Tornadoes · United States · Nebraska · 2021
EF1 tornado, Beemer to Rosalie, Nebraska, December 15, 2021
From Beemer to Rosalie, this EF1 tornado ran 11.2 miles across Cuming and Thurston counties on December 15, 2021, touching down at 3:51 PM CST and reaching 20 yards wide. It killed nobody.
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
- December 15, 2021
- Touchdown
- 3:51 PM CST (21:51 UTC)
- Lifted
- 3:59 PM CST (21:59 UTC)
- On the ground
- 8 minutes
- Path length
- 11.2 miles (18.1 km)
- Path width
- 20 yards (18 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Counties
- Cuming and Thurston counties
- Touchdown point
- 41.980, -96.610
- Lift-off point
- 42.100, -96.540
- Record number
- 2112151551-01
The damage survey
20 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS OAX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF2. The highest wind the damage implies is 120 mph.
- 5 large wooden transmission poles broken
- Shingle and garage door damage on small building.
- Approx 8 larger transmission line poles snapped. Pivot flipped
- 4 snapped and 2 leaning wood power poles
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 low pressure system brought strong (both thunderstorm, and non-thunderstorm) winds, tornadoes, dust, snow, and record temperatures into eastern Nebraska and western Iowa. The event was determined to be a derecho meeting the criteria of wind damage extending more than 250 miles, including wind gusts of at least 58 mph and numerous gusts of at least 75 mph.
A brief tornado snapped trees and caused minor roof damage to a home before destroying a 40 by 60 foot shed and moving a farm gravity wagon approximately 100 yards while continuing to damage trees. Witnesses noted that this was a brief tornado but they did see the funnel cloud at the site of the damage.
This tornado impacted several farms and residences along its 11 mile track with at least 5 points suggesting EF2 damage with maximum winds of approximately 120 mph. This tornado also had one of the wider paths in this region on December 15 where at one point the tree pattern suggested 200 yard width. The tornado destroyed several barns, including some well-built large structures. It also caused substantial power line damage, snapping several power poles in multiple locations.
Tornado segment 1 of 2. This tornado began southwest of Bancroft, uprooting several large pine trees, collapsing a windmill, and tearing shingles of the roof of a home. The tornado continued northeast, passing just northwest of Bancroft and entered Thurston County northwest of Rosalie.
Tornado segment 2 of 2. This tornado is a continuation of a tornado that started in Cuming County. It entered Thurston County northwest of Rosalie. Here, the tornado damaged some outbuildings before dissipating just northeast of 26th Road and N Avenue.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
26 minutes of warning. NWS OAX issued a tornado warning for this county at 21:25 UTC, 26 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 22:00 UTC.
The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 19:23 UTC and running to 22:18 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15:00 UTC | 08:20 UTC | High Wind Watch | OAX |
| 18:00 UTC | 04:00 UTC | High Wind Warning | OAX |
| 19:23 UTC | 22:18 UTC | Tornado Watch | OAX |
| 21:09 UTC | 22:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OAX |
| 21:25 UTC | 22:00 UTC | Tornado Warning | OAX |
| 21:41 UTC | 22:25 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OAX |
