Tornadoes · United States · Nebraska · 2024
Unrated tornado, Roscoe to Madrid, Nebraska, May 23, 2024
From Roscoe to Madrid, this Unrated tornado ran 6.4 miles across Keith and Perkins counties on May 23, 2024, touching down at 6:17 PM MDT and reaching 25 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 23, 2024
- Touchdown
- 6:17 PM MDT (00:17 UTC)
- Lifted
- 6:30 PM MDT (00:30 UTC)
- On the ground
- 13 minutes
- Path length
- 6.4 miles (10.3 km)
- Path width
- 25 yards (23 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Counties
- Keith and Perkins counties
- Touchdown point
- 41.034, -101.576
- Lift-off point
- 40.976, -101.480
- Record number
- 2405231817-01
The damage survey
2 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS LBF, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF0. The highest wind the damage implies is 70 mph.
- Multiple videos and photos received of a brief tornado over rangeland west of Ogallala. No damage was observed. Time and location based on radar evidence.
- 7 leg center pivot irrigation system flipped, last point of damage and sighting of tornado
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
Thunderstorms developed over the central Nebraska Panhandle during the mid afternoon hours of May 23rd. As this activity moved east into better moisture and wind shear, storms became severe. Large hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes were reported.
Tornado touched down in an open draw and tracked approximately 6 miles to the southeast where it dissipated. No damage was observed and timing was based on radar.
Tornado touched down in an open draw and tracked approximately 6 miles to the southeast where it dissipated. No damage was observed and timing was based on radar.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
25 minutes of warning. NWS LBF issued a tornado warning for this county at 23:52 UTC, 25 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 00:30 UTC.
The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 20:25 UTC and running to 04:00 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20:25 UTC | 04:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | LBF |
| 22:30 UTC | 23:15 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LBF |
| 22:55 UTC | 23:30 UTC | Tornado Warning | LBF |
| 23:26 UTC | 00:15 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LBF |
| 23:29 UTC | 00:04 UTC | Tornado Warning | LBF |
| 23:30 UTC | 00:15 UTC | Tornado Warning | LBF |
| 23:51 UTC | 00:15 UTC | Tornado Warning | LBF |
| 23:52 UTC | 00:30 UTC | Tornado Warning | LBF |
| 23:57 UTC | 00:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LBF |
| 00:07 UTC | 00:30 UTC | Tornado Warning | LBF |
| 00:25 UTC | 01:15 UTC | Tornado Warning | LBF |
| 00:42 UTC | 01:30 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LBF |
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 Marginal Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 19:50 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.
N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), 00:00Z
0.3 hours before the tornado, 79 km from the path. May 24, 2024.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1132 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -151 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 2114 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1257 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 31 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 10 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 40 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 98 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.8
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 7.4 K/km
N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), 12:00Z
11.7 hours after it, 79 km from the path. May 24, 2024.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -107900 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1203 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 61 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 42 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -198 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 39 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 3.5 K/km
