F0 tornado, Deshler, Nebraska, June 22, 2003

1. F040 to 72 mphthis tornado

   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.

Rating

F0

Date

June 22, 2003

Touchdown

6:30 PM CDT (23:30 UTC)

Path length

4.0 miles (6.4 km)

Path width

100 yards (91 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$200,000

County

Thayer County

Touchdown point

40.150, -97.800

Lift-off point

40.180, -97.720

Record number

1244

Thunderstorms erupted during the evening in south-central Nebraska. One storm near Aurora produced very large hail. One stone measured by an NWS Storm Survey team was determined to be the largest sized stone to fall in the United States. It measured 7 inches in diameter and 18.75 inches in circumference. Many other large stones were noted on the northern side of Aurora. Given the lack of wind, damage was limited to roofs, a few windows and some crop land near town. The storm also produced a couple of brief small tornadoes as it slowly moved through northern Hamilton county.At nearly the same time, another very slow moving storm produced several tornadoes, hail and extremely heavy rains in Thayer county. One tornado moved through the town of Deshler going from the southeast side of town to the west. One man was killed in his garage before he was able to get to shelter. Over 400 homes in Deshler were damaged with four being completely demolished. Nearly 100 homes were moderately to severely damaged. Six businesses in town were considered a complete loss and 25 others reportedly suffered moderate to severe damage. Seven people were injured, most were minor and were from broken glass. Later in the evening, a tornado was reported north of Bradshaw in York county. Storm spotters about 1 mile west of the tornado saw debris being flung through the air. A farmstead was hit with most of the damage done to an old barn.Despite ongoing drought conditions, widespread flooding was reported in Thayer and southern Fillmore counties. The flash flood along the Rose Creek at Hubbell provided some of the worst damage. Water was flowing into houses and businesses on main street to the tune of up to 5 feet deep. Boats were the only mode of travel through the business district. Up to 15 residents had to be evacuated by the local Dive and Rescue team using jet skis. The flooding was caused by extremely heavy rainfall in nearby Republic County, Kansas.Flooding and flash flooding was also a problem throughout Thayer county. Rainfall of over 12 inches was reported about 5 miles north of Deshler. Residents reported nearly 5 hours of constant, wind-driven rain. Windows were blown out and the rain just poured into homes. Widespread agricultural damage was done due to the rain. The runoff in the Snake and Spring creeks ravaged Deshler, the town which had already been hammered by tornadoes that evening. Flooding was concentrated in the southern part of town and most widespread near the park and fairgrounds.Major river flooding was reported along the Little Blue River from just west of Hebron to the Jefferson county line. One man at his farmstead near Gilead had to be air lifted to safety by the National Guard as flooding waters rose on his property. Dozens of county roads and bridges were damaged or destroyed. U. S. Highway 81 was restricted to one lane travel at Hebron due to the high water on the road. Portions of Highways 81, 136 and 9 were closed for a time due to high water. The Big Sandy Creek flowed out of its banks at Alexandria and crested at 14.5 feet. Water was flowing over the highway near town and filling back into the town's sewer drains. In all, several million dollars in damage was done by the flooding alone. Some locals said this was the worst flooding in the area in 55 years.

The last of four tornadoes to occur near Deshler. Damage was primarily to crops and pivot systems.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

9 minutes of warning. NWS GID issued a tornado warning for this county at 23:21 UTC, 9 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 00:00 UTC.

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Moderate Risk, with a 0.15 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 19:45 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

NWS Hastings, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Jun 22, 2:00 PM CDT, 4 hours 30 minutes earlier.

SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
200 PM CDT SUN JUN 22 2003

NOT MUCH HAS CHANGED FOR CURRENT FCST BUT TO UP LOWS A BIT OVR NEXT
FEW DAYS AND LOWER HIGHS SOMEWHAT THU...OTHERWISE THINKING PRETTY
MUCH THE SAME.

RIGHT NOW...WATCHING MOISTURE DISCONTINUITY IN FORM OF FINE LINE
MOVE EWD OUT OF LBF TERRITORY. THIS WOULD BE LIKELY FIRST INITIATION
POINT FOR CONVECTION TODAY...OVR NRN CWA IN VALLEY SHERMAN GREELEY
OR HOWARD COUNTIES...POSSIBLY BUILDING SWD SOMEWHAT OVR TIME. LOTS
OF JUICE IN THE FORM OF SFC DPTS UPR 60S TO LOW 70S EAST OF
LINE...AND WITH SUN STARTING TO BREAK THROUGH GENERATING LOADS OF LL
CAPE. SHOULD REACH CONVECTIVE TEMPS ALSO RATHER EASILY...ESPECIALLY
NEAR AND S OF I80 CORRIDOR. LL SHEAR QUITE GOOD...HOWEVER MID TO UPR
LVLS HAVE SOMETHING TO BE DESIRED. OVERALL...BEST CHC FOR TSRA WILL
BE OVR NRN HALF OF CWA ALONG DEV WARM FRONT...WITH BEST CHC FOR
SEVERE N OF I80 AND E OF HIGHWAY 281. STRONG OR ISOLATED SEVERE
CANNOT BE RULED OUT OVR REST OF CWA...HOWEVER MUCH MORE STABLE
CONDITIONS ENCROACHING UPON SWRN PORTION OF CWA. FOR NOW KEEPING
WITH SCATTERED MENTION...40 POPS NE...30S EVERYWHERE ELSE BUT SWRN
CWA WITH 20 POPS.