| 21:45 UTC | 21:58 UTC | Tornado Warning | OAX |
| 04:00 UTC | 08:00 UTC | Wind Advisory | OAX |
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 19:28 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
9.9 hours before the tornado, 82 km from the path. December 15, 2021.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -103670 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2165 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 42 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 38 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 346 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 384 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 3.2 K/km
Omaha, NE (KOAX), 00:00Z
2.1 hours after it, 82 km from the path. December 16, 2021.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 4 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -66 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 69 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1685 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 103 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 47 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -450 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -705 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 6.4 K/km
The surface observations
Wayne (LCG), 40 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:55 UTC | 64.4 | 54.5 | 170° 20 kt | 31 | 990.9 | |
| 20:15 UTC | 64.2 | 54.7 | 180° 22 kt | 27 | 990.5 | |
| 20:35 UTC | 65 | 55 | 180° 22 kt | 29 | 989.2 | |
| 20:55 UTC | 64.4 | 55 | 170° 15 kt | 21 | 988.5 | |
| 21:15 UTC | 64.4 | 55.4 | 160° 13 kt | 18 | 987.1 | |
| 21:35 UTC | 64 | 55.4 | 140° 13 kt | 985.4 | ||
| 21:55 UTC | 63.7 | 56 | 160° 6 kt | 18 | 985.4 | VCTSRA |
| 22:15 UTC | 54.7 | 46.8 | 210° 25 kt | 34 | 986.8 | -VCTSRA |
| 22:35 UTC | 55.2 | 48.2 | 230° 14 kt | 985.4 | -VCTSRA | |
| 22:55 UTC | 53.6 | 48.2 | 210° 14 kt | 19 | 985.4 | |
| 23:15 UTC | 52.5 | 48.2 | 170° 16 kt | 984.4 | ||
| 23:35 UTC | 51.4 | 46.6 | 170° 14 kt | 19 | 984.8 |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Omaha radar (KOAX), 82 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 21:48 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21:27 UTC | TSTM WND GST 76 | Howells | Colfax, NE | WIND GUST TO 76 MPH ALONG WITH PENNY SIZED HAIL. |
| 21:27 UTC | TORNADO | Howells | Colfax, NE | AN INTERMITTENT TORNADO TRACKED FROM NORTH TO SOUTH THROUGH HOWELLS. THE INITIAL DAMAGE POINT WAS ROOF DAMAGE TO A HOME ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF TOWN ALONG WITH MODERATE TREE DAMAGE. THE TORNADO THEN SKIPPED SEVERAL BLOCKS B |
| 21:31 UTC | TORNADO | 3 Nne Howells | Cuming, NE | A TORNADO DEVELOPED IN A FIELD NEAR 3RD ROAD SOUTH OF C ROAD AND QUICKLY MOVED NORTHEAST TO CAUSE ROOF DAMAGE TO LARGE ANIMAL BARNS WHERE A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF ROOFING TIN WERE REMOVED. THE TORNADO PROCEEDED ACROSS OPE |
| 21:35 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Howells | Colfax, NE | PARTIAL ROOF BLOWN OFF. |
| 21:37 UTC | TORNADO | 5 Nnw Snyder | Cuming, NE | AN INTERMITTENT PATH OF DAMAGE ACROSS OPEN FIELDS BUT SNAPPED OFF POWER POLES IN MULTIPLE LOCATIONS, AND ALSO CAUSED ROOF DAMAGE TO A SHED. |
| 21:37 UTC | TORNADO | 6 W West Point | Cuming, NE | A BRIEF TORNADO DEVELOPED IN A FIELD AND THEN TRAVELLED NORTH NORTHEAST WHERE IT SNAPPED 5 WOODEN POWER POLES AND THEN CAUSED TREE DAMAGE IN A GROVE OF TREES. |
| 21:40 UTC | TORNADO | Beemer | Cuming, NE | CONFIRMED TORNADO BY FIRE DEPARTMENT. |
