Tornadoes · United States · Nebraska · 2012
EF0 tornado, Oxford, Nebraska, April 14, 2012
This EF0 tornado ran 0.8 miles across Harlan County on April 14, 2012, touching down at 6:16 PM CDT and reaching 40 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $75,000 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
- April 14, 2012
- Touchdown
- 6:16 PM CDT (23:16 UTC)
- Lifted
- 6:19 PM CDT (23:19 UTC)
- On the ground
- 3 minutes
- Path length
- 0.8 miles (1.3 km)
- Path width
- 40 yards (37 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $75,000
- County
- Harlan County
- Touchdown point
- 40.300, -99.616
- Lift-off point
- 40.310, -99.608
- Record number
- 1204141716-01
The damage survey
3 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS GID, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF0. The highest wind the damage implies is 65 mph.
- Est Start of track here. Very little damage noted at this point. Width < 40 yards.
- 2 out of 10 empty round bins damaged. Collapsed & off partially off foundation. Tin moved 150 yds NE over shelterbelt. Minor tree damage. Width 40 yds.
- Open field w/very little damage noted. Est that TOR lifted near here after conversation with local residents.
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
Multiple rounds of severe thunderstorms pounded parts of the 24-county area on this Saturday, resulting in numerous reports of large hail and damaging winds along with four brief EF0 tornadoes. However, considering that the entire area spent the day under its only High Risk convective outlook of the spring from the Storm Prediction Center, the situation could have been worse. No injuries were reported in South Central Nebraska, and all significant, long-track tornadoes in the region remained to the south across central and southern Kansas and northern Oklahoma. Locally, most severe weather targeted counties between Interstate 80 and the Kansas border. The first three brief tornadoes occurred between 2-3 PM CDT in Nuckolls and Thayer Counties, as a rain-wrapped supercell tracked out of northern Kansas. One of these tornadoes struck a farm just north of Alexandria, where a grain bin was toppled and a roof torn off a shed. A few hours later, the final and most-photographed tornado of the day touched down shortly after 6 PM CDT in Harlan County northeast of Oxford and crossed Highway 6, destroying a grain bin along the way. ||During this prolonged event, severe thunderstorms affected parts of the area for roughly 13 hours, mainly between 1030 AM and 1130 PM CDT. The first round of severe weather focused across northern portions of the area during the late morning as an elevated supercell tracked across parts of Sherman, Valley and Greeley Counties. This storm was a prolific hail producer, with hail of at least 2 inches in diameter causing considerable damage to homes and vehicles, especially north and west of Spalding. As these early storms exited to the northeast, the focus shifted south to near the Kansas border, as the next cluster of more-surface-based severe storms with embedded tornadic circulations lifted through primarily Nuckolls, Thayer and Fillmore Counties between 1-4 PM CDT. After a brief lull, a few more supercells fired up farther west around 5 PM CDT, with one of these storms producing the tornado near Oxford before weakening as it tracked northeast toward Kearney. Yet again, a brief lull ensued, before numerous severe thunderstorms flared up mainly