Tornadoes · United States · Nebraska · 2009

EF0 tornado, Grand Is, Nebraska, June 17, 2009

Name: EF0 tornado, Grand Is, Nebraska, June 17, 2009
Start: 2009-06-18T01:38:00.000Z
End: 2009-06-18T01:43:00.000Z
Location: Grand Is, Nebraska

This EF0 tornado ran 1.9 miles across Hall County on June 17, 2009, touching down at 8:38 PM CDT and reaching 20 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $5,000 of property damage.

The rating scale

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

EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
EF2111 to 135 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.
EF3136 to 165 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
EF4166 to 200 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
EF5over 200 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.

The record

Rating: EF0
Date: June 17, 2009
Touchdown: 8:38 PM CDT (01:38 UTC)
Lifted: 8:43 PM CDT (01:43 UTC)
On the ground: 5 minutes
Path length: 1.9 miles (3.0 km)
Path width: 20 yards (18 m)
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $5,000
County: Hall County
Touchdown point: 40.882, -98.389
Lift-off point: 40.892, -98.356
Record number: 0906171938-01

What the Weather Service recorded

Early on in the afternoon, a few scattered thunderstorms developed across eastern portions of South Central Nebraska, with one severe thunderstorm across Thayer County, where quarter to baseball size hail was reported. The main show came later during the early evening hours, after a surface warm front had moved north into the area. Near the front, good instability and shear was present, as was moisture. Scattered thunderstorms developed along the edge of the mid level cap near the surface front, and with the environment present, some became strong to severe. The main storm of the day developed in Buffalo County, then moved east across Hall and Hamilton Counties. In each of these counties, this storm produced a tornado, with the largest occurring in Hamilton County, along Highway 34 near the town of Aurora. This tornado caused EF2 damage to a home in its path, before dissipating a few miles west of Aurora. Other damage caused by this storm included downed power poles and derailed train cars, as well as roof damage to the Iams plant caused by strong inflow winds. Weaker tornadoes were reported on the south side of Grand Island in Hall County, as well as north of Gibbon in Buffalo County, where EF1 damage occurred at a few farmsteads. Penny to tennis ball size hail was also reported across the area, causing damage to crops, with one report of broken house windows in Valley County.

A brief, weak tornado touched down in south Grand Island, with damage to trees and to shingles and siding at 3 houses.

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

The warnings

29 minutes of warning. NWS GID issued a tornado warning for this county at 01:09 UTC, 29 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 01:45 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 17:53 UTC and running to 02:00 UTC.

Issued (UTC)	Expired	Product	Office
17:53 UTC	02:00 UTC	Tornado Watch	GID
23:46 UTC	00:30 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID
23:56 UTC	00:30 UTC	Tornado Warning	GID
00:21 UTC	00:45 UTC	Tornado Warning	GID
00:43 UTC	01:30 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID
00:55 UTC	01:30 UTC	Tornado Warning	GID
01:07 UTC	01:45 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID
01:09 UTC	01:45 UTC	Tornado Warning	GID
01:42 UTC	02:15 UTC	Tornado Warning	GID
01:46 UTC	02:17 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID
02:05 UTC	03:59 UTC	Tornado Watch	GID

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 forecast that day

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Moderate Risk, with a 0.10 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 01:02 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.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Hastings, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Jun 17, 6:16 PM CDT, 2 hours 22 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 17, 6:16 PM CDT, 2 hours 22 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
616 PM CDT WED JUN 17 2009

.AVIATION...00Z TAF. THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP THIS
EVENING AND RAPIDLY BECOME SEVERE. THE POTENTIAL FOR A SEVERE
STORM TO IMPACT KGRI DOES EXIST. THUNDERSTORM CHCS DECREASE IN THE
PREDAWN HOURS. ONCE THE STORMS PASS THROUGH...VFR CONDITIONS ARE
EXPECTED ON THURSDAY.

