Tornadoes · United States · Nebraska · 2010
EF1 tornado, Bayard, Nebraska, June 7, 2010
This EF1 tornado ran 2.0 miles across Morrill County on June 7, 2010, touching down at 7:54 PM MDT and reaching 100 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $60,000 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 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado
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
- EF1
- Date
- June 7, 2010
- Touchdown
- 7:54 PM MDT (01:54 UTC)
- Lifted
- 8:14 PM MDT (02:14 UTC)
- On the ground
- 20 minutes
- Path length
- 2.0 miles (3.2 km)
- Path width
- 100 yards (91 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $60,000
- County
- Morrill County
- Touchdown point
- 41.719, -103.361
- Lift-off point
- 41.719, -103.361
- Record number
- 1006071954-01
The damage survey
5 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS CYS, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 100 mph.
- Minor roof damage and knocked over fence. Small tree limb also broken.
- Grain elevator severely damaged. Three grain bins ripped off of foundation and thrown into the adjacent field. Grain bin metal dented and twisted. Grain elevator building damage, roof pieces torn up and dents to siding. Portion of one of the grain bins ended up half mile down SR 92 at 41 46 43.1, 103 30 11.3
- Big limbs broken off of trees, trunks snapped and bark stripped.
- Broken windows on home on west side. Large tree limbs broken off ranging from 4 inches to 2 feet in diameter. Owners shed/garage mostly destroyed. Roof of shed completely lifted up and blown into trees behind shed. A tree was uprooted.
Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.
What the Weather Service recorded
Moist southerly winds brought 50 to mid 60 degree dew points into the area. Due to so much moisture present, low status formed and lasted through the early afternoon. The stratus caused the atmosphere to remain stable through the early afternoon until the stratus began to clear out. With the moisture still present during the afternoon and a strong jet stream overhead, thunderstorms that former over the higher terrain of Southeast Wyoming began to move eastward into the panhandle. The unstable conditions also allowed thunderstorms to develop in the panhandle during the late afternoon and evening hours.
An RV was completely destroyed. Estimated duration, path length and width.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
11 minutes of warning. NWS CYS issued a tornado warning for this county at 01:43 UTC, 11 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 02:30 UTC.
The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 21:31 UTC and running to 04:02 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21:31 UTC | 04:02 UTC | Tornado Watch | CYS |
| 00:43 UTC | 01:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CYS |
| 01:02 UTC | 01:30 UTC | Tornado Warning | CYS |
| 01:07 UTC | 01:44 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CYS |
| 01:43 UTC | 02:30 UTC | Tornado Warning | CYS |
| 02:24 UTC | 03:30 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CYS |
| 02:35 UTC | 05:37 UTC | Flash Flood Warning | CYS |
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 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 00:59 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.
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.
Denver, CO (KDNR), 00:00Z
1.9 hours before the tornado, 206 km from the path. June 8, 2010.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 531 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -44 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 871 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 3638 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 45 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 5 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -12 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 57 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.5
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 9.4 K/km
Denver, CO (KDNR), 12:00Z
10.1 hours after it, 206 km from the path. June 8, 2010.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 87 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -267 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 89 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 864 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 40 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 13 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -73 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 299 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 12.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.5 K/km
The radar
The Cheyenne radar (KCYS), 136 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 01:52 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00:21 UTC | TORNADO | 10 N Scottsbluff | Sioux, NE | TORNADO WAS ROUGHLY 10 MILES NORTH OF LOCATION. DEBRIS SEEN BY SPOTTER. |