south of Interstate 80 during the 830-1130 PM CDT time frame. Although these storms were not tornadic, multiple hail and wind reports included baseball size hail near Glenvil, golf ball size hail near Edison and McCool Junction and estimated 70 MPH winds and toppled irrigation center pivots near Campbell and east of Clay Center. Finally, between 1130 PM and 2 AM CDT, the remaining storms gradually weakened and exited the area to the east. ||Although significant flooding was not an issue, most areas southeast of a line from Osceola to Franklin measured at least 1-2 inches of rain, with 2-3 inch amounts most concentrated within Nuckolls, Thayer and Fillmore Counties, including a 3.70-inch total just west of Tobias along the Fillmore and Saline County line. ||This long-lasting severe weather outbreak was driven by a classic synoptic setup, as a powerful mid-upper level trough approached the Central Plains from the Four Corners region, featuring a 300 millibar jet streak in excess of 110 knots. At the surface, low pressure deepened over the course of the day, registering around 992 millibars by early evening over northwest Kansas. A well-defined warm front extended east from this low across South Central Nebraska, as a sharpening dryline took shape along a line from southwest Nebraska to far western Oklahoma. With a strengthening and veering wind profile with height, shear parameters were quite supportive of significant severe weather. Around the time of the late afternoon tornado near Oxford, mesoscale severe weather parameters included around 1500 J/Kg mixed layer CAPE, 60-70 knots of deep layer vertical wind shear and 30-40 knots of surface-to-1 kilometer low level vertical shear. In addition, surface-to-1 kilometer storm relative helicity increased into at least the 300-500 m2/s2 range during the late afternoon and evening hours, promoting a volatile environment for potentially strong, long-track tornadoes. Fortunately for South Central Nebraska, the sheer number of storms along with resultant storm-scale interference likely mitigated what could have been a more significant tornado event. ||On a regional and even national level, this was one of the most anticipated and well-advertised Central Plains tornado outbreaks ever. Although the majority of South Central Nebraska was not in a High Risk outlook from the Storm Prediction Center until the early morning hours of the 14th, parts of Kansas and Oklahoma were placed under a High Risk early on the 13th, marking the first time SPC ever issued a High Risk forecast so far in advance.
This tornado touched down approximately 4 miles north-northeast of Oxford, crossing Highway 6 before dissipating approximately 5 miles north-northeast of Oxford. The only damage noted with this tornado was the destruction of a grain bin near Highway 6. The maximum wind speed was estimated at 65 mph.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The forecast that day
The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a High Risk, with a 0.30 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 19:43 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 Apr 14, 4:20 PM CDT, 1 hour 56 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 14, 4:20 PM CDT, 1 hour 56 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE 420 PM CDT SAT APR 14 2012 .SHORT TERM...THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON. THE OBVIOUS CONCERN IS THE EVOLUTION OF SEVERE CONVECTION OVER AT