| 21:41 UTC | TORNADO | 3 Sse Beemer | Cuming, NE | A BRIEF TORNADO SNAPPED TREES AND CAUSED MINOR ROOF DAMAGE TO A HOME BEFORE DESTROYING A 40 BY 60 FOOT SHED AND MOVING A FARM GRAVITY WAGON APPROXIMATELY 100 YARDS WHILE CONTINUING TO DAMAGE TREES. WITNESSES NOTED THAT T |
| 21:44 UTC | TORNADO | 3 Ese Beemer | Cuming, NE | THIS TORNADO IMPACTED SEVERAL FARMS AND RESIDENCES ALONG ITS 11 MILE TRACK WITH AT LEAST 5 POINTS SUGGESTING EF2 DAMAGE WITH MAXIMUM WINDS OF APPROXIMATELY 120 MPH. THIS TORNADO ALSO HAD ONE OF THE WIDER PATHS IN THIS RE |
| 21:46 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 7 Ne Beemer | Cuming, NE | DELAYED REPORT, TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR. REPORT FROM MPING: 3-INCH TREE LIMBS BROKEN; POWER POLES BROKEN. |
| 21:48 UTC | TSTM WND GST 53 | 1 E Ames | Dodge, NE | MESONET STATION UP105 3.7 N CEDAR BLUFFS (UPR). |
| 21:53 UTC | TORNADO | 2 Wsw Bancroft | Cuming, NE | NUMEROUS LARGE PINE TREES UPROOTED. NUMEROUS HARDWOOD TREES LIMBS GREATER THAN 6 INCHES SNAPPED AND BROKEN OFF. WINDMILL COLLAPSED AT BASE. SHINGLES AND NAILED GUTTER TORN FROM HOME. DAMAGE WIDTH 10-20 YARDS. TORNADO DEV |
| 21:55 UTC | NON-TSTM WND GST 66 | 1 Wnw Fremont | Dodge, NE | AWOS STATION KFET FREMONT AIRPORT. |
| 21:56 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Oakland | Burt, NE | DELAYED REPORT, TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR. REPORT FROM MPING: 3-INCH TREE LIMBS BROKEN; POWER POLES BROKEN. |
| 21:59 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 N Fremont | Dodge, NE | TRACTOR TRAILER BLOWN OVER ON ITS SIDE. NUMEROUS TREES DOWN IN FREMONT. |
| 21:59 UTC | TSTM WND GST 75 | 2 S Tekamah | Burt, NE | |
| 21:59 UTC | TORNADO | 3 Nw Rosalie | Thurston, NE | BARN ROOF COLLAPSE AND CAVED WALLS. PANELS FROM METAL OUTBUILDING REMOVED. WIDTH 10-15 YARDS. TORNADO ENTERED COUNTY 1/4 MILE SOUTH OF O AVENUE AND 25TH ROAD INTERSECTION. TORNADO REMAINED INTERMITTENTLY ON THE GROUND FO |
| 22:00 UTC | TSTM WND GST 66 | 1 Wnw Fremont | Dodge, NE | |
| 22:10 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Homer | Dakota, NE | ELECTRIC POLE BLOWN DOWN. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR. |
| 22:11 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Oakland | Burt, NE | REPORT FROM MPING: 3-INCH TREE LIMBS BROKEN; POWER POLES BROKEN. |
| 23:00 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Nw Fremont | Dodge, NE | REPORT OF SEVERAL LARGE TREES DOWNED AT THE CEMETERY. |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2021 tornado in NebraskaEvery tornado in Nebraska since 1950Warnings in force in Nebraska nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of December 15, 2021
124 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 15 | 1:27 PM CST | EF0 | Kearney, NE | 11.0 | 150 | $700,000 | ||
| December 15 | 1:29 PM CST | EF0 | Franklin, NE | 13.4 | 100 | $700,000 | ||
| December 15 | 1:33 PM CST | EF0 | Kearney, NE | 7.1 | 120 | $350,000 | ||
| December 15 | 1:44 PM CST | EF1 | Webster, NE | 14.8 | 180 | $400,000 | ||
| December 15 | 1:53 PM CST | EF1 | Adams, NE | 8.6 | 150 | $400,000 | ||
| December 15 | 2:03 PM CST | EF0 | Adams, NE | 7.2 | 60 | $302,000 | ||
| December 15 | 2:11 PM CST | EF1 | Hamilton, NE | 12.9 | 400 | $500,000 | ||
| December 15 | 2:26 PM CST | EF1 | Hamilton, NE | 12.0 | 400 | $500,000 | ||
| December 15 | 2:35 PM CST | EF1 | Polk, NE | 7.5 | 350 | $400,000 | ||
| December 15 | 3:03 PM CST | EF1 | Platte, NE | 0.8 | 30 | |||
