Tornadoes · United States · Nebraska · 2009

EF1 tornado, Eagle to South Bend, Nebraska, March 23, 2009

From Eagle to South Bend, this EF1 tornado ran 4.0 miles across Cass County on March 23, 2009, touching down at 4:52 PM CDT and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody and injured 3.

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.

  1. EF065 to 85 mph

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

  2. EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado

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

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. EF4166 to 200 mph

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

  6. 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.

  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.

The record

Rating
EF1
Date
March 23, 2009
Touchdown
4:52 PM CDT (21:52 UTC)
Lifted
4:57 PM CDT (21:57 UTC)
On the ground
5 minutes
Path length
4.0 miles (6.4 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
3
County
Cass County
Touchdown point
40.814, -96.438
Lift-off point
40.858, -96.389
Record number
0903231552-01

What the Weather Service recorded

An intense upper level low pressure system tracked from eastern Colorado into southeast South Dakota from March 23rd into March 24th. This caused a surface low pressure system to move from western Nebraska into southeast South Dakota during that time. As the low tracked northeast, a dry-line moved into eastern Nebraska during the afternoon of March 23rd. With surface temperatures in the 60s and 70s, and dewpoint temperatures in the 50s, ample instability was in place to allow a line of severe thunderstorms to develop as the dry-line punched eastward. Several fast moving low-topped supercell thunderstorms were embedded in the line, and one cell produced cyclic tornadoes from southeast of Lincoln into western Iowa. The storms in the line were moving north northeast at 50 to 60 mph. In addition to the severe weather, strong southerly gradient winds prevailed ahead of the low pressure. In some cases the winds gusted between 50 and 65 mph for several hours across parts of eastern Nebraska.

This is the third and longest tracked of 5 cyclic tornadoes that a low-topped supercell thunderstorm produced at it tracked southeast through east of the Lincoln area. This tornado touched down around 2.5 miles west of Bennet, in Lancaster county, tracked northeast clipping the far northwest corner of Otoe county and then lifted around 1.5 miles into the southwest corner of Cass county. In Cass county the tornado destroyed a garage and tossed the debris into a occupied car injuring 5 people. Other tree and farm outbuilding damage was noted. The total path length was around 11 miles.

This is the fourth of 5 cyclic tornadoes that a low-topped supercell thunderstorm produced at it tracked southeast through east of the Lincoln area. This tornado touched down on the southwest side of Eagle and caused tree and some building damage along its path before lifting around 1 mile south of Alvo. Three people sustained minor injures near Alvo when a tree fell onto a truck they were in.

This is the fifth and last of 5 cyclic tornadoes that a low-topped supercell thunderstorm produced at it tracked southeast through east of the Lincoln area. This tornado touched down in Alvo and tracked a little over 10 miles north northeast before lifting just west of South Bend. The tornado knocked down power poles and transmission lines, snapped trees and damaged houses and destroyed farm out buildings along its path. One of the downed power lines fell on a car trapping its occupant for several hours. Several cars were crushed by fallen trees in the Alvo area. From the 3 confirmed tornadoes that hit the county, plus any associated wind damage, emergency management estimated that 30 homes had minor damage with 4 sustaining major damage and 60 to 80 farm outbuildings were damaged with the total damage approaching $1 million.

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

The warnings

19 minutes of warning. NWS OAX issued a tornado warning for this county at 21:33 UTC, 19 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 22:15 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 20:52 UTC and running to 00:53 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
14:00 UTC03:00 UTCWind AdvisoryOAX
20:52 UTC00:53 UTCTornado WatchOAX
21:33 UTC22:15 UTCTornado WarningOAX
22:03 UTC22:20 UTCTornado WarningOAX
22:27 UTC23:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAX
22:48 UTC23:02 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAX
23:39 UTC23:54 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAX

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 Slight 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 19:42 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 Omaha, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Mar 23, 1:56 PM CDT, 2 hours 56 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 23, 1:56 PM CDT, 2 hours 56 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE
156 PM CDT MON MAR 23 2009

.DISCUSSION...