LEAST THE NEXT 6-8 HOURS. IN SHORT...THE FIRST ROUND OF STRONG-SEVERE CONVECTION IS IN THE PROCESS OF EXITING FAR EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE CWA...ESSENTIALLY BRINGING ROUND 1 TO A CLOSE. THESE STORMS RESULTED IN AT LEAST 3 UNCONFIRMED BRIEF TORNADOES NEAR AND SOUTH OF THE STATE LINE...ALONG WITH SOME LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN IN EXCESS OF 2 INCHES. THE CONCERN NOW SHIFTS BACK TO THE FAR WESTERN-SOUTHWESTERN CWA...AS CLEARING SKIES ARE RAPIDLY DESTABILIZING AREAS CLOSER TO THE SURFACE DRYLINE FROM SOUTHWEST NEB DOWN ACROSS WESTERN KS. AS A RESULT...WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT THIS EVENT IS FAR FROM BEING OVER. PARAMETERS FOR ADDITIONAL DEVELOPMENT ARE VERY FAVORABLE FOR HIGH-END SEVERE...AS THE 110+KT UPPER LEVEL JET STREAK CURRENTLY MAKING ITS WAY INTO FAR WESTERN KS OVERSPREADS THE AREA. SUPERCELLS ARE LIKELY WITH 0-6KM BULK SHEAR OF AT LEAST 50KT...AND WITH LOW LEVEL 0-1KM BULK SHEAR OF 30-40 KT. 0-1KM STORM RELATIVE HELICITY IS QUITE IMPRESSIVE AS WELL...WITH 300-400+ M2/S2 ACROSS MUCH OF THE CWA...WHICH COULD ONLY INCREASE INTO THE EVENING HOURS AS THE LOW LEVEL JET STRENGTHENS. FOLLOWING CONVECTIVE REFLECTIVITY PROGS FROM LATEST HRRR...ALONG WITH 12Z RUNS OF 4KM WRF-NMM...ALONG WITH LATEST RUC FIELDS...SIGNIFICANT SURFACE-BASED INSTABILITY WILL CONTINUE SURGING NORTHEAST INTO THE CWA THROUGH THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS WITH LOW LEVEL CAPE IN EXCESS OF 2000 J/KG PERSISTING WELL INTO THE EVENING. HRRR SUGGESTS A COMBINATION OF DISCRETE SUPERCELLS AND QUASI LINEAR STORM MODES WILL CONTINUE WELL INTO THE EVENING...WITH SOUTHERN AND WESTERN PORTIONS OF THE CWA LIKELY MOST UNDER THE GUN. ALTHOUGH HYDRO ISSUES SEEM TO BE MINIMAL SO FAR...ANOTHER 1-2 INCHES OF RAIN ACROSS ROUGHLY THE SOUTHEAST 1/3 OF THE CWA ON TOP OF WHAT FELL EARLIER COULD LEAD TO SOME ISSUES. SO FAR...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FOR KS ZONES THROUGH 00Z IS NOT PANNING OUT VERY WELL WITH CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY INTERFERING...AND ALTHOUGH NEITHER AN IMMEDIATE CANCELLATION OR AN EXTENSION IS NOT PLANNED AT THIS TIME...WILL PROBABLY SEE STRONGER SOUTHERLY WINDS ACTUALLY PICK UP OVERNIGHT AS THE SURFACE LOW DEEPENS TO AROUND 987MB IN THE NORTHEAST CO/SOUTHWEST NEB AREA. SPEAKING OF WIND...A GOOD CHUNK OF THE CWA WILL ALMOST CERTAINLY NEED AN ADVISORY DURING THE DAY SUNDAY...AS STRONG WINDS INITIALLY ARE FROM THE SOUTH...BUT THEN FROM THE WEST AND NORTHWEST BEHIND THE COLD FRONT. INSERTED A STRONG WIND MENTION INTO THE GRIDS AND HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...BUT WITH EVERYTHING ELSE GOING ON TODAY WILL DEFER TO MIDNIGHT SHIFT TO PULL THE TRIGGER ON THE NEXT WIND HEADLINE...WHICH WILL UNDOUBTEDLY BE MORE ROBUST THAN THE CURRENT ONE. AS FOR STORM CHANCES LATE TONIGHT...ONLY HAVE 20-30 PERCENT CHANCES POST-06Z...AND ALTHOUGH THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE CWA SHOULD BE FREE OF SEVERE WEATHER BY THEN...COULD FORESEE A MARGINALLY SEVERE STORMS HANGING ON IN NORTHERN ZONES LATE INTO THE NIGHT. SHOULD BE A LULL IN PRECIPITATION ACROSS MUCH OF THE CWA LATE TONIGHT INTO SUNDAY MORNING AS THE SYNOPTIC DRY SLOT SURGES IN...BUT RAIN SHOWERS WILL GRADUALLY SPREAD INTO THE CWA FROM WEST TO EAST WRAPPING AROUND THE DEPARTING LOW. THE COMBINATION OF ANY RAIN SHOWERS WITH THE STRONG WINDS WILL MAKE THE FORECAST HIGHS IN THE MID 50S TO MID 60S FEEL