| December 15 | 3:04 PM CST | EF2 | Platte, NE | 2.7 | 50 | 2 | ||
| December 15 | 3:11 PM CST | EF2 | Saline, NE | 23.7 | 70 | |||
| December 15 | 3:27 PM CST | EF1 | Colfax, NE | 1.5 | 30 | |||
| December 15 | 3:31 PM CST | EF2 | Cuming, NE | 6.3 | 100 | |||
| December 15 | 3:37 PM CST | EF1 | Cuming, NE | 4.8 | 50 | |||
| December 15 | 3:37 PM CST | EF1 | Cuming, NE | 1.8 | 50 | |||
| December 15 | 3:41 PM CST | EF1 | Cuming, NE | 0.4 | 50 | |||
| December 15 | 3:41 PM CST | EF1 | Saunders, NE | 16.6 | 100 | |||
| December 15 | 3:44 PM CST | EF2 | Cuming, NE | 11.2 | 200 | |||
| December 15 | 3:46 PM CST | EF1 | Saunders, NE | 0.7 | 100 | |||
| December 15 | 3:55 PM CST | EF2 | Cass, NE | 3.3 | 20 | |||
| December 15 | 4:05 PM CST | EF1 | Otoe, NE | 0.1 | 200 | |||
| December 15 | 4:05 PM CST | EF1 | Pawnee, NE | 0.2 | 20 | |||
| December 15 | 4:06 PM CST | EF0 | Pawnee, NE | 2.2 | 20 | |||
| December 15 | 4:06 PM CST | EF2 | Cass, NE | 3.6 | 150 | |||
| December 15 | 4:07 PM CST | EF1 | Pawnee, NE | 0.8 | 100 | |||
| December 15 | 4:09 PM CST | EF2 | Cass, NE | 2.6 | 200 | |||
| December 15 | 4:14 PM CST | EF1 | Mills, IA | 10.0 | 100 | |||
| December 15 | 4:15 PM CST | Unrated | Woodbury, IA | 0.8 | 20 | |||
| December 15 | 4:16 PM CST | EF0 | Pottawattamie, IA | 0.9 | 30 | |||
| December 15 | 4:20 PM CST | EF1 | Woodbury, IA | 4.6 | 75 | $250,000 | ||
| December 15 | 4:24 PM CST | EF2 | Pottawattamie, IA | 2.3 | 50 | |||
| December 15 | 4:25 PM CST | EF2 | Woodbury, IA | 8.4 | 100 | $500,000 | ||
| December 15 | 4:31 PM CST | EF1 | Mills, IA | 0.6 | 50 | |||
| December 15 | 4:31 PM CST | EF2 | Pottawattamie, IA | 6.7 | 75 | |||
| December 15 | 4:34 PM CST | EF1 | Pottawattamie, IA | 9.6 | 50 | |||
| December 15 | 4:35 PM CST | EF1 | Woodbury, IA | 4.3 | 75 | $200,000 | ||
| December 15 | 4:39 PM CST | EF1 | Plymouth, IA | 3.7 | 75 | $50,000 | ||
| December 15 | 4:42 PM CST | EF1 | Ida, IA | 13.0 | 75 | $200,000 | ||
| December 15 | 4:48 PM CST | Unrated | Crawford, IA | 4.4 | 50 | |||
| December 15 | 4:49 PM CST | EF2 | Cass, IA | 27.1 | 100 | $350,000 | ||
| December 15 | 4:58 PM CST | EF0 | Ida, IA | 2.9 | 50 | $75,000 | ||
| December 15 | 4:59 PM CST | EF1 | Cherokee, IA | 11.2 | 250 | $1.0 million | ||
| December 15 | 5:00 PM CST | Unrated | Cherokee, IA | 1.8 | 50 | |||
| December 15 | 5:00 PM CST | EF1 | Cass, IA | 11.4 | 80 | $100,000 | ||
| December 15 | 5:01 PM CST | EF1 | Buena Vista, IA | 6.4 | 75 | $200,000 | ||
| December 15 | 5:05 PM CST | EF1 | Cherokee, IA | 3.8 | 75 | $250,000 | ||
| December 15 | 5:07 PM CST | EF1 | Buena Vista, IA | 6.9 | 150 | $100,000 | ||
| December 15 | 5:08 PM CST | EF1 | O'Brien, IA | 3.9 | 100 | $50,000 | ||
| December 15 | 5:10 PM CST | EF1 | Guthrie, IA | 11.4 | 70 | $100,000 | ||
| December 15 | 5:13 PM CST | EF2 | Sac, IA | 17.6 | 100 | $150,000 | ||
| December 15 | 5:14 PM CST | EF2 | Guthrie, IA | 19.7 | 100 | $450,000 | ||
| December 15 | 5:18 PM CST | EF2 | Buena Vista, IA | 4.8 | 100 | $250,000 | ||
| December 15 | 5:19 PM CST | EF1 | Carroll, IA | 9.7 | 80 | $80,000 | ||
| December 15 | 5:21 PM CST | EF2 | Guthrie, IA | 30.0 | 300 | $470,000 | ||
| December 15 | 5:27 PM CST | EF2 | Guthrie, IA | 23.4 | 150 | $801,000 | ||
| December 15 | 5:29 PM CST | EF2 | Greene, IA | 5.5 | 100 | $1.2 million | ||
| December 15 | 5:32 PM CST | EF2 | Greene, IA | 5.8 | 100 | $500,000 | ||
| December 15 | 5:34 PM CST | Unrated | Calhoun, IA | 1.3 | 40 | |||
| December 15 | 5:34 PM CST | EF2 | Greene, IA | 2.7 | 70 | $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.