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 241 PM CDT WED JUN 17 2009/

SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT.  FOCUS IS ON SEVERE
WEATHER TONIGHT.  SURFACE WARM FRONTAL BOUNDARY WAS ORIENTED NEAR
THE NEBRASKA AND KANSAS STATELINE.  SEVERE PARAMETERS ALL ARE
FAVORABLE FOR ORGANIZED STORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.  CAP HAS
ESSENTIALLY ERODED ALONG THE FRONT AND LAPS DATA INDICATE SURFACE
BASED CAPES ON THE ORDER OF 4500 J/KG.  DEEP LAYER SHEAR IS ALSO
IMPRESSIVE AT 40 TO 50KTS.  MOISTURE HAS POOLED ALONG THE BOUNDARY
WITH DPS IN THE LOW TO MID 70S...LEADING TO AN AXIS OF LOWER LCL
HEIGHTS.

THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL BE THE FOCUS FOR CONVECTION DURING THE
NEXT SEVERAL HOURS.  STORMS WILL RAPIDLY BECOME SEVERE AND BE
CAPABLE OF PRODUCING BASEBALL HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...TORNADOES AND
HEAVY RAINFALL IN EXCESS OF TWO INCHES.  MODELS ARE FAIRLY AGREEABLE
THAT THE EASTERN NEB CONVECTION WILL CONTINUE TO TREK
EASTWARD...WITH A NEW ROUND OF STORMS DEVELOPING ROUGHLY 22Z TO 00Z
ACROSS SOUTHWEST/SOUTHERN NEBRASKA AND WE WILL SEE HOW THIS NEXT
ROUND UNFOLDS IN THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS.

THE LOWLEVEL JET INCREASES TO AROUND 50KTS OVERNIGHT AND CONVECTION
SHOULD SUSTAIN/ORGANIZE AND ROLL EASTWARD DURING THE NOCTURNAL
HOURS.

THEN ON THURSDAY...BOUNDARIES LINGER IN THE MORNING THEN MAY LIFT
NORTH DURING THE AFTERNOON WHILE A COOL FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE
WEST IN THE AFTERNOON/EVENING.  THE FRONT PUSHES SOUTHEAST THURSDAY
NIGHT BRINGING ANOTHER CHC FOR STORMS.

LONG TERM...WILL KEEP THIS SHORT DUE TO EXPECTED SEVERE WEATHER.
SUNRISE FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. CONCERN REVOLVES AROUND TEMPS AND
PRECIP AS RIDGE KEEPS TRYING TO BUILD INTO THE PLAINS WHILE WEST
COAST TROUGH KEEPS IT FROM BUILDING TOO FAR NORTH. A FEW DAYS AGO IT
LOOKED LIKE THE RIDGE WOULD BUILD IN AND WE WOULD BE HOT AND
PRIMARILY DRY. AS IN YEARS PAST...IT NOW LOOKS LIKE THIS MAY NOT
OCCUR AS DISTURBANCES ROTATING AROUND WEST COAST TROUGH MAY WORK
INTO THE AREA DURING THE PERIOD.  AS FAR AS TEMPS...WILL STILL BE
PLENTY WARM WITH SOME DAYS IN THE 80S AND OTHERS IN THE 90S.

COULD PROBABLY GO WITH OVERNIGHT POPS IN EVERY PERIOD...BUT FOR NOW
WILL INCLUDE IN THE FIRST PART OF THE EXTENDED AND MONITOR OVER NEXT
FEW DAYS.

&&

.GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NE...NONE.
KS...NONE.
&&

Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 17, 5:05 PM CDT, 3 hours 33 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
505 PM CDT WED JUN 17 2009

KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087-
181200-
PHILLIPS-SMITH-JEWELL-ROOKS-OSBORNE-MITCHELL-VALLEY-GREELEY-NANCE-
SHERMAN-HOWARD-MERRICK-POLK-DAWSON-BUFFALO-HALL-HAMILTON-YORK-
GOSPER-PHELPS-KEARNEY-ADAMS-CLAY-FILLMORE-FURNAS-HARLAN-FRANKLIN-
WEBSTER-NUCKOLLS-THAYER-
505 PM CDT WED JUN 17 2009

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

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT.

THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP DURING THE EVENING AND RAPIDLY BECOME
SEVERE.  THE STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING BASEBALL SIZE
HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 70 MPH AND ISOLATED
TORNADOES...ESPECIALLY IN THE VICINITY OF A WARM FRONTAL BOUNDARY
LIFTING NORTH INTO NEBRASKA. TORRENTIAL RAINFALL IN EXCESS OF TWO
INCHES IS POSSIBLE...WHICH MAY LEAD TO FLOODING PROBLEMS.