COLDER THAN IT MAY SOUND. .LONG TERM...SUNDAY EVENING THROUGH NEXT SATURDAY. OVERALL FEW NOTABLE CHANGES MADE TO PREVIOUS FORECAST...WITH FORECAST BASED ON A GENERAL BLEND OF THE 12Z ECMWF/GFS. STARTING OFF RIGHT AWAY SUNDAY EVENING...A WIND ADVISORY MAY CONTINUE FOR A FEW MORE HOURS ESPECIALLY IN NORTHEAST AREAS...BUT LIKELY NOT BEYOND 03Z AS THE STRONG SURFACE LOW PULLS GRADUALLY AWAY ACROSS SOUTHERN MN. LINGERED A SLIGHT CHANCE OF LIGHT SHOWERS INTO THE EVENING HOURS MAINLY ACROSS THE NORTHEAST...BUT DRY AFTER MIDNIGHT. HEADING INTO MONDAY...LEFT THE MORNING DRY BUT HAVE 20-30 PERCENT CHANCES FOR SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON AS A TRAILING SHORTWAVE TRACKS OUT OF SOUTHERN SD INTO NORTHERN NEB. NEXT SLIGHT CHANCE FOR SHOWERS ARRIVES IN NORTHEAST COUNTIES FOR TUESDAY NIGHT AS THE NEXT QUICK MOVING WAVE PASSES BY IN QUASI-ZONAL FLOW ALOFT. A FAIRLY ACTIVE UPPER PATTERN CONTINUES INTO THE LATTER PART OF THE WEEK...AND MAINTAINED 20-30 PERCENT CHANCES FOR SHOWERS/STORMS FROM THURS INTO THURS NIGHT AS THE NEXT WAVE CROSSES THE REGION. AT THIS TIME...SEVERE WEATHER THREAT APPEARS LOW. BEYOND THURSDAY NIGHT...MAINTAINED A DRY FORECAST THROUGH SATURDAY AS THERE ARE SUGGESTIONS OF AT LEAST WEAK SHORTWAVE RIDGING BUILDING INTO THE PLAINS. TEMPERATURE WISE THROUGH THE EXTENDED...HAVE MOST DAYS IN THE LOW-MID 70S FOR HIGHS...EXCEPT FOR COOLER UPPER 50S-LOW 60S ON MONDAY. AS FOR OVERNIGHT LOWS...COULD EVENTUALLY NEED TO INSERT SOME FROST WORDING FOR SUNDAY NIGHT AND/OR MONDAY NIGHT WITH LOWS IN THE MID-UPPER 30S...ALTHOUGH BREEZES MAY REMAIN JUST STRONG ENOUGH TO PRECLUDE MUCH DEVELOPMENT. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 109 PM CDT SAT APR 14 2012/ AVIATION...18Z KGRI TAF. PLENTY GOING ON DURING THIS 24-HOUR PERIOD. OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE IS THE RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AND INTO THE EVENING HOURS...AND HAVE TEMPO GROUPS WITH A HAIL MENTION GOING TO COVER THIS. DAMAGING WINDS AND EVEN AN ISOLATED TORNADO IN THE GENERAL VICINITY OF THE TERMINAL CANNOT BE RULED OUT. OTHERWISE...MVFR CIG EXPECTED TO HOLD FIRM WELL INTO THIS EVENING...WITH OCCASIONAL IFR POSSIBLE. AS FOR WINDS...A GUSTY SOUTH-SOUTHEAST COMPONENT WILL HOLD FIRM THROUGH THE MAJORITY OF THE PERIOD...WITH GUSTS OF AT LEAST 26KT POSSIBLE. BY THE LAST 6 HOURS OR SO OF THE PERIOD ON SUNDAY...WINDS WILL TURN MORE SOUTHWESTERLY-WESTERLY AND INCREASE IN INTENSITY AS SURFACE LOW PRESSURE SWINGS BY TO THE NORTH. && .GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NE...NONE. KS...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR KSZ005>007-017>019. && PFANNKUCH
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 14, 3:14 PM CDT, 3 hours 2 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE 314 PM CDT SAT APR 14 2012 KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087- 151215- 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- 314 PM CDT SAT APR 14 2012 ...SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK CONTINUES INTO THIS EVENING... