Unrated tornado, Benkelman to Max, Nebraska, May 26, 2021

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 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. Unratedthis tornado

   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.

Rating

Unrated

Date

May 26, 2021

Touchdown

3:20 PM MDT (21:20 UTC)

Lifted

3:22 PM MDT (21:22 UTC)

On the ground

2 minutes

Path length

1.6 miles (2.5 km)

Path width

50 yards (46 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

County

Dundy County

Touchdown point

40.109, -101.539

Lift-off point

40.124, -101.561

Record number

2105261520-01

23 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS GLD, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF2. The highest wind the damage implies is 115 mph.

• Shed was thrown 200 yards damaged fence and hydrant as it was thrown
• Noticed grass debris laying sse, marking potential highway crossing
• 3 new poles broken at base
• Damage was a bit more sporadic here

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

A semi stationary warm front across part of far Southwest Nebraska into Northwest Kansas served as the trigger for thunderstorm development during the afternoon and evening hours. Storms developed and moved north of the front producing tornadoes, hail up to tennis ball size, and a report of thunderstorm wind damage in McCook. The largest hail reported was north of Max. Two tornadoes formed north of the Benkelman and Max area, one causing damage. The report of thunderstorm wind damage was one inch diameter tree limbs and some shingles being blown down near McCook.

Trusted newspaper writer and trained spotter reported brief tornado touchdown north of Benkelman. Locations confirmed by radar imagery. No damage reported and tornado did not last long before the EF-0 began 3 minutes later. There was a distinct break in the track between this one and the following EF-0.

A brief tornado occurred 5 miles north of Benkelman. Damage consisted of some metal roofing panels, a shed was thrown 200 yards, and fencing was damaged. The tornado crossed Highway 61 and ended on the west side of the highway. There was a distinct break in the tracks between this tornado and the EF-2 that began a few minutes later.

An EF-2 tornado occurred shortly after the brief EF-0 north of Benkelman. Damage consisted of many broken power poles, a large grove of Elm Trees that were demolished, additional trees that were snapped or uprooted, damage to a residence including loss of shingles, loss of metal roofing panels to a farm outbuilding, a tractor was moved 100 yards, and damage to antique vehicles due to falling tree debris. The tornado moved along Highway 61 for most of its life, snapping more power poles and twisting signs. The tornado seemed to stray slightly west of the highway and continued according to spotter and chaser reports. The tornado eventually ended over open fields.

Brief tornado reported by off-duty NWS employees. Occurred around the same time as the Dundy County EF-2 tornado.

Law enforcement and off-duty NWS employees reported another new, large tornado formed in extreme eastern Dundy County. This tornado continued for around 20 minutes until it roped out in the far northeastern part of the county.

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

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.

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 Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Moderate Risk, with a 0.10 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 19:57 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 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.

The Goodland radar (KGLD), 84 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 21:18 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.

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

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

The live radar over the trackEvery 2021 tornado in NebraskaEvery tornado in Nebraska since 1950Warnings in force in Nebraska nowThe forecast where you are

20 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

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.

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.