THE STRONGEST STORMS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA
AND IN PHILLIPS....SMITH AND JEWELL COUNTIES IN NORTH CENTRAL
KANSAS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY.

THERE IS ANOTHER CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE OUTLOOK AREA
ON THURSDAY...ESPECIALLY DURING THE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT HOURS.
THERE IS A POSSIBILITY A FEW STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE...WITH
QUARTER SIZE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS NEAR 60 MPH THE PRIMARY
HAZARDS.

ADDITIONAL CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS EXIST INTERMITTENTLY FROM
FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE NEEDED THIS EVENING.

&&

MA BETTER CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FRIDAY
NIGHT INTO SATURDAY AS ANOTHER TROUGH MOVES THROUGH THE AREA.

&&
.DISCUSSION...A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE IS MOVING ACROSS NORTHERN
ARIZONA THIS AFTERNOON. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS STRETCH
FROM NEAR CONGRESS TO PRESCOTT TO FLAGSTAFF TO KAYENTA. SOME OF
THESE STORMS CONTAIN HEAVY RAIN. MINOR FLOODING HAS BEEN REPORTED
NEAR PAGE.

THE SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED TO DECREASE
OVERNIGHT AS PART OF THE TROUGH PULLS NORTHEAST OF ARIZONA. THE
SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE TROUGH IS FORECAST TO CUTOFF OVER OR WEST OF
NORTHERN BAJA ON THURSDAY. ENOUGH MID LEVEL MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY
IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN OVER AREAS ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE RIM FROM
FLAGSTAFF EASTWARD FOR A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS.

THE CUTOFF LOW IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN MOVING NORTHWARD LATE FRIDAY.
THE CHANCE OF STORMS WILL INCREASE FRIDAY AFTERNOON MAINLY FROM
FLAGSTAFF SOUTHWARD. AS THE LOW MOVES ACROSS ARIZONA FRIDAY NIGHT
THROUGH SATURDAY...THERE WILL BE SCATTERED SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS. INCREASING INSTABILITY AND SHEAR MAY ALSO LEAD TO
SOME STRONG STORMS...PRODUCING HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS.

THE LOW IS EXPECTED TO MOVE NORTHEAST OF ARIZONA ON SUNDAY WITH THE
CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION DECREASING THROUGH THE DAY. A DRIER AND
WARMER SOUTHWEST FLOW IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER ARIZONA ON MONDAY.

HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING OVER TEXAS MAY PUSH ENOUGH MOISTURE OVER
EASTERN SECTIONS OF NORTHERN ARIZONA BY TUESDAY FOR A FEW SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSTORMS. THIS MOISTURE MAY PUSH ACROSS THE WESTERN
MOGOLLON RIM BY WEDNESDAY.

&&

.AVIATION...FOR THE 00Z PACKAGE...A WEAK TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE WILL
BRING ISOLD-SCT SHRA/TSRA WITH LCL MVFR IN THE STRONGER STORMS. SOME
STORMS MAY PRODUCE SFC WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 35KTS. CONVECTION
DIMINISHING AFT 03Z. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR AMENDMENTS.

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE WILL LINGER WEST OF THE
AREA THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. EXPECT VARIABLE MID AND HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS
WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS. MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITIES WILL FALL
BELOW 15 PERCENT FOR ELEVATIONS BELOW 6000 FEET.

SATURDAY THROUGH MONDAY...A SWITCH TO A MORE SOUTHERLY FLOW WILL
INCREASE MOISTURE AND CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...WITH
THE BEST CHANCE ARRIVING ON SATURDAY. TEMPERATURES SHOULD RETURN TO
NEAR SEASONABLE LEVELS BY MONDAY WITH DIMINISHING CHANCES OF SHOWERS.

&&

.FGZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE.