STRONG GRADIENT WINDS ARE THE MAIN CONCERN BEFORE SEVERE WEATHER
BREAKS OUT ACROSS THE AREA MID-LATE AFTERNOON. WL CONTINUE THE HIGH
WIND WARNING AND WIND ADVISORY HEADLINES PREVIOUSLY IN EFFECT
UNTIL 00Z. 18Z SUBJECTIVE SFC ANALYSIS SHOWS 987MB LOW CENTERED OVER
KLBF WITH DRY LINE EXTENDING SWD INTO NRN OK. CU FIELD BEGINNING
TO BREAK OUT ALONG DRY LINE AND STORMS BEGINNING TO FIRE ACROSS
CNTRL NEB. WRMFNT ARCHES FROM THE LOW CENTER NORTH OF KORD TO NEAR
KOLU AND POINTS SEWD. ELEVATED CONVECTION APPEARS TO BE TRYING TO
DEVELOP NORTH OF THIS BOUNDARY. AIRMASS HAS YET TO DESTABILIZE
ACROSS CWA YET...BUT AS SUNSHINE BREAKS OUT FROM WEST TO EAST...IT
SHOULDNT TAKE MUCH TIME TO INCREASE MLCAPE VALUES. FAVORABLE 0-6KM
BULK SHEAR VALUES WOULD SUPPORT SUPERCELLS AND ANY STORMS THAT DO
DEVELOP WILL MOVE INTO 0-1KM SHEAR VALUES OF NEAR 35-40KTS WHICH
COULD AID IN A QUICK SPIN UP. OTHERWISE...STORMS FIRING ALONG THE
DRYLINE ARE LIKELY TO FORM INTO A SQUALL LINE AS THEY SHIFT EAST
THRU THE NIGHT.

SVR WX THREAT SHOULD SUBSIDE BY 03Z WITH THE LINE MOVING INTO CNTRL
IA AS THE SFC LOW MOVES INTO ERN SD. COLDER AIR WL PUSH IN BEHIND
THE SYSTEM AND ANY WRAP AROUND SHOULD TURN INTO LIGHT SNOW ACROSS
FAR NORTHEAST NEBRASKA. ONLY A DUSTING OF ACCUMULATION IS EXPECTED.
NORTHWEST TO WEST WINDS WL BE QUITE BREEZY TUESDAY.

SPLIT FLOW SETS UP BY THURSDAY WITH SOUTHERN STREAM MOVING A STRONG
CLOSED OFF LOW OVER THE FOUR CORNERS REGION WHILE NORTHERN STREAM
STAYS FAR TO OUR NORTH ALONG THE INTERNATIONAL BORDER. THIS SOUTHERN
STREAM SYSTEM LOOKS TO BRING A RETURN OF WINTER TO THE CNTRL PLAINS
THURSDAY NIGHT THRU SATURDAY. STRONG BAROCLINIC ZONE WL SET UP WITH
COLD AIR MASS STRETCHED OUT ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA THRU THE
DURATION OF THE EVENT. GOOD AGREEMENT IN PLACEMENT OF THIS SYSTEM
KEEPS FORECAST AREA IN DEFORMATION ZONE. STRONG SFC GRADIENT BEHIND
THE SYSTEM WOULD KEEP WINDS VERY STRONG THRU THE WEEKEND. HEAVY SNOW
IN COMBINATION WITH STRONG WINDS COULD MAKE FOR A VERY MESSY END OF
THE WEEK/BEGINNING OF THE WEEKEND. WL KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON THIS POSSIBLE
WINTER STORM EVENT.

&&

.AVIATION...
FOR TAF SITES KOFK/KOMA/KLNK THRU 24/18Z.

