Tornadoes · United States · Nebraska · 2023
Unrated tornado, Rosenburg, Nebraska, May 12, 2023
This Unrated tornado ran 0.1 miles across Platte County on May 12, 2023, touching down at 3:55 PM CDT and reaching 50 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 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.
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
- May 12, 2023
- Touchdown
- 3:55 PM CDT (20:55 UTC)
- Path length
- 0.1 miles (0.1 km)
- Path width
- 50 yards (46 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Platte County
- Touchdown point
- 41.590, -97.690
- Lift-off point
- 41.590, -97.690
- Record number
- 2305121455-01
What the Weather Service recorded
A strong low-pressure system which had been slowly moving east off the Rocky Mountains finally progressed into central Nebraska. This left eastern Nebraska in the warm sector as a warm front moved north into the area. The SPC issued an Enhanced Risk for severe weather with a 30% hatched for severe hail. There ended up being 19 confirmed tornadoes (3 EF2, 8 EF1, 4 EF0, 4 EFU). There were numerous hail reports the largest of which was 4.5 inches in Pawnee County. Another 4-inch report was received in Richardson County. Flash flooding was also observed in a few locations.
Storm chasers in the area confirmed that EF-U tornado touched down near the location.
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 20:29 UTC, 26 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 21:15 UTC.
The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 18:10 UTC and running to 22:39 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18:10 UTC | 22:39 UTC | Tornado Watch | OAX |
| 20:00 UTC | 20:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OAX |
| 20:04 UTC | 20:45 UTC | Tornado Warning | OAX |
| 20:27 UTC | 21:15 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OAX |
| 20:29 UTC | 20:52 UTC | Tornado Warning | OAX |
| 20:29 UTC | 21:15 UTC | Tornado Warning | OAX |
| 20:41 UTC | 21:30 UTC | Tornado Warning | OAX |
| 20:51 UTC | 22:37 UTC | Flood Advisory | OAX |
| 21:10 UTC | 22:37 UTC | Flood Advisory | OAX |
| 21:15 UTC | 21:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OAX |
| 21:18 UTC | 22:00 UTC | Tornado Warning | OAX |
| 21:20 UTC | 22:00 UTC | Tornado Warning | OAX |
| 21:24 UTC | 22:15 UTC | Tornado Warning | OAX |
| 21:47 UTC | 22:30 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OAX |
| 22:07 UTC | 22:45 UTC | Tornado Warning | OAX |
| 22:31 UTC | 22:48 UTC | Tornado Warning | 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 Enhanced Risk, with a 0.10 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 20:08 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
8.9 hours before the tornado, 114 km from the path. May 12, 2023.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 413 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -14 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 963 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 616 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 30 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 12 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 52 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 44 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.6
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.8 K/km
Omaha, NE (KOAX), 00:00Z