FOR MON...CONTINUES TO LOOK QUITE HOT AND FAIRLY MOIST...HOWEVER
MUCH TOO CAPPED OVR MOST OF OUR CWA...WITH INSTABILITY AXIS PUSHING
FURTHER TO THE EAST. LEFT SMALL 20 POPS E AND NE CWA FOR AFT/EVE
PERIOD FOR POINTS IN NERN ZONES...ESPECIALLY WITH LEFT OVR
CONVECTIVE BOUNDARY(S) HAVING THE CHANCE TO PUSH INTO THIS AREA.
HOWEVER...NOT MUCH OF CHANCE REALLY.

BEYOND...NO REAL CHANGES EXCEPT ABOVE MENTIONED LOWERING OF TEMPS A
BIT MORE THU BEHIND FRONT AS RELATIVELY COOL DRY AIR MOVES BACK FOR
A DAY OR SO.

.GID...NONE.

10

KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087-231200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
255 PM CDT SUN JUN 22 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND
PARTS OF NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

THERE IS A MODERATE RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS LATE THIS AFTERNOON
AND INTO THE EVENING OVER PARTS OF SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND NORTH
CENTRAL KANSAS. IT APPEARS THE MOST LIKELY AREA FOR SEVERE STORMS
WILL BE MAINLY NORTH AND EAST OF A GOTHENBURG TO RED CLOUD TO MANKATO
KANSAS LINE. THIS WOULD INCLUDE THE TRI CITIES AREA.

THE ATMOSPHERE HAS BECOME MORE UNSTABLE THIS AFTERNOON AS MORNING
CLOUDS GAVE WAY TO INCREASED SUNSHINE. STRONG SOUTHERLY WINDS
CONTINUE TO TRANSPORT AMPLE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE INTO THE REGION. IN
ADDITION...A COLD FRONT THAT WAS LOCATED FROM JUST EAST OF AINSWORTH
TO NEAR GOTHENBURG AND THEN SOUTH THROUGH MCCOOK SHOULD PUSH SLOWLY
EASTWARD. OTHER BOUNDARIES THAT WERE PRODUCED FROM THUNDERSTORMS LAST
NIGHT AND THIS MORNING WILL ALSO HELP TO INITIATE THUNDERSTORM
DEVELOPMENT. ONE BOUNDARY WAS LOCATED NORTH OF FULLERTON AND ORD...
WHILE ANOTHER WAS JUST WEST OF YORK AND EXTENDED SOUTH TO CONCORDIA
KANSAS. IN ADDITION...WIND SHEAR PARAMETERS REMAIN FAVORABLE FOR
GENERATING SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE REGION. THE COMBINATION
OF ALL THESE FACTORS POINT TO THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT WITH SOME
STORMS PRODUCING LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND TORNADOES.

EMERGENCY MANAGERS SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR THIS SITUATION
THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

EXTREMELY UNSTABLE CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO REDEVELOP LATE MONDAY
AFTERNOON AND EVENING OVER PARTS OF SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA...WITH
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE...MAINLY ALONG AND NORTH OF
INTERSTATE 80.  LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND ARE POSSIBLE...AS ARE
ISOLATED TORNADOES.

THUNDERSTORM CHANCES FOR PARTS OF THE AREA WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MID
WEEK WITH ADDITIONAL SEVERE WEATHER POSSIBLE BY TUESDAY AFTERNOON OR
EVENING.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON INTO
THE EVENING.

EWALD

In the hours before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
605 PM CDT SUN JUN 22 2003

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0600 PM    GRAND IS                  NE   1 INCH HAIL
06/22/03   HALL                           ONE INCH HAIL OVER
                                          FONNER VIEW GOLFCOURSE.
                                          REPORTED BY STORM
                                          SPOTTER.

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
606 PM CDT SUN JUN 22 2003

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0602 PM    1 E GRAND IS              NE   1 INCH HAIL
06/22/03   HALL                           REPORTED BY STORM
                                          SPOTTER.

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
618 PM CDT SUN JUN 22 2003

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0615 PM    3 S GILTNER               NE   1 INCH HAIL
06/22/03   HAMILTON                       REPORTED BY STORM
                                          SPOTTER.

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
628 PM CDT SUN JUN 22 2003

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0628 PM    DESHLER                   NE   2.75 INCH HAIL
06/22/03   THAYER                         REPORTED BY STORM
                                          SPOTTER.

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 60 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:28 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

The live radar over the trackEvery 2003 tornado in NebraskaEvery tornado in Nebraska since 1950Warnings in force in Nebraska nowThe forecast where you are

14 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

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.

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