Tornadoes · United States · Nebraska · 2022

Unrated tornado, Blue Spgs to Barneston, Nebraska, June 11, 2022

From Blue Spgs to Barneston, this Unrated tornado ran 0.1 miles across Gage County on June 11, 2022, touching down at 5:18 PM CDT 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.

  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.

The record

Rating
Unrated
Date
June 11, 2022
Touchdown
5:18 PM CDT (22:18 UTC)
Path length
0.1 miles (0.1 km)
Path width
20 yards (18 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Gage County
Touchdown point
40.140, -96.610
Lift-off point
40.140, -96.610
Record number
2206111618-01

The damage survey

6 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS OAX and NWS TOP, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 104 mph.

  • Eastern extent of South Wymore
  • Power pole down could be end point of Nebraska tornado
  • Potential start point of tornado that moves SSW toward marysville trees down pier lines down

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

An enhanced risk for severe weather resulted in a couple of tornadoes including a confirmed EF1 that started in Gage County and finished in Marshall County in Kansas. Additionally, storms near Beatrice, NE produced massive 5 inch hail.

Trained spotter reported a brief touch down of a tornado east of Blue Springs.

The tornado started approximately 7 miles south-southwest of Wymore, NE, doing damage to trees just west of S 23 Rd between E Walnut Rd and Willow Rd. The tornado continued south-southeastward, damaging the roof of a residence and barn, as well as power poles along Willow Rd. The track then turned more southeast, crossing State Line Rd into Marshall County, KS, between 8th Rd and S 36 Rd where damage to farm outbuildings was noted. The tornado continued southeast and caused damage to power poles along US Highway 77 just south of Bison Rd before lifting shortly thereafter.

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

The warnings

36 minutes of warning. NWS OAX issued a tornado warning for this county at 21:42 UTC, 36 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 22:30 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 20:39 UTC and running to 00:30 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
20:39 UTC00:30 UTCTornado WatchOAX
20:59 UTC21:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAX
21:03 UTC21:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAX
21:32 UTC22:15 UTCTornado WarningOAX
21:38 UTC21:50 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAX
21:42 UTC22:30 UTCTornado WarningOAX
21:44 UTC22:17 UTCTornado WarningOAX
22:09 UTC23:00 UTCTornado WarningOAX
22:13 UTC22:45 UTCTornado WarningOAX
22:36 UTC02:21 UTCFlash Flood WarningOAX
22:51 UTC23:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm 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 19:54 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

10.3 hours before the tornado, 133 km from the path. June 11, 2022.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Omaha, NE at 12:00Z on 2022-06-11Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -82070, lifted condensation level 1717 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 2022-06-11The 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 165 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 64 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-82070 J/kg
Surface CAPE
7 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1717 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
64 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
165 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
243 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
4.0 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Omaha, NE (KOAX), 00:00Z

1.7 hours after it, 133 km from the path. June 12, 2022.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 2022-06-12Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1047 joules per kilogram, CIN -102, lifted condensation level 1198 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 00:00Z on 2022-06-12The 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 169 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 63 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
1047 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-102 J/kg
Surface CAPE
2264 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1198 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
63 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
169 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
235 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.8
Supercell composite
8.8
0-3 km lapse rate
6.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Beatrice Municip (BIE), 22 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
20:35 UTC90.571160° 10 kt161004.1
20:55 UTC88.770.3130° 9 kt1003
21:15 UTC8571.8110° 5 kt1002+TSRA
21:35 UTC7470.530° 17 kt241003.4+TSRA
21:55 UTC74720° 0 kt1003.4-TSRA
22:15 UTC7170.50° 0 kt1002.7+TSRA
22:35 UTC70.7700° 0 kt1003.7+TSRA
22:55 UTC70.7700° 0 kt1004.1-TSRA
23:15 UTC73720° 0 kt1003VCTS
23:35 UTC73680° 0 kt1002.7VCTS
23:55 UTC7365.50° 0 kt1002.7VCTS
00:15 UTC7465.50° 0 kt1001.7VCTS

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

The radar

The Topeka radar (KTWX), 131 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 22:16 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
21:23 UTCHAIL 21 N BeatriceGage, NE
21:23 UTCHAIL 31 N BeatriceGage, NECORRECTS PREVIOUS HAIL REPORT FROM 1 N BEATRICE.
21:27 UTCHAIL 3.751 N BeatriceGage, NE
21:28 UTCHAIL 5BeatriceGage, NEPHOTO SENT TO BROADCAST MEDIA.
21:29 UTCHAIL 3.751 Nne BeatriceGage, NEGRAPEFRUIT- (3.75 IN.).
21:39 UTCHAIL 3.251 Nne BeatriceGage, NEREPORT FROM MPING: BASEBALL+ (3.25 IN.).
22:18 UTCFUNNEL CLOUDWymoreGage, NECORRECTS PREVIOUS TORNADO REPORT FROM 3 E BLUE SPRINGS. ON JUNE 12, NWS SURVEY TEAM DETERMINED NO TORNADO DAMAGE HERE. BELIEVE IT WAS REPORT OF WYMORE FUNNEL CLOUD. TRAINED SPOTTER REPORTED BRIEF TOUCH DOWN OF TORNADO EA
22:18 UTCTORNADO3 E Blue SpringsGage, NETRAINED SPOTTER REPORTED BRIEF TOUCH DOWN OF TORNADO EAST OF BLUE SPRINGS.
22:23 UTCTORNADO2 Se WymoreGage, NE
22:24 UTCTSTM WND DMGWymoreGage, NEEXTENSIVE TREE DAMAGE AROUND WYMORE.
22:40 UTCTORNADO6 Ese OdellGage, NETHE TORNADO STARTED APPROXIMATELY 7 MILES SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF WYMORE, NE, DOING DAMAGE TO TREES JUST WEST OF S 23 RD BETWEEN E WALNUT RD AND WILLOW RD. THE TORNADO CONTINUED SOUTH-SOUTHEASTWARD, DAMAGING THE ROOF OF A RES
23:55 UTCTSTM WND DMG4 Ese SterlingJohnson, NETREE LIMBS BROKEN. SHINGLES BLOWN OFF ROOF.
23:55 UTCHAIL 23 Se CookJohnson, NESLIGHTLY LARGER THAN GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL. SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO SIDING AND CROPS.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2022 tornado in NebraskaEvery tornado in Nebraska since 1950Warnings in force in Nebraska nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of June 11, 2022

10 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 112:38 AM EDTEF0Charlotte, FL0.125
June 1112:00 PM PDTUnratedUmatilla, OR0.015
June 115:40 PM CDTEF1Gage, NE to KS4.2150
June 115:53 PM CDTEF1Marshall, KS6.330
June 116:02 PM CDTEF1Marshall, KS0.730
June 116:26 PM CDTEF1Marshall, KS1.7100
June 117:04 PM CDTEF1Pottawatomie, KS11.350
June 117:20 PM CDTEF2Riley, KS0.350$10 million
June 117:32 PM CDTUnratedRiley, KS0.010
June 1110:07 PM CDTEF0Clinton, MO0.020

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.