3.1 hours after it, 114 km from the path. May 13, 2023.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1363 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -5 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 2040 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1536 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 40 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 20 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 156 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 331 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.6
- Supercell composite
- 8.4
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 8.4 K/km
The radar
The Omaha radar (KOAX), 114 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 20:55 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:05 UTC | HAIL 0.75 | 7 E Greeley | Greeley, NE | PEA TO PENNY SIZE HAIL FALLING. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR. |
| 19:30 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 7 Ese Fullerton | Nance, NE | REPORT OF FLIPPED PIVOTS IN EASTERN NANCE COUNTY. |
| 20:17 UTC | HAIL 1 | Osceola | Polk, NE | QUARTER SIZED HAIL FALLING. |
| 20:30 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 9 E Silver Creek | Polk, NE | REPORT OF FLIPPED PIVOTS IN EASTERN NANCE COUNTY. |
| 20:43 UTC | TORNADO | 5 S Lindsay | Platte, NE | |
| 20:55 UTC | TORNADO | 7 S Lindsay | Platte, NE | STORM CHASERS CONFIRMED THAT AN EF-U TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR THIS LOCATION. |
| 20:58 UTC | TSTM WND GST 63 | 8 S Lindsay | Platte, NE | PERSONAL WEATHER STATION RECORDED A PEAK WIND GUST OF 63 MPH. |
| 21:09 UTC | TORNADO | 9 Nw Newman Grove | Boone, NE | A SHORT-LIVED EF-1 TORNADO DEVELOPED SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 32 AND TRAVELED TOWARD THE NORTHWEST FOR APPROXIMATELY 1.5 MILES. THE MOST INTENSE DAMAGE OCCURRED WHEN THE TORNADO DESTROYED A ONE YEAR OLD MACHINE SHED AND DEPOSITE |
| 21:13 UTC | TORNADO | 1 E Lindsay | Platte, NE | |
| 21:19 UTC | TORNADO | 7 Ene Petersburg | Boone, NE | DAMAGE PATH ACROSS HIGHWAY 32. |
| 21:21 UTC | TORNADO | 9 Nw Newman Grove | Boone, NE | TORNADO DAMAGE, SMALL FARM BUILDINGS DAMAGED, DEBRIS ON ROADWAY. |
| 21:22 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | 3 Nne Platte Center | Platte, NE | DELAYED REPORT. |
| 21:22 UTC | TORNADO | 5 Ne Newman Grove | Madison, NE | STORM SPOTTER VIDEO CONFIRMED AN EF-U TORNADO AT THIS LOCATION. THERE WAS NO DAMAGE. |
| 21:27 UTC | HAIL 1 | Columbus | Platte, NE | |
| 21:41 UTC | HAIL 0.75 | 1 Ene Humphrey | Platte, NE | REPORT FROM MPING: DIME (0.75 IN.). |
| 21:42 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | Platte Center | Platte, NE | |
| 21:45 UTC | TSTM WND GST 59 | 2 E Tarnov | Platte, NE | PERSONAL WEATHER STATION RECORDED A PEAK WIND GUST OF 59 MPH. |
| 21:53 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | 6 Ssw Leigh | Platte, NE | DELAYED REPORT. |
| 21:53 UTC | TORNADO | 5 Nnw Leigh | Stanton, NE | AN EF-1 TORNADO TRACKED DUE NORTH FOR APPROXIMATELY 9 MILES IN STANTON COUNTY. THE PRIMARY DAMAGE WAS SNAPPED TREE TRUNKS, WHICH AT TIMES INDICATED THE WIDTH OF THE TORNADO AS IT BISECTED AN EAST-TO-WEST TREE LINE. THERE |
| 21:58 UTC | FLOOD | 7 Ne Newman Grove | Madison, NE | REPORT FROM MPING: RIVER/CREEK OVERFLOWING; CROPLAND/YARD/BASEMENT FLOODING. |
| 21:59 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Wnw Meadow Grove | Madison, NE | REPORT FROM MPING: 3-INCH TREE LIMBS BROKEN; POWER POLES BROKEN. |
| 22:00 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | 2 Ne Humphrey | Platte, NE | REPORT FROM MPING: STREET/ROAD FLOODING; STREET/ROAD CLOSED; VEHICLES STRANDED. |