STRONG SOUTH WINDS WL CONTINUE ACROSS THE TAF SITES THRU EARLY
EVENING HOURS WITH MVFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED. SCATTERED TSTMS ARE
POSSIBLE THRU 03Z...SOME COULD BE SEVERE WITH VISIBILITIES LESS
THAN 2 MILES AT TIMES. AS THE STRONG STORM SYSTEM MOVES NEWD
OVERNIGHT...KOFK COULD SEE PCPN CHANGE TO LIGHT SNOW WITH
CONTINUED MVFR CIGS AROUND 12-18Z.

&&

.OAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NE...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR NEZ015>018-030>034-
     042>045-050>053-066>068-090>093.

     HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR NEZ065-078-088-
     089.

IA...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR IAZ043-055-056-069-
     079-080-090-091.

&&

GRIFFIS
Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 23, 11:31 AM CDT, 5 hours 21 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE
1131 AM CDT MON MAR 23 2009

IAZ043-055-056-069-079-080-090-091-NEZ011-012-015>018-030>034-
042>045-050>053-065>068-078-088>093-240000-
MONONA-HARRISON-SHELBY-POTTAWATTAMIE-MILLS-MONTGOMERY-FREMONT-
PAGE-KNOX-CEDAR-THURSTON-ANTELOPE-PIERCE-WAYNE-BOONE-MADISON-
STANTON-CUMING-BURT-PLATTE-COLFAX-DODGE-WASHINGTON-BUTLER-
SAUNDERS-DOUGLAS-SARPY-SEWARD-LANCASTER-CASS-OTOE-SALINE-
JEFFERSON-GAGE-JOHNSON-NEMAHA-PAWNEE-RICHARDSON-
1131 AM CDT MON MAR 23 2009

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN NEBRASKA
AND WESTERN IOWA.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

SEVERE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS
CENTRAL NEBRASKA...THEN MOVE INTO EASTERN NEBRASKA BY LATE
AFTERNOON...AND INTO WESTERN IOWA BY EARLY THIS EVENING.

THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD BEGIN TO IMPACT AREAS ALONG AND WEST OF A
LINE FROM WAYNE TO BEATRICE BY 3 PM...THE REMAINDER OF EASTERN
NEBRASKA BY 4 TO 6 PM...AND ACROSS WESTERN IOWA AFTER 6 PM. SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS CONTAINING LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS ARE THE
PRIMARY HAZARDS...ALTHOUGH LOW LEVEL WIND SHEAR IS QUITE STRONG
RESULTING IN ISOLATED TORNADOES AS WELL.

A VERY STRONG AREA OF LOW PRESSURE ACROSS WEST CENTRAL NEBRASKA
WILL MOVE TO NORTHEAST NEBRASKA BY EARLY EVENING. FORECAST
SOUNDINGS INDICATE THAT A MID LEVEL CAP SHOULD SUFFICIENTLY WEAKEN
BY MID TO LATE AFTERNOON TO ALLOW SEVERE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT.
DISCRETE CELLS MAY INITIALLY DEVELOP...BUT MERGING INTO A SQUALL
LINE THAT DEVELOPS SOUTHWARD INTO THE SOUTHERN PLAINS AS THE DRY
LINE SWEEPS EASTWARD THROUGH THE AREA.

IN ADDITION TO THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM THREAT...STRONG SOUTH OR
SOUTHEAST WINDS WILL PREVAIL OVER THE AREA TODAY...WITH GUSTS OF
45 TO 60 MPH EXPECTED. THUS...A WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT
FOR MUCH OF THE REGION. IN ADDITION...A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN
EFFECT FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA. WINDS SHOULD DECREASE
OVER THE AREA THIS EVENING...AND THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT SHOULD
SHIFT SOUTH AND EAST OUT OF THE REGION BY MIDNIGHT AND BEYOND.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM IS FORECAST TO DEVELOP OVER THE PLAINS LATE
THIS WEEK INTO SATURDAY. CURRENT INDICATIONS ARE THAT THIS SYSTEM
WILL TRACK FARTHER SOUTH THAN THE ONE AFFECTING THE REGION
TODAY...THUS PUTTING MORE OF THE AREA AT RISK FOR ACCUMULATING
SNOW. AS USUAL...LOCATIONS THAT WILL RECEIVE SNOW...AND EXACT
AMOUNTS...WILL DEPEND HEAVILY ON THE TRACK OF THIS STORM SYSTEM.
STAY TUNED TO LATER FORECASTS ON THIS DEVELOPING WINTER STORM
LATER IN THE WEEK.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

