Tornadoes · United States · Nebraska · 2011

EF0 tornado, Max, Nebraska, June 19, 2011

This EF0 tornado ran 1.5 miles across Dundy County on June 19, 2011, touching down at 5:44 PM MDT and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $35,000 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.

  1. EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado

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

  2. EF186 to 110 mph

    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
EF0
Date
June 19, 2011
Touchdown
5:44 PM MDT (23:44 UTC)
Lifted
5:46 PM MDT (23:46 UTC)
On the ground
2 minutes
Path length
1.5 miles (2.4 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$35,000
County
Dundy County
Touchdown point
40.193, -101.492
Lift-off point
40.200, -101.463
Record number
1106191744-01

What the Weather Service recorded

Several rounds of severe storms moved across southern Nebraska during the evening hours, resulting in three tornadoes over Dundy and Red Willow counties. None of the tornadoes resulted in significant damage as they remained over open fields.

Storm chaser reported the tornado remained mostly over open fields in rural Dundy county. Newspaper accounts stated that one center pivot system was overturned, and a barn roof was damaged.

Storm chaser reported this second tornado north of Benkelman about 15 minutes after the first tornado. This tornado was west of Highway 61 and also remained over open fields with no known damage.

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

The warnings

20 minutes of warning. NWS GLD issued a tornado warning for this county at 23:24 UTC, 20 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 00:30 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 20:17 UTC and running to 03:12 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
20:17 UTC03:12 UTCTornado WatchGLD
23:04 UTC00:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLD
23:24 UTC00:30 UTCTornado WarningGLD
23:26 UTC05:45 UTCTornado WatchGLD
23:39 UTC00:31 UTCTornado WarningGLD
23:50 UTC00:29 UTCTornado WarningGLD
04:10 UTC04:22 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLD

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. The outlook in force was issued at 19:58 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.

N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), 12:00Z

11.7 hours before the tornado, 127 km from the path. June 19, 2011.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE at 12:00Z on 2011-06-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 324 joules per kilogram, CIN -277, lifted condensation level 1660 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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, N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE at 12:00Z on 2011-06-19The 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 19 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 34 knots.193958Sfc1 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
324 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-277 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1660 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
34 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
13 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
19 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-18 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.2
0-3 km lapse rate
3.3 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), 00:00Z

0.3 hours after it, 127 km from the path. June 20, 2011.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE at 00:00Z on 2011-06-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1727 joules per kilogram, CIN -21, lifted condensation level 1157 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km-30°-20°-10°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, N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE at 00:00Z on 2011-06-20The 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 121 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 44 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
1727 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-21 J/kg
Surface CAPE
2881 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1157 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
44 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
121 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
293 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
2.2
Supercell composite
17.6
0-3 km lapse rate
7.2 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Imperial Municip (IML), 37 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
21:53 UTC835990° 16 kt221002.4
22:53 UTC826180° 17 kt231001.4
23:50 UTC75.264.470° 18 kt999.3VCTS -RA
23:53 UTC746480° 18 kt24999.3VCTS -RA
00:53 UTC706440° 10 kt151001.4VCTS -RA
01:36 UTC66.262.640° 12 kt1000.3

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

The radar

The Goodland radar (KGLD), 94 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:45 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
20:50 UTCTSTM WND DMGWaunetaChase, NESTRONG WINDS OVER 60 MPH CAUSED EXTENSIVE LARGE TREE DAMAGE. STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TO A HOME BY A FALLEN TREE AND PIVOT IRRIGATION SYSTEM OVERTURNED.
23:02 UTCHAIL 2.7510 Wnw ImperialChase, NE
23:44 UTCTORNADO10 N BenkelmanDundy, NETORNADO LASTED FOR 3 MINUTES. MULTIPLE SIGHTINGS OF THIS SAME TORNADO.
23:47 UTCTORNADO8 N BenkelmanDundy, NETORNADO WAS IN AN OPEN FIELD AND LASTED 4 MINUTES.
23:48 UTCTORNADO8 S WaunetaDundy, NECHASE COUNTY SHERIFF REPORTED TORNADO 8 MILES SOUTH OF WANETA
00:04 UTCTORNADO13 Nne BenkelmanDundy, NE
00:12 UTCHAIL 1.7510 S Hayes CenterHayes, NEPUBLIC REPORTED GOLF BALL SIZED HAIL 10 S OF HAYES CENTER
00:12 UTCHAIL 1.7510 Sw Hayes CenterHayes, NEPUBLIC REPORTED GOLF BALL SIZED HAIL 10 SW OF HAYES CENTER
00:13 UTCFUNNEL CLOUD6 Se Hayes CenterHayes, NE
00:30 UTCHAIL 2.7510 Wnw ImperialChase, NETIME OF REPORT CORRECTED.
00:40 UTCTORNADO6 S PalisadeHitchcock, NE
00:45 UTCHAIL 1.759 Se Hayes CenterHayes, NEGOLF BALL SIZED HAIL 9 SE OF HAYES CENTER
02:00 UTCHAIL 0.57 W Hayes CenterHayes, NE
02:00 UTCHAIL 17 Sw Hayes CenterHayes, NE
02:23 UTCTSTM WND GST 77ImperialChase, NEIMPERIAL ASOS REPORTED A WIND GUST OF 77 MPH. DELAYED REPORT.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2011 tornado in NebraskaEvery tornado in Nebraska since 1950Warnings in force in Nebraska nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of June 19, 2011

13 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 191:57 AM CDTEF0Crawford, MO1.360
June 191:58 AM CDTEF2Crawford, MO2.8803$150,000
June 193:48 AM CDTEF1Perry, IL3.22501$550,000
June 196:31 AM CDTEF0Perry, IN0.265
June 196:39 AM CDTEF2Breckinridge, KY1.060$50,000
June 196:43 AM CDTEF0Breckinridge, KY0.160$5,000
June 193:00 PM CDTEF0Winnebago, IA0.230
June 193:55 PM CDTEF0Dodge, WI0.120
June 195:59 PM MDTEF0Sedgwick, CO0.150
June 196:01 PM MDTEF0Dundy, NE1.950
June 198:12 PM CDTEF0Morris, KS0.125
June 198:20 PM CDTEF0Red Willow, NE2.575
June 1910:07 PM CDTEF0Atchison, MO0.540

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.