Tornadoes · United States · Nebraska · 2017

EF1 tornado, Hoskins to Pilger, Nebraska, June 16, 2017

From Hoskins to Pilger, this EF1 tornado ran 2.1 miles across Wayne and Stanton counties on June 16, 2017, touching down at 5:32 PM CDT and reaching 100 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $350,000 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 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
June 16, 2017
Touchdown
5:32 PM CDT (22:32 UTC)
Lifted
5:42 PM CDT (22:42 UTC)
On the ground
10 minutes
Path length
2.1 miles (3.4 km)
Path width
100 yards (91 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$350,000
Crop damage
$2,000
Counties
Wayne and Stanton counties
Touchdown point
42.111, -97.213
Lift-off point
42.089, -97.186
Record number
1706161632-01

The damage survey

35 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS OAX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 107 mph.

  • 3 trees uprooted and several snapped
  • crop blown down facing west
  • legs of grain bin. no funnel seen. rain wrapped
  • trees topped . shed door off

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

A line of intense supercell thunderstorms developed over northeast Nebraska during the afternoon hours of Friday, June 16. These storms progressed toward the south and east through the evening, progressively morphing into a sweeping line of storms with embedded areas of both supercells and intense bow echoes. While the entire line produced widespread reports of wind damage and hail across a large portion of southwest Iowa and eastern Nebraska, the most intense activity produced hurricane-force winds of 80-110 mph, hail larger than golf balls, and several tornadoes. Damage was reported in several counties across southwest Iowa and eastern Nebraska, with significant damage to homes impacted by tornadoes and widespread, substantial tree and crop damage.

Tornado started northeast of Hoskins where a barn lost part of it's roof. The tornado proceeded southeast and damaged another barn and grain bin before crossing into Stanton County.

This is a continuation of the tornado that was in Wayne County. The tornado continued moving east-southeastward. Several sheds and barns were damaged or flattened by the tornado during the end of the tornado's path.

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

The warnings

17 minutes of warning. NWS OAX issued a tornado warning for this county at 22:15 UTC, 17 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 22:45 UTC.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 20:30 UTC and running to 23:56 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
20:30 UTC23:56 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchOAX
21:57 UTC22:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAX
22:15 UTC22:45 UTCTornado 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 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 19:46 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.

Omaha, NE (KOAX), 12:00Z

10.5 hours before the tornado, 111 km from the path. June 16, 2017.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Omaha, NE at 12:00Z on 2017-06-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 139 joules per kilogram, CIN -389, lifted condensation level 1600 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, Omaha, NE at 12:00Z on 2017-06-16The 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 277 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 54 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
139 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-389 J/kg
Surface CAPE
251 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1600 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
54 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
20 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
277 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
293 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1
0-3 km lapse rate
5.0 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Omaha, NE (KOAX), 00:00Z