&&

PUBLIC.....................MAS
AVIATION/FIRE WEATHER......DB

VISIT WEATHER.GOV/FLAGSTAFF FOR NORTHERN ARIZONA WEATHER
INFORMATION.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jun 17, 8:22 PM CDT, 16 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
822 PM CDT WED JUN 17 2009

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0820 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     2 NW GRAND ISLAND       40.94N 98.39W
06/17/2009                   HALL               NE   PUBLIC

&&

FAY

Local storm report, Jun 17, 8:26 PM CDT, 12 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
826 PM CDT WED JUN 17 2009

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0826 PM     HAIL             GRAND ISLAND            40.92N 98.37W
06/17/2009  E1.25 INCH       HALL               NE   EMERGENCY MNGR

&&

FAY

Local storm report, Jun 17, 8:30 PM CDT, 8 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
830 PM CDT WED JUN 17 2009

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0830 PM     HAIL             GRAND ISLAND            40.92N 98.37W
06/17/2009  E1.75 INCH       HALL               NE   PUBLIC

&&

FAY

Local storm report, Jun 17, 8:31 PM CDT, 7 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
831 PM CDT WED JUN 17 2009

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0831 PM     HAIL             LITCHFIELD              41.16N 99.15W
06/17/2009  E0.88 INCH       SHERMAN            NE   TRAINED SPOTTER

            NICKEL HAIL AND 40 MPH WINDS

&&

PFANNKUCH

Local storm report, Jun 17, 8:35 PM CDT, 3 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
835 PM CDT WED JUN 17 2009

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0833 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     GRAND ISLAND            40.92N 98.37W
06/17/2009                   HALL               NE   STORM CHASER

            FUNNEL CLOUD OVER HIGHWAY 281 IN GRAND ISLAND. NO TORNADO
            AT THIS TIME.

&&

PFANNKUCH

Local storm report, Jun 17, 8:36 PM CDT, 2 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
836 PM CDT WED JUN 17 2009

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0834 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 3 SW GRAND ISLAND       40.89N 98.41W
06/17/2009  E60 MPH          HALL               NE   PUBLIC

            TSTM WIND GUST 50 TO 60 MPH. SHINGLES OFF ROOF OF HOUSE
            HIGHWAYS 281 AND 34.

&&

FAY

The air that afternoon

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.

Omaha, NE (KOAX), 00:00Z

1.6 hours before the tornado, 175 km from the path. June 18, 2009.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.

Hodograph

The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.

Mixed-layer CAPE: 1256 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -128 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 2352 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1892 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 46 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 9 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 54 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 169 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.0
0-3 km lapse rate: 7.8 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Omaha, NE (KOAX), 12:00Z

10.4 hours after it, 175 km from the path. June 18, 2009.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.

Hodograph

Mixed-layer CAPE: 1501 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -282 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 1650 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1387 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 52 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 153 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 174 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.9
0-3 km lapse rate: 4.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 63 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 01:37 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.