| 22:01 UTC | TORNADO | 5 Wsw Hadar | Madison, NE | A SHORT-LIVED EF-1 TORNADO TRAVELED APPROXIMATELY 3.1 MILES TO THE NORTH NORTHWEST, PRIMARILY CAUSING DAMAGE TO TREES. THE MOST FOCUSED DAMAGE WAS IN A GROVE OF MATURE COTTONWOOD TREES WHERE MULTIPLE TRUNKS WERE SNAPPED. |
| 22:02 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 E Meadow Grove | Madison, NE | REPORT FROM MPING: TREES UPROOTED OR SNAPPED; ROOF BLOWN OFF. |
| 22:03 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 9 Ssw Stanton | Stanton, NE | EAST SIDE OF A BARN MISSING. POSSIBLE TORNADO. DELAYED REPORT. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR. |
| 22:04 UTC | FLOOD | 2 Ne Humphrey | Platte, NE | REPORT FROM MPING: RIVER/CREEK OVERFLOWING; CROPLAND/YARD/BASEMENT FLOODING. |
| 22:10 UTC | TORNADO | 1 Ene Leigh | Colfax, NE | |
| 22:17 UTC | TORNADO | 4 Nne Leigh | Stanton, NE | AN EF-1 TORNADO TRACKED NORTHEAST FOR APPROXIMATELY 5 MILES IN STANTON COUNTY. THE MOST INTENSE DAMAGE OCCURRED AT A FARM NEAR THE START OF THE TRACK WHERE A HOG BARN WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED AND DEBRIS WAS DEPOSITED UP |
| 22:34 UTC | TORNADO | 3 N Stanton | Stanton, NE | AN EF-1 TORNADO TRACKED NORTH NORTHWEST FOR APPROXIMATELY 2.8 MILES ACROSS PART OF STANTON COUNTY. MOST OF THE TRACK OCCURRED IN DIFFICULT TO ACCESS AREAS BUT THE ASSESSMENT REVEALED THAT THIS WAS MOST LIKELY CAUSED BY A |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2023 tornado in NebraskaEvery tornado in Nebraska since 1950Warnings in force in Nebraska nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of May 12, 2023
32 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 12 | 12:34 PM CDT | EF1 | Custer, NE | 4.0 | 100 | |||
| May 12 | 12:39 PM CDT | Unrated | Logan, NE | 0.1 | 10 | |||
| May 12 | 12:42 PM CDT | Unrated | Custer, NE | 0.1 | 1 | |||
| May 12 | 12:47 PM CDT | Unrated | Custer, NE | 0.1 | 10 | |||
| May 12 | 2:25 PM CDT | EF1 | Greeley, NE | 13.6 | 200 | $300,000 | ||
| May 12 | 3:11 PM CDT | EF1 | Wheeler, NE | 3.4 | 50 | |||
| May 12 | 3:25 PM CDT | Unrated | Wheeler, NE | 0.1 | 50 | |||
| May 12 | 3:55 PM CDT | EF2 | Wheeler, NE | 7.3 | 75 | |||
| May 12 | 4:00 PM CDT | Unrated | Custer, NE | 0.1 | 10 | |||
| May 12 | 4:09 PM CDT | EF1 | Boone, NE | 1.3 | 150 | |||
| May 12 | 4:22 PM CDT | Unrated | Madison, NE | 0.1 | 50 | |||
| May 12 | 4:33 PM CDT | EF1 | Pawnee, NE | 3.0 | 80 | |||
| May 12 | 4:53 PM CDT | EF1 | Stanton, NE | 8.9 | 200 | |||
| May 12 | 5:01 PM CDT | EF1 | Madison, NE | 3.1 | 50 | |||
| May 12 | 5:15 PM CDT | EF2 | Dodge, NE | 5.5 | 800 | |||
| May 12 | 5:17 PM CDT | EF1 | Stanton, NE | 5.0 | 150 | |||
| May 12 | 5:34 PM CDT | EF1 | Stanton, NE | 2.8 | 200 | |||
| May 12 | 5:39 PM CDT | EF1 | Stanton, NE | 5.1 | 300 | |||
| May 12 | 5:42 PM CDT | EF0 | Dodge, NE | 2.5 | 300 | |||
| May 12 | 5:46 PM CDT | EF2 | Dodge, NE | 10.4 | 1,600 | |||
| May 12 | 6:14 PM CDT | EF1 | Burt, NE | 1.1 | 100 | |||
| May 12 | 6:14 PM CDT | EF0 | Wayne, NE | 0.3 | 20 | |||
| May 12 | 6:20 PM CDT | EF2 | Burt, NE | 11.3 | 1,150 | 2 | ||
| May 12 | 6:34 PM CDT | EF0 | Wayne, NE | 0.7 | 20 | |||
| May 12 | 7:03 PM CDT | EF2 | Brown, KS | 1.5 | 500 | |||
| May 12 | 7:11 PM CDT | EF1 | Jackson, KS | 3.6 | 50 | |||
| May 12 | 7:18 PM CDT | EF0 | Brown, KS to NE | 2.3 | 50 | |||
| May 12 | 7:23 PM CDT | Unrated | Burt, NE | 0.4 | 50 | |||
| May 12 | 7:38 PM CDT | Unrated | Jackson, KS | 0.0 | 10 | |||
| May 12 | 7:43 PM CDT | Unrated | Burt, NE | 0.5 | 20 | |||
| May 12 | 7:49 PM CDT | Unrated | Jackson, KS | 0.0 | 10 | |||
| May 12 | 8:06 PM CDT | EF0 | Kay, OK | 0.3 | 10 |
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.