1.5 hours after it, 111 km from the path. June 17, 2017.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 2017-06-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 2913 joules per kilogram, CIN -22, lifted condensation level 1477 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, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 2017-06-17The 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 130 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 43 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
2913 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-22 J/kg
Surface CAPE
3442 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1477 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
130 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
206 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.4
Supercell composite
12.6
0-3 km lapse rate
7.0 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Norfolk (OFK), 23 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
20:35 UTC150° 15 kt1002.7
20:40 UTC150° 16 kt1002.7
20:45 UTC150° 16 kt1002.7
20:50 UTC170° 16 kt1002.4
20:55 UTC170° 16 kt1002.4
20:56 UTC9065170° 17 kt231002
21:00 UTC170° 16 kt1002
21:05 UTC150° 15 kt211002
21:10 UTC170° 12 kt1001.7
21:15 UTC160° 14 kt1001.7
21:20 UTC160° 12 kt171001.7
21:25 UTC170° 13 kt1001.7
21:30 UTC160° 12 kt1001.4
21:35 UTC170° 17 kt1001.4
21:40 UTC160° 16 kt1000.7
21:45 UTC160° 15 kt1000.3
21:50 UTC180° 16 kt
21:51 UTC84.266.2180° 15 kt1000.3TS
21:52 UTC8666180° 15 kt1000.3TS
21:55 UTC180° 16 kt1000
22:00 UTC
22:05 UTC190° 15 kt999
22:10 UTC190° 14 kt
22:15 UTC180° 6 kt1000.7-RA
22:20 UTC 271000.7-RA
22:25 UTC 1000.3RA
22:30 UTC 1001+RA BR SQ
22:33 UTC696620° 25 kt411000.7+TSRA BR SQ
22:35 UTC +RA BR SQ
22:37 UTC6866360° 44 kt62999+TSRA BR
22:40 UTC 1002.7+RA FG
22:42 UTC6767360° 25 kt641002.7+TSRA FG
22:45 UTC360° 13 kt1003.4+RA FG
22:50 UTC150° 9 kt1002.7+RA FG
22:54 UTC66.266.2110° 15 kt191002.4+TSRA BR
22:55 UTC 1002.4+RA BR
22:56 UTC6767100° 12 kt191002.4+TSRA BR
23:00 UTC 181003.4+RA BR
23:05 UTC50° 8 kt1003+RA BR
23:10 UTC110° 6 kt1002.7+RA BR
23:15 UTC120° 9 kt1003-RA BR
23:16 UTC6666130° 9 kt1003-TSRA BR
23:20 UTC90° 9 kt1003-RA
23:23 UTC666690° 9 kt1003TS
23:25 UTC90° 10 kt1003
23:30 UTC120° 10 kt1003.4
23:33 UTC6867140° 7 kt1003VCTS
23:35 UTC110° 5 kt1003
23:40 UTC60° 3 kt1002.4
23:45 UTC0° 0 kt1002
23:50 UTC30° 8 kt1002
23:54 UTC69.86820° 3 kt1002
23:55 UTC20° 5 kt1002.4
23:56 UTC696830° 7 kt1002.4
00:00 UTC 1002.4
00:05 UTC30° 8 kt1002.7
00:10 UTC 1002.7
00:15 UTC40° 10 kt1002.4
00:20 UTC30° 10 kt1002
00:25 UTC 1002.4
00:30 UTC60° 13 kt1002.4

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

The radar

The Omaha radar (KOAX), 111 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 22:32 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
21:47 UTCTORNADO8 N Meadow GrovePierce, NE
21:58 UTCHAIL 1.256 Ene NelighAntelope, NE
22:15 UTCTSTM WND DMG4 Ne HoskinsWayne, NEGRAIN BIN DESTROYED.
22:18 UTCHAIL 1.756 W NorfolkMadison, NE
22:23 UTCHAIL 1.751 N Battle CreekMadison, NE
22:32 UTCTORNADO3 Ese HoskinsWayne, NENEAR THE WAYNE/STANTON COUNTY LINE, FARM HIT AROUND 532 PM AND ENDED BY 537 PM. A SECOND TORNADO WAS SEEN TO THE SOUTH IN PASTURE LAND BUT DID NOT SEEM TO HIT ANYTHING.
22:37 UTCTSTM WND GST 714 S NorfolkMadison, NE
22:38 UTCTSTM WND GST 744 S NorfolkMadison, NE
22:49 UTCHAIL 15 S NorfolkMadison, NE
22:50 UTCTORNADO3 Nne MadisonMadison, NESHORT LIVED TORNADO VERIFIED BY PHOTO AND VIDEO EVIDENCE CAUSED MINOR TREE DAMAGE. TOTAL PATH LENGTH APPROXIMATELY 4.5 MILES WITH A PEAK DAMAGE WIDTH OF AROUND 25 YARDS. TORNADO PATH MAY HAVE BEEN INTERMITTENT AT TIMES D
22:53 UTCTORNADO6 E MadisonStanton, NE
22:56 UTCTORNADO6 E MadisonStanton, NEINTERMITTENT VORTICES.
23:23 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 N CrestonPlatte, NEROOF BLOWN OFF BUILDING. WINDS ESTIMATED AT 60 MPH.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2017 tornado in NebraskaEvery tornado in Nebraska since 1950Warnings in force in Nebraska nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of June 16, 2017

10 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 164:47 PM CDTEF0Pierce, NE0.525
June 165:50 PM CDTEF0Madison, NE4.525
June 167:10 PM CDTEF1Dodge, NE1.450
June 168:05 PM CDTEF2Sarpy, NE to IA14.0250
June 168:08 PM CDTEF1Sarpy, NE to IA6.7300
June 168:40 PM CDTEF0Lancaster, NE0.520
June 169:35 PM CDTEF1Taylor, IA1.340$30,000
June 169:39 PM CDTEF0Gage, NE0.940
June 1611:01 PM CDTEF1Marshall, KS2.6100
June 1611:14 PM CDTEF1Jackson, MS4.075

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.