| 00:56 UTC | HAIL 1 | 1 Ese Morrill | Scotts Bluff, NE | ESTIMATED TIME OF REPORT. |
| 00:56 UTC | HAIL 1 | Nnw Morrill | Scotts Bluff, NE | |
| 00:56 UTC | HAIL 2.75 | 3 N Morrill | Sioux, NE | |
| 00:57 UTC | HAIL 2 | 2 Nnw Morrill | Scotts Bluff, NE | SOME HAIL 2.25 INCHES WITH DAMAGE TO GUTTERS AND WINDOW FRAMES |
| 00:58 UTC | HAIL 2.5 | 1 N Morrill | Scotts Bluff, NE | |
| 01:00 UTC | HAIL 1.5 | S Mitchell | Scotts Bluff, NE | ESTIMATED TIME OF REPORT. |
| 01:00 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | 3 Ene Morrill | Scotts Bluff, NE | |
| 01:00 UTC | HAIL 2.5 | 2 Nw Mitchell | Scotts Bluff, NE | RESIDENT LOST BEET AND CORN CROPS. POSSIBLE ROOF DAMAGE. ESTIMATED TIME OF REPORT. |
| 01:00 UTC | HAIL 2.75 | 1 Nnw Mitchell | Scotts Bluff, NE | CONSIDERABLE DAMAGE TO SIDING ON WEST SIDE. SEVERAL WINDOWS BROKEN. LARGEST HAIL FELL FIRST FOLLOWED BY LONG DURATION OF SMALLER HAIL. |
| 01:00 UTC | HAIL 2.75 | 3 Ene Mitchell | Scotts Bluff, NE | HOUSE SIDING DAMAGED |
| 01:00 UTC | HAIL 2.75 | 3 Nne Mitchell | Scotts Bluff, NE | VARIOUS SIZE HAIL FELL FOR 30 MINUTES CAUSING BROKEN WINDOWS AND HOLES IN ROOF |
| 01:00 UTC | HAIL 3 | 3 N Mitchell | Scotts Bluff, NE | BROKEN WINDOW |
| 01:00 UTC | HAIL 4 | 2 N Morrill | Sioux, NE | LARGEST HAIL FELL FIRST FOLLOWED BY 20 MINUTES OF SMALLER HAIL. ESTIMATED TIME OF REPORT. |
| 01:00 UTC | HAIL 4 | 2 Nw Morrill | Scotts Bluff, NE | AVERAGE HAIL SIZE 3 INCHES |
| 01:02 UTC | HAIL 0.88 | 19 W Alliance | Box Butte, NE | |
| 01:07 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | 1 E Mitchell | Scotts Bluff, NE | |
| 01:07 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | 1 Se Mitchell | Scotts Bluff, NE | WIND GUST OF 43 MPH ALSO REPORTED |
| 01:10 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | 2 Wsw Lake Alice | Scotts Bluff, NE | SKYLIGHT BROKEN. CORN AND ALFALFA CROPS DAMAGED AND FIELDS FLOODED. ESTIMATED TIME OF REPORT. |
| 01:10 UTC | HAIL 2 | 3 Nw Mitchell | Scotts Bluff, NE | |
| 01:15 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | 5 W Lake Alice | Scotts Bluff, NE | ESTIMATED TIME OF REPORT. |
| 01:15 UTC | HAIL 2 | 4 Ne Mitchell | Scotts Bluff, NE | NO MAJOR DAMAGE |
| 01:15 UTC | HAIL 2.75 | 4 E Mitchell | Scotts Bluff, NE | LOST FOUR DOUBLE PANED WINDOWS |
| 01:20 UTC | HAIL 2 | 6 Nnw Scottsbluff | Scotts Bluff, NE | SHINGLES BROKEN AND DENTS IN A STEEL BUILDING |
| 01:21 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | Scottsbluff | Scotts Bluff, NE | |
| 01:23 UTC | TORNADO | 1 E Scottsbluff | Scotts Bluff, NE | |
| 01:24 UTC | HAIL 2.5 | Scottsbluff | Scotts Bluff, NE | POWER FLASHES OBSERVED OF WEST SIDE OF SCOTTSBLUFF. |
| 01:25 UTC | TORNADO | 2 Nw Alliance | Box Butte, NE | OFFICER AT THIS LOCATION REPORTED A TORNADO ON THE GROUND. |
| 01:26 UTC | TSTM WND GST 73 | 1 Sw Scottsbluff Airpor | Scotts Bluff, NE | MEASURED JUST SW OF BFF |
| 01:29 UTC | TORNADO | 1 Sw Scottsbluff Airpor | Scotts Bluff, NE | BRIEF TOUCHDOWN REPORTED JUST SW OF SCOTTSBLUFF AIRPORT WITH 80 MPH GUST OBSERVED AT 1927. |
| 01:33 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | Minatare | Scotts Bluff, NE | LOCATED ALONG US HIGHWAY 26. |
| 01:35 UTC | HAIL 2 | 2 Ne Morrill | Scotts Bluff, NE | HAIL LASTED FOR ABOUT 15 MINUTES. ESTIMATED TIME OF REPORT. |
| 01:35 UTC | HAIL 2.75 | 4 Nne Morrill | Sioux, NE | ESTIMATED TIME OF REPORT. |
| 01:38 UTC | TSTM WND GST 55 | Minatare | Scotts Bluff, NE | MEASURED BY PROBES LOCATED ALONG US HIGHWAY 26 |
| 01:38 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | Alliance | Box Butte, NE | MARBLE TO PING PONG SIZED HAIL REPORTED. |
| 01:43 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Melbeta | Scotts Bluff, NE | REPORT OF SHEET METAL BLOWN AROUND...ROOF DAMAGE...DOWNED TREES. |
| 01:45 UTC | HAIL 1 | 5 Nw Bayard | Scotts Bluff, NE | HAIL NOT SYMMETRIC. HAIL WAS INCH ACROSS BUT VERY THIN. |
| 01:51 UTC | TSTM WND GST 55 | 2 S Bayard | Morrill, NE | REPORTED ALONG US HIGHWAY 26. |
| 01:55 UTC | TORNADO | 3 Sw Bayard | Morrill, NE | TORNADO SPOTTED. TOTALLY DAMAGED RV. RATED AN EF1 TORNADO. |
| 02:22 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | 3 N Morrill | Sioux, NE | CORN CROPS FLOODED. |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2010 tornado in NebraskaEvery tornado in Nebraska since 1950Warnings in force in Nebraska nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of June 7, 2010
8 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 7 | 6:20 PM MDT | EF0 | Sioux, NE | 0.5 | 100 | |||
| June 7 | 7:11 PM MDT | EF0 | Bowman, ND | 1.7 | 25 | $50,000 | ||
| June 7 | 7:23 PM MDT | EF1 | Scotts Bluff, NE | 19.0 | 100 | |||
| June 7 | 7:24 PM MDT | EF0 | Box Butte, NE | 2.0 | 100 | |||
| June 7 | 7:25 PM MDT | EF0 | Scotts Bluff, NE | 0.3 | 100 | |||
| June 7 | 7:28 PM MDT | EF0 | Scotts Bluff, NE | 0.3 | 100 | |||
| June 7 | 8:12 PM MDT | EF0 | Bowman, ND | 0.3 | 25 | |||
| June 7 | 8:28 PM MDT | EF0 | Morrill, NE | 1.0 | 100 |
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.