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS. .DAY ONE...LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. WELL INTO THE EVENING HOURS...ISOLATED TO SCATTERED STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE OUTLOOK AREA AND MOVE NORTHEAST AT 30 TO 40 MPH...AS A WARM FRONT LIFTS NORTH AND A DRY LINE APPROACHES FROM THE WEST. ANY SEVERE STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING HAIL TO AROUND BASEBALL SIZE...DAMAGING WIND GUSTS OF 70 MPH...AND OF GREATER CONCERN IS THE POTENTIAL FOR STRONG...LONG TRACKED TORNADOES. THE THREAT FOR TORNADOES ENCOMPASSES ALL OF SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS...BUT IS HIGHEST FOR LOCATIONS GENERALLY SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 80...INCLUDING NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS. THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT WILL LAST THROUGH AT LEAST MIDNIGHT...WITH MORE THAN ONE ROUND OF STORMS POSSIBLE IN ANY GIVEN AREA. IN ADDITION TO SEVERE WEATHER CHANCES...A WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH 7 PM FOR NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS...FOR SUSTAINED SOUTHERLY WINDS AROUND 30 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. STRONG WINDS WILL DEVELOP ON SUNDAY...WITH DIRECTION INITIALLY FROM THE SOUTHWEST...AND THEN FROM THE WEST AND NORTHWEST AS A COLD FRONT PASSES. SUSTAINED SPEEDS IN EXCESS OF 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AT LEAST 45 MPH ARE LIKELY ACROSS MOST OF THE OUTLOOK AREA. THURSDAY INTO THURSDAY NIGHT...THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS PARTS OF THE OUTLOOK AREA. AT THIS TIME...SEVERE STORMS ARE NOT ANTICIPATED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS LIKELY THROUGH AT LEAST MIDNIGHT ACROSS VARIOUS PARTS OF THE OUTLOOK AREA. && MORE INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE FOLLOWING WEB PAGE: HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/HASTINGS (ALL LOWERCASE) PFANNKUCH
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Apr 14, 5:38 PM CDT, 38 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE 538 PM CDT SAT APR 14 2012 NEZ063-064-076-077-142315- CLAY NE-FILLMORE NE-HAMILTON NE-YORK NE- 538 PM CDT SAT APR 14 2012 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR YORK...SOUTHEASTERN HAMILTON... NORTHWESTERN FILLMORE AND NORTHEASTERN CLAY COUNTIES UNTIL 615 PM CDT... AT 530 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR SARONVILLE...OR 21 MILES EAST OF HASTINGS... MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH. HAIL UP TO ONE-HALF INCH IN DIAMETER AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE... YORK... STOCKHAM... LUSHTON... HENDERSON... BRADSHAW... THIS INCLUDES INTERSTATE 80 BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 336 AND 353. THIS STORM MAY INTENSIFY...SO BE CERTAIN TO MONITOR LOCAL RADIO AND TV STATIONS...AS WELL AS LOCAL CABLE TV OUTLETS... FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. LAT...LON 4097 9780 4094 9746 4054 9790 4065 9809 TIME...MOT...LOC 2238Z 217DEG 42KT 4067 9792 HEINLEIN
Local storm report, Apr 14, 5:40 PM CDT, 36 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
540 PM CDT SAT APR 14 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0537 PM FUNNEL CLOUD 3 W BEAVER CITY 40.14N 99.88W
04/14/2012 FURNAS NE STORM CHASER
LESS THAN HALF WAY TO THE GROUND
&&
GUERREROLocal storm report, Apr 14, 5:46 PM CDT, 30 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
546 PM CDT SAT APR 14 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0334 PM TSTM WND DMG 1 N ALEXANDRIA 40.26N 97.39W
04/14/2012 THAYER NE EMERGENCY MNGR
DAMAGE REPORTED AT FARMSTEAD NORTH OF ALEXANDRIA. GRAIN
BIN LOST...TIN FROM A SHED BLOWN OFF...SOME SIDING AND
WINDOW DAMAGE TO THE HOME AT THE FARMSTEAD. IN THE SAME
AREA...TWO CENTER PIVOTS WERE DAMAGED OR OVERTURNED.