What was reported nearby

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

Time (UTC)	Report	Where	County	Remark
23:09 UTC	HAIL 0.88	1 S Pleasanton	Buffalo, NE
23:20 UTC	HAIL 2	1 N Pleasanton	Buffalo, NE
23:46 UTC	HAIL 1	8 Sse Poole	Buffalo, NE	QUARTER SIZE HAIL
23:48 UTC	FUNNEL CLOUD	12 Ne Kearney	Buffalo, NE
23:48 UTC	FUNNEL CLOUD	7 N Gibbon	Buffalo, NE	SMALL FUNNEL. FUNNEL LIFTED.
23:51 UTC	TORNADO	12 Nnw Gibbon	Buffalo, NE	VERY BRIEF TOUCHDOWN AND HAS SINCE LIFTED
23:55 UTC	TORNADO	10 S Ravenna	Buffalo, NE	WORST DAMAGE IN BUFFALO COUNTY REPORTED NEAR POLE LINE RD/NAVAHO RD. QUANSET BUILDING DESTROYED AND GARAGE DAMAGED. SOME DAMAGE TO AT LEAST 2 FARMS.
23:56 UTC	TORNADO	8 Nnw Gibbon	Buffalo, NE	CONE TORNADO ON GROUND
00:05 UTC	TORNADO	9 N Gibbon	Buffalo, NE	NEW TORNADO ON GROUND
00:08 UTC	TORNADO	6 Nw Shelton	Buffalo, NE	TORNADO WAS ON GROUND FOR ABOUT 2 MINUTES BUT HAS SINCE LIFTED. TIME APPROXIMATE
00:26 UTC	HAIL 1	7 Sw Cairo	Hall, NE
00:36 UTC	HAIL 1	8 Sw Cairo	Hall, NE
01:03 UTC	FUNNEL CLOUD	3 N Wood River	Hall, NE
01:05 UTC	FUNNEL CLOUD	Alda	Hall, NE
01:11 UTC	FUNNEL CLOUD	2 Nw Alda	Hall, NE
01:19 UTC	HAIL 0.75	Grand Island	Hall, NE
01:20 UTC	FUNNEL CLOUD	2 Nw Grand Island	Hall, NE
01:22 UTC	HAIL 1	2 Ne Grand Island	Hall, NE	QUARTER SIZE HAIL NORTH SIDE OF GRAND ISLAND
01:26 UTC	HAIL 1.25	Grand Island	Hall, NE
01:30 UTC	HAIL 1.75	Grand Island	Hall, NE
01:33 UTC	FUNNEL CLOUD	Grand Island	Hall, NE	FUNNEL CLOUD OVER HIGHWAY 281 IN GRAND ISLAND. NO TORNADO AT THIS TIME.
01:34 UTC	NON-TSTM WND GST 60	3 Sw Grand Island	Hall, NE	TSTM WIND GUST 50 TO 60 MPH. SHINGLES OFF ROOF OF HOUSE HIGHWAYS 281 AND 34.
01:37 UTC	TORNADO	3 Ssw Grand Island	Hall, NE	VERY BRIEF AND WEAK TORNADO CROSSED HIGHWAY 281 ON SOUTH SIDE OF GRAND ISLAND
01:42 UTC	FUNNEL CLOUD	3 Se Grand Island	Hall, NE
01:50 UTC	HAIL 0.88	6 Wsw Chapman	Merrick, NE	DELAYED REPORT OF NICKEL SIZE HAIL.
01:52 UTC	HAIL 1.75	1 Ne Phillips	Hamilton, NE
01:54 UTC	FUNNEL CLOUD	1 E Phillips	Hamilton, NE
01:57 UTC	TORNADO	7 W Aurora	Hamilton, NE	BRIEF TOUCHDOWN.
02:00 UTC	TORNADO	7 W Aurora	Hamilton, NE	CONE TORNADO ON HIGHWAY 34.
02:05 UTC	TORNADO	6 W Aurora	Hamilton, NE	TORNADO ABOUT QUARTER MILE WIDE JUST SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 34.
02:12 UTC	TORNADO	4 W Aurora	Hamilton, NE	LARGE TORNADO ALONG HIGHWAY 34 DOING DAMAGE
02:12 UTC	TORNADO	5 W Aurora	Hamilton, NE	SIGNIFICANT HOUSE DAMAGE ALONG HIGHWAY 34. TRAIN DE-RAILED ALONG HIGHWAY 34.
02:37 UTC	HAIL 0.75	4 N St. Paul	Howard, NE

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

This ground now

The live radar over the track Every 2009 tornado in Nebraska Every tornado in Nebraska since 1950 Warnings in force in Nebraska now The forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of June 17, 2009

16 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
June 17	2:18 PM CDT	EF0	Gage, NE	0.5	25
June 17	2:20 PM CDT	EF1	Washington, KS	8.8	200		$10,000
June 17	4:40 PM CDT	EF0	Wilkin, MN	0.1	25
June 17	5:08 PM CDT	EF0	Wilkin, MN	1.0	25
June 17	7:27 PM EDT	EF0	Wayne, OH	3.8	100		$60,000
June 17	6:54 PM CDT	EF1	Buffalo, NE	1.1	200		$100,000
June 17	7:05 PM CDT	EF0	Buffalo, NE	0.2	25
June 17	7:10 PM CDT	EF0	Buffalo, NE	3.6	100
June 17	7:25 PM CDT	EF0	Todd, KY	0.2	30		$5,000
June 17	7:30 PM CDT	EF0	Freeborn, MN	1.8	50		$1,000
June 17	7:50 PM CDT	EF0	Custer, NE	0.1	20
June 17	8:00 PM CDT	EF2	Mower, MN	9.6	120	1	$2.0 million
June 17	8:02 PM CDT	EF0	Waseca, MN	2.3	50
June 17	8:50 PM CDT	EF0	Hamilton, NE	1.0	25
June 17	8:51 PM CDT	EF0	Mower, MN	0.1	15		$1,000
June 17	8:59 PM CDT	EF2	Hamilton, NE	5.1	450		$250,000

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.