STORM SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL MOSTLY LIKELY BE NEEDED FROM MID
AFTERNOON INTO MID EVENING...INITIALLY ACROSS EASTERN
NEBRASKA...AND EVENTUALLY ACROSS WESTERN IOWA.

DEWALD

In the hours before

Local storm report, Mar 23, 4:16 PM CDT, 36 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA
416 PM CDT MON MAR 23 2009

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

0413 PM     HAIL             1 S CLATONIA            40.45N 96.85W
03/23/2009  M1.00 INCH       GAGE               NE   EMERGENCY MNGR

&&

DFOBERT
Local storm report, Mar 23, 4:22 PM CDT, 30 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA
422 PM CDT MON MAR 23 2009

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

0405 PM     HAIL             1 S BRAINARD            41.17N 97.00W
03/23/2009  M0.88 INCH       BUTLER             NE   EMERGENCY MNGR

0407 PM     HAIL             DAVID CITY              41.25N 97.13W
03/23/2009  M0.75 INCH       BUTLER             NE   EMERGENCY MNGR

&&

DFOBERT
Local storm report, Mar 23, 4:27 PM CDT, 25 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA
427 PM CDT MON MAR 23 2009

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

0425 PM     HAIL             1 S CORTLAND            40.49N 96.71W
03/23/2009  M1.75 INCH       GAGE               NE   LAW ENFORCEMENT

&&

BG
Local storm report, Mar 23, 4:32 PM CDT, 20 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA
432 PM CDT MON MAR 23 2009

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

0426 PM     HAIL             2 SW LINCOLN            40.80N 96.72W
03/23/2009  E0.88 INCH       LANCASTER          NE   AMATEUR RADIO

&&

BG
Local storm report, Mar 23, 4:35 PM CDT, 17 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA
435 PM CDT MON MAR 23 2009

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

0426 PM     TSTM WND DMG     1 S CLATONIA            40.45N 96.85W
03/23/2009                   GAGE               NE   EMERGENCY MNGR

            WIND DAMAGE TO METAL OUTBUILDING

&&

BG
Local storm report, Mar 23, 4:45 PM CDT, 7 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA
445 PM CDT MON MAR 23 2009

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

0441 PM     HAIL             2 E LINCOLN             40.82N 96.65W
03/23/2009  M1.00 INCH       LANCASTER          NE   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

DFOBERT

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), 12:00Z

9.9 hours before the tornado, 54 km from the path. March 23, 2009.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Omaha, NE at 12:00Z on 2009-03-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -13254, lifted condensation level 1023 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
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.
HodographHodograph, Omaha, NE at 12:00Z on 2009-03-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 504 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 26 knots.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-13254 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1023 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
504 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
539 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
4.2 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Omaha, NE (KOAX), 00:00Z

2.1 hours after it, 54 km from the path. March 24, 2009.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 2009-03-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 65 joules per kilogram, CIN -150, lifted condensation level 1676 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
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.
HodographHodograph, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 2009-03-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 226 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 59 knots.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
65 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-150 J/kg
Surface CAPE
200 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1676 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
59 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
226 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
222 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.4
0-3 km lapse rate
6.7 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Lincoln (LNK), 29 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
19:54 UTC7351180° 42 kt51992.6
20:54 UTC7250170° 35 kt51990.5HZ
21:23 UTC66.255.4170° 38 kt48991.2-TSRA
21:31 UTC64.457.2170° 26 kt52991.5-TSRA
21:34 UTC64.457.2170° 35 kt52991.2-TSRA
21:54 UTC6357160° 24 kt35991.9TS
21:56 UTC62.655.4150° 23 kt32991.9VCTS
22:06 UTC62.655.4170° 19 kt29991.5VCTS -RA
22:38 UTC66.253.6190° 23 kt34991.9VCTS
22:54 UTC6753180° 28 kt36992.6