&&
MORITZLocal storm report, Apr 14, 5:58 PM CDT, 18 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
558 PM CDT SAT APR 14 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0557 PM HAIL 10 S BERTRAND 40.38N 99.63W
04/14/2012 E0.75 INCH PHELPS NE COUNTY OFFICIAL
&&
FAYLocal storm report, Apr 14, 6:09 PM CDT, 7 minutes before
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</html>Local storm report, Apr 14, 6:13 PM CDT, 3 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
613 PM CDT SAT APR 14 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0610 PM TORNADO 1 NE OXFORD 40.26N 99.62W
04/14/2012 HARLAN NE PUBLIC
BRIEF TOUCHDOWN.
&&
FAYThe 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
11.3 hours before the tornado, 124 km from the path. April 14, 2012.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -93328 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1610 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 69 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 29 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 192 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 202 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 3.2 K/km
The surface observations
Holdrege/Brewstr (HDE), 29 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00:00 UTC |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 99 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:17 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.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2012 tornado in NebraskaEvery tornado in Nebraska since 1950Warnings in force in Nebraska nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of April 14, 2012
83 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 14 | 11:38 AM CDT | EF1 | Pawnee, KS | 4.1 | 100 | $35,000 | ||
| April 14 | 12:14 PM CDT | EF1 | Rush, KS | 17.2 | 200 | $125,000 | ||
| April 14 | 1:23 PM CDT | EF0 | Russell, KS | 0.5 | 75 | |||
| April 14 | 1:34 PM CDT | EF0 | Russell, KS | 1.8 | 75 | |||
| April 14 | 1:43 PM CDT | EF0 | Russell, KS | 2.9 | 75 | |||
| April 14 | 1:57 PM CDT | EF1 | Ford, KS | 33.7 | 200 | |||
| April 14 | 2:03 PM CDT | EF1 | Mitchell, KS | 4.0 | 300 | $100,000 | ||
| April 14 | 2:10 PM CDT | EF0 | Nuckolls, NE | 3.1 | 40 | |||
| April 14 | 2:24 PM CDT | EF1 | Clark, KS | 6.3 | 150 | |||
| April 14 | 2:28 PM CDT | EF0 | Monona, IA | 0.4 | 25 | |||
| April 14 | 2:30 PM CDT | EF0 | Thayer, NE | 0.0 | 25 | |||
| April 14 | 2:56 PM CDT | EF0 | Thayer, NE | 0.3 | 60 | $350,000 | ||
| April 14 | 3:24 PM CDT | EF1 | Pawnee, KS | 4.7 | 100 | |||
| April 14 | 3:28 PM CDT | EF1 | Edwards, KS | 9.3 | 100 | |||
| April 14 | 3:49 PM CDT | EF0 | Woodward, OK | 4.0 | 30 | |||
| April 14 | 3:59 PM CDT | EF1 | Woodward, OK | 0.5 | 30 | |||
