Tornadoes · United States · Nebraska
1985 tornadoes in Nebraska
51 tornadoes touched down in Nebraska in 1985, 21 percent above the average of the record for the state. None of them killed anybody.
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.
F040 to 72 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F173 to 112 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
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.
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.
F4207 to 260 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
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.
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 1985
March 3 4 tornadoes
April 19 3 tornadoes
April 20 3 tornadoes
April 21 6 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 21 | 4:15 PM CST | F0 | Boone | 0.3 | 20 | $500 to $5,000 | ||
| April 21 | 5:00 PM CST | F1 | Buffalo | 0.1 | 50 | $500 to $5,000 | ||
| April 21 | 5:37 PM CST | F1 | Madison | 1.0 | 40 | $500 to $5,000 | ||
| April 21 | 5:40 PM CST | F0 | Pierce | 0.3 | 20 | $50 to $500 | ||
| April 21 | 6:27 PM CST | F1 | Pierce | 0.5 | 20 | $50 to $500 | ||
| April 21 | 10:45 PM CST | F1 | Thayer | 1.0 | 60 | $50,000 to $500,000 |
April 22 3 tornadoes
May 6 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 6 | 5:42 PM MDT | F0 | Scotts Bluff | 0.2 | 50 |
May 10 5 tornadoes
May 11 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 11 | 3:45 PM CDT | F0 | Holt | 0.5 | 50 |
May 26 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 26 | 7:58 PM CDT | F0 | Frontier | 0.2 | 20 |
May 27 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 27 | 4:08 PM MDT | F3 | Scotts Bluff | 48.0 | 200 | $500,000 to $5 million |
May 28 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 28 | 10:57 PM MDT | F0 | Grant | 4.0 | 20 |
May 29 3 tornadoes
June 15 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 15 | 10:45 PM CDT | F1 | Dawson | 0.2 | 40 | $5,000 to $50,000 |
June 23 3 tornadoes
July 17 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 17 | 6:45 PM CDT | F1 | Keya Paha | 1.0 | 50 | $500 to $5,000 |
July 31 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 31 | 4:30 PM MDT | F1 | Dawes | 0.2 | 100 | $500 to $5,000 |
August 5 3 tornadoes
August 7 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 7 | 8:35 PM CDT | F1 | Lincoln | 0.2 | 30 |
August 8 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 8 | 6:00 PM MDT | F1 | Sheridan | 0.1 | 27 |
August 16 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 16 | 4:45 PM MDT | F1 | Cherry | 0.2 | 30 |
September 2 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2 | 6:00 PM MDT | F1 | Dundy | 0.2 | 30 | $5,000 to $50,000 |
September 4 4 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 4 | 8:35 PM CDT | F1 | Gosper | 0.2 | 40 | $5,000 to $50,000 | ||
| September 4 | 9:00 PM CDT | F1 | Franklin | 0.2 | 40 | $50,000 to $500,000 | ||
| September 4 | 10:15 PM CDT | F1 | Buffalo | 0.2 | 50 | $50,000 to $500,000 | ||
| September 4 | 10:54 PM CDT | F1 | Hall | 0.2 | 40 | $5,000 to $50,000 |
September 7 2 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 7 | 6:29 PM MDT | F0 | Hooker | 0.1 | 23 | |||
| September 7 | 7:22 PM MDT | F0 | Grant | 0.1 | 23 |
Crossed into Nebraska
Tornadoes that touched down in a neighboring state and ran into Nebraska. They are counted under the state they began in.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 10 | 7:00 PM CDT | F4 | Phillips, KS to NE | 56.0 | 1,000 | 2 | $500,000 to $5 million |
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.