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The radar

The Omaha radar (KOAX), 54 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 21:50 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)ReportWhereCountyRemark
21:13 UTCHAIL 11 S ClatoniaGage, NE
21:25 UTCHAIL 1.751 S CortlandGage, NE
21:26 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 S ClatoniaGage, NEWIND DAMAGE TO METAL OUTBUILDING
21:26 UTCHAIL 0.882 Sw LincolnLancaster, NE
21:41 UTCHAIL 12 E LincolnLancaster, NE
21:45 UTCTORNADO2 S EagleCass, NE*** 5 INJ *** OUTBUILDING BLEW INTO CAR.
21:50 UTCTSTM WND DMG6 S LincolnLancaster, NEROOF BLOWN OFF BARN...POLES AND TREES ALSO DOWN.
21:50 UTCTORNADO2 N EagleCass, NE*** 3 INJ *** TREE FELL ON TRUCK.
22:00 UTCTORNADOS EagleCass, NE
22:10 UTCTSTM WND DMG4 S PanamaLancaster, NEMACHINE SHED HAD WALLS BLOWN OUT.
22:20 UTCHAIL 1ChalcoSarpy, NEROTATING WALL CLOUD OVER 156TH AND HARRISON, NO LOWERING
22:20 UTCHAIL 1OmahaDouglas, NE168TH HARRISON
22:20 UTCHAIL 1.54 Ne GretnaSarpy, NE
22:20 UTCHAIL 1.755 S LincolnLancaster, NE
22:24 UTCHAIL 0.75GretnaSarpy, NE
22:24 UTCHAIL 0.75OmahaDouglas, NE163RD RIGGS RD
22:27 UTCHAIL 0.75OmahaDouglas, NE117TH DODGE
22:30 UTCHAIL 1OmahaDouglas, NE156TH GROVER
22:30 UTCHAIL 1.25OmahaDouglas, NEQUITE A BIT OF 1/2 INCH AND SMALLER HAIL WITH A FEW STONES UP TO 1.25 INCHES AROUND 150TH AND BLONDO.
22:33 UTCHAIL 0.75ElkhornDouglas, NE204TH DODGE
22:42 UTCHAIL 1.75OmahaDouglas, NE144TH AND IDA
23:02 UTCHAIL 0.753 Ne GretnaSarpy, NE
23:16 UTCHAIL 0.88OmahaDouglas, NE132ND FORT

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2009 tornado in NebraskaEvery tornado in Nebraska since 1950Warnings in force in Nebraska nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of March 23, 2009

18 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
March 2312:45 PM MDTEF0Cherry, NE0.110$500
March 233:24 PM CDTEF2Holt, NE0.210$20,000
March 234:14 PM CDTEF1Bon Homme, SD0.9100$30,000
March 234:15 PM CDTEF1Knox, NE1.875
March 234:31 PM CDTEF1Lancaster, NE2.450
March 234:36 PM CDTEF2Lancaster, NE1.650
March 234:41 PM CDTEF1Lancaster, NE10.8505
March 234:59 PM CDTEF1Cass, NE10.7880$1.0 million
March 235:00 PM CDTEF0Sumner, KS0.575
March 235:06 PM CDTEF0Cowley, KS0.775$10,000
March 235:15 PM CDTEF0Cowley, KS0.575
March 235:35 PM CDTEF0Cowley, KS0.575
March 236:03 PM CDTEF2Harrison, IA8.6440
March 236:33 PM CDTEF1Nemaha, KS11.050
March 237:52 PM CDTEF0Montgomery, IA2.625
March 237:56 PM CDTEF0Montgomery, IA1.9440
March 238:10 PM CDTEF0Cass, IA3.550$250,000
March 238:23 PM CDTEF0Cass, IA1.035$20,000

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.