| April 14 | 3:59 PM CDT | EF1 | Comanche, KS | 10.9 | 125 | |||
| April 14 | 4:04 PM CDT | EF0 | Rush, KS | 0.9 | 75 | |||
| April 14 | 4:25 PM CDT | EF1 | Stafford, KS | 9.8 | 150 | |||
| April 14 | 4:26 PM CDT | EF0 | Woodward, OK | 0.2 | 30 | |||
| April 14 | 4:33 PM CDT | EF0 | Woods, OK | 0.3 | 30 | |||
| April 14 | 4:35 PM CDT | EF1 | Stafford, KS | 14.3 | 150 | |||
| April 14 | 4:44 PM CDT | EF0 | Pratt, KS | 2.3 | 100 | |||
| April 14 | 4:50 PM CDT | EF0 | Barton, KS | 0.5 | 50 | |||
| April 14 | 4:50 PM CDT | EF0 | Johnson, NE | 2.8 | 100 | |||
| April 14 | 4:56 PM CDT | EF2 | Johnson, NE | 5.8 | 440 | |||
| April 14 | 5:02 PM CDT | EF0 | Kingman, KS | 0.5 | 50 | |||
| April 14 | 5:07 PM CDT | EF0 | Johnson, NE | 3.8 | 100 | |||
| April 14 | 5:08 PM CDT | EF0 | Pratt, KS | 2.3 | 75 | |||
| April 14 | 5:18 PM CDT | EF0 | Lincoln, NE | 0.1 | 20 | |||
| April 14 | 5:18 PM CDT | EF0 | Woodward, OK | 0.2 | 30 | |||
| April 14 | 5:21 PM CDT | EF1 | Otoe, NE | 2.0 | 200 | |||
| April 14 | 5:24 PM CDT | EF0 | Woodward, OK | 0.2 | 30 | |||
| April 14 | 5:27 PM CDT | EF0 | Lincoln, NE | 0.0 | 10 | |||
| April 14 | 5:28 PM CDT | EF0 | Lincoln, NE | 0.0 | 10 | |||
| April 14 | 5:28 PM CDT | EF0 | Lincoln, NE | 0.0 | 20 | |||
| April 14 | 5:28 PM CDT | EF2 | Fremont, IA | 12.2 | 880 | 4 | ||
| April 14 | 5:32 PM CDT | EF0 | Lincoln, NE | 0.5 | 20 | |||
| April 14 | 5:33 PM CDT | EF4 | Rice, KS | 50.3 | 400 | |||
| April 14 | 5:47 PM CDT | EF0 | Lincoln, NE | 0.0 | 10 | |||
| April 14 | 6:15 PM CDT | EF0 | Woodward, OK | 0.2 | 30 | |||
| April 14 | 6:30 PM CDT | EF0 | Kingman, KS | 1.3 | 50 | |||
| April 14 | 6:36 PM CDT | EF0 | Lincoln, NE | 15.1 | 20 | |||
| April 14 | 6:50 PM CDT | EF0 | Saline, KS | 0.6 | 50 | |||
| April 14 | 6:50 PM CDT | EF0 | Woodward, OK | 0.1 | 20 | |||
| April 14 | 6:51 PM CDT | EF0 | Woodward, OK | 0.2 | 50 | |||
| April 14 | 6:52 PM CDT | EF2 | Adams, IA | 16.6 | 800 | 2 | $5.0 million | |
| April 14 | 6:55 PM CDT | EF0 | Kingman, KS | 0.2 | 50 | |||
| April 14 | 6:55 PM CDT | EF1 | Saline, KS | 15.8 | 100 | $10,000 | ||
| April 14 | 7:01 PM CDT | EF0 | Major, OK | 0.1 | 30 | |||
| April 14 | 7:06 PM CDT | EF1 | Woods, OK | 7.2 | 150 | |||
| April 14 | 7:10 PM CDT | EF0 | Reno, KS | 0.3 | 50 | |||
| April 14 | 7:19 PM CDT | EF0 | Woods, OK | 1.0 | 75 | |||
| April 14 | 7:30 PM CDT | EF0 | Woods, OK | 9.0 | 400 | |||
| April 14 | 7:31 PM CDT | EF0 | Dickinson, KS | 3.3 | 25 | |||
| April 14 | 7:47 PM CDT | EF1 | Alfalfa, OK | 10.0 | 400 | |||
| April 14 | 7:54 PM CDT | EF1 | Warren, IA | 0.8 | 75 | $200,000 | ||
| April 14 | 7:57 PM CDT | EF0 | Alfalfa, OK | 12.0 | 400 | |||
| April 14 | 8:03 PM CDT | EF0 | McPherson, KS | 0.6 | 100 | |||
| April 14 | 8:05 PM CDT | EF1 | McPherson, KS | 7.0 | 250 |
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.