Tornadoes · United States · Nebraska

2003 tornadoes in Nebraska

81 tornadoes touched down in Nebraska in 2003, 92 percent above the average of the record for the state. They killed 2 people and injured 7. 1 were rated F4 or EF4 and above.

2002 2004 The whole country in 2003

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 2003

April 18 8 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
April 18	4:20 PM CDT	F0	Dawson	0.1	25
April 18	4:47 PM CDT	F0	Custer	2.0	20	$20,000
April 18	4:56 PM CDT	F0	Custer	0.5	20	$20,000
April 18	5:25 PM CDT	F0	Sherman	0.1	25
April 18	5:40 PM CDT	F0	Sherman	0.1	25
April 18	5:55 PM CDT	F0	Valley	0.1	25
April 18	6:24 PM CDT	F0	Greeley	2.0	50	$70,000
April 18	6:40 PM CDT	F0	Greeley	3.5	50	$40,000

May 1 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 1	12:54 PM MDT	F0	Kimball	0.2	25

May 3 6 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
May 3	3:41 PM MDT	F0	Scotts Bluff	0.3	90	$50,000
May 3	4:00 PM MDT	F0	Morrill	0.1	40
May 3	5:00 PM MDT	F1	Morrill	4.0	100	$100,000
May 3	5:34 PM MDT	F1	Scotts Bluff	8.0	100	$100,000
May 3	5:35 PM MDT	F0	Morrill	0.1	50
May 3	6:50 PM MDT	F0	Garden	0.3	10

May 4 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
May 4	2:15 AM CDT	F0	Howard	1.0	35	$70,000
May 4	3:28 PM CDT	F0	Saunders	1.0	150
May 4	3:35 PM CDT	F1	Saunders	1.3	250	$20,000
May 4	4:28 PM CDT	F0	Cass	0.3	100

May 8 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 8	5:20 PM CDT	F1	Gage	7.0	150

May 23 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
May 23	5:20 PM MDT	F0	Dawes	0.4	30
May 23	5:45 PM MDT	F0	Cherry	0.5	15
May 23	6:28 PM MDT	F0	Cherry	1.0	15

May 31 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 31	8:00 PM MDT	F0	Sioux	0.3	40

June 9 13 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
June 9	5:58 PM CDT	F0	Keya Paha	0.1	20
June 9	6:30 PM CDT	F0	Knox	0.1	40
June 9	6:59 PM CDT	F0	Custer	0.1	10
June 9	7:05 PM CDT	F0	Holt	2.0	30	$10,000
June 9	7:12 PM CDT	F0	Holt	0.5	20	$30,000
June 9	7:20 PM CDT	F0	Custer	0.1	10
June 9	7:30 PM CDT	F3	Holt	23.0	880	$5.7 million
June 9	7:35 PM CDT	F0	Holt	0.1	20	$10,000
June 9	7:37 PM CDT	F0	Cedar	0.0	40
June 9	7:40 PM CDT	F1	Custer	4.0	580	$30,000
June 9	7:40 PM CDT	F1	Valley	3.0	300	$250,000
June 9	8:22 PM CDT	F0	Valley	0.2	25
June 9	8:43 PM CDT	F0	Antelope	5.0	100

June 11 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
June 11	7:32 PM CDT	F0	Rock	0.1	10
June 11	7:40 PM CDT	F0	Blaine	0.1	10
June 11	7:57 PM CDT	F0	Rock	0.1	10
June 11	8:37 PM CDT	F0	Rock	0.2	10

June 20 5 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
June 20	7:16 PM MDT	F0	Garden	0.1	10
June 20	7:28 PM MDT	F2	Garden	1.5	100	$100,000
June 20	7:30 PM MDT	F0	Deuel	0.1	10
June 20	7:30 PM MDT	F0	Garden	0.2	20	$10,000
June 20	7:40 PM MDT	F0	Garden	0.1	10	$80,000

June 22 7 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 22	6:30 PM CDT	F0	Thayer	4.0	100			$200,000
June 22	6:43 PM CDT	F2	Thayer	3.0	200	1	7	$10 million
June 22	7:00 PM CDT	F0	Thayer	1.0	35
June 22	7:08 PM CDT	F0	Hamilton	2.0	25			$30,000
June 22	7:20 PM CDT	F0	Thayer	2.0	50			$100,000
June 22	7:42 PM CDT	F0	Hamilton	0.5	20
June 22	8:30 PM CDT	F0	York	0.2	30			$30,000

June 23 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Damage
June 23	9:00 PM CDT	F0	Antelope	0.0	20
June 23	9:43 PM CDT	F4	Cedar	13.0	1,200	1	$3.7 million
June 23	10:21 PM CDT	F0	Frontier	0.1	10		$10,000

June 24 11 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
June 24	5:55 PM CDT	F0	Cedar	0.0	30
June 24	6:08 PM CDT	F0	Dixon	0.1	50
June 24	6:44 PM CDT	F0	Lincoln	0.1	10
June 24	7:00 PM CDT	F0	Custer	2.1	30	$50,000
June 24	7:10 PM CDT	F0	Lincoln	0.1	10	$50,000
June 24	8:04 PM CDT	F0	Rock	0.1	20
June 24	8:25 PM CDT	F0	Rock	0.1	10
June 24	8:48 PM CDT	F0	Keya Paha	0.1	20	$30,000
June 24	9:05 PM CDT	F0	Hayes	0.1	10
June 24	10:30 PM CDT	F0	Loup	0.1	10
June 24	10:52 PM CDT	F0	Rock	0.1	20

July 5 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 5	8:25 PM CDT	F0	Holt	0.1	10
July 5	8:45 PM CDT	F0	Holt	0.1	10

July 7 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 7	6:29 PM MDT	F0	Cheyenne	0.0	30

July 8 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 8	11:35 PM CDT	F0	McPherson	1.5	40			$50,000

July 20 5 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
July 20	5:40 PM CDT	F0	Stanton	0.0	20
July 20	5:50 PM CDT	F1	Stanton	2.0	400
July 20	6:30 PM CDT	F1	Platte	1.5	400
July 20	6:37 PM CDT	F0	Platte	0.0	20
July 20	6:56 PM CDT	F0	Nance	0.1	20

July 21 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 21	6:53 PM MDT	F0	Keith	0.1	10

July 29 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
July 29	11:23 AM MDT	F0	Kimball	0.3	30
July 29	11:40 AM MDT	F0	Kimball	0.2	30
July 29	11:58 AM MDT	F0	Cheyenne	0.2	25

November 17 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
November 17	5:20 PM CST	F0	Cass	0.1	40

Nearby

Every tornado in Nebraska since 1950 Warnings in force in Nebraska The 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.