 196:30 PM GMT-5F1Hamilton13.810
July 196:30 PM GMT-5F3Hamilton13.810$5,000 to $50,000

August 15 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 1511:00 PM GMT-5F1Madison0.110$50 to $500

August 16 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 165:00 PM GMT-5F0Nuckolls0.110

Nearby

Every tornado in Nebraska since 1950Warnings in force in NebraskaThe live radar over Nebraska

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.