The surface observations
Grant (GGF), 23 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22:35 UTC | 77 | 60.8 | 130° 22 kt | 31 | 999 | |
| 22:55 UTC | 77 | 60.8 | 140° 26 kt | 35 | 998.3 | |
| 23:15 UTC | 77 | 60.8 | 140° 26 kt | 37 | 997.6 | |
| 23:35 UTC | 73.4 | 60.8 | 130° 25 kt | 35 | 997 | |
| 23:55 UTC | 73.4 | 59 | 160° 28 kt | 42 | 994.9 | VCTS HZ |
| 00:15 UTC | 64.4 | 57.2 | 290° 21 kt | 39 | 999.3 | +TSRA HZ |
| 00:35 UTC | 60.8 | 59 | 350° 19 kt | 33 | 1001 | TS |
| 00:55 UTC | 60.8 | 59 | 330° 29 kt | 35 | 1001.7 | TS |
| 01:15 UTC | 59 | 53.6 | 350° 28 kt | 39 | 1003 | VCTS |
| 01:35 UTC | 59 | 50 | 340° 28 kt | 43 | 1004.4 | |
| 01:55 UTC | 59 | 48.2 | 340° 23 kt | 37 | 1004.7 | |
| 02:15 UTC | 55.4 | 42.8 | 340° 23 kt | 40 | 1005.4 |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The North Platte radar (KLNX), 132 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 00:16 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) | Report | Where | County | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22:58 UTC | TORNADO | 5 Ese Lewellen | Keith, NE | Tornado reported by NWS employee. |
| 23:35 UTC | TORNADO | 2 Wsw Brule | Keith, NE | Trained spotter reported a tornado. |
| 23:40 UTC | TORNADO | 2 Ese Lemoyne | Keith, NE | North shore of Lake Maconaughy. Fire department reports 22 buildings destroyed, including homes, outbuildings and shops. 39 homes damaged. One camper destroyed at beach access 17. One camper destroyed at beach access 13. |
| 23:46 UTC | HAIL 1.5 | Brule | Keith, NE | Fire department reported ping pong sized hail in Brule. |
| 23:49 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | 1 S Ogallala | Keith, NE | |
| 23:53 UTC | HAIL 1 | Ogallala | Keith, NE | |
| 23:54 UTC | TSTM WND GST 65 | Lemoyne | Keith, NE | Fire Dept estimates 65 mph winds. |
| 23:55 UTC | HAIL 1 | Lemoyne | Keith, NE | Quarter sized hail at the fire department. |
| 23:56 UTC | HAIL 1 | 1 S Ogallala | Keith, NE | Report from mPING: Quarter (1.00 in.). |
| 23:56 UTC | HAIL 2.75 | 1 S Ogallala | Keith, NE | Report from mPING: Baseball (2.75 in.). |
| 23:56 UTC | HAIL 2.75 | 1 Sse Ogallala | Keith, NE | Report from mping. |
| 00:18 UTC | TORNADO | 4 Ene Grant | Perkins, NE | Public report of a tornado. |
| 00:28 UTC | TORNADO | 8 S Paxton | Keith, NE | Report via social media. |
| 00:29 UTC | TORNADO | 6 Nne Grainton | Lincoln, NE | Law enforcement reports a tornado 6 NW of Wallace. |
| 00:54 UTC | HAIL 1 | 6 Sse Paxton | Keith, NE | |
| 00:59 UTC | HAIL 3 | 4 E Madrid | Perkins, NE | Report of 3.5 inch measured hail from storm chaser. |
| 01:05 UTC | HAIL 1 | 9 Ssw Grainton | Perkins, NE | |
| 01:13 UTC | HAIL 0.88 | Wallace | Lincoln, NE | Fire Department in Wallace reporting Nickel sized hail. |
| 01:16 UTC | HAIL 1 | 2 Ne Grainton | Perkins, NE | |
| 01:19 UTC | HAIL 1.25 | 3 Sw Wallace | Lincoln, NE | |
| 01:25 UTC | TORNADO | 10 Sse Grainton | Hayes, NE | Trained spotter reports tornado. |
| 02:03 UTC | TORNADO | 8 S North Platte | Lincoln, NE | Trained spotter reports tornado 2 miles south of Lake Maloney. |
| 02:06 UTC | HAIL 1 | 9 S North Platte | Lincoln, NE | Report of quarter size hail 3 miles south of Lake Maloney. |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2024 tornado in NebraskaEvery tornado in Nebraska since 1950Warnings in force in Nebraska nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of May 23, 2024
26 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 23 | 3:36 PM MDT | EF1 | Keith, NE | 2.0 | 200 | $450,000 | ||
| May 23 | 4:39 PM CDT | Unrated | Bell, TX | 0.0 | 20 | |||
| May 23 | 4:15 PM MDT | Unrated | Garden, NE | 0.0 | 50 | |||
| May 23 | 5:27 PM CDT | EF1 | Falls, TX | 2.8 | 150 | 2 | $275,000 | |
| May 23 | 5:47 PM CDT | EF0 | Falls, TX | 18.5 | 400 | $500 | ||
| May 23 | 5:12 PM MDT | Unrated | Keith, NE | 0.1 | 25 | |||
| May 23 | 6:14 PM CDT | EF0 | Falls, TX | 16.0 | 300 | |||
| May 23 | 6:17 PM CDT | EF0 | Harmon, OK | 0.8 | 20 | |||
| May 23 | 5:28 PM MDT | Unrated | Adams, ND | 0.2 | 50 | |||
| May 23 | 5:29 PM MDT | EF1 | Keith, NE | 5.2 | 430 | $600,000 | ||
| May 23 | 5:36 PM MDT | EF1 | Keith, NE | 0.1 | 25 | $50,000 | ||
| May 23 | 5:37 PM MDT | EF1 | Keith, NE | 0.3 | 50 | $5,000 | ||
| May 23 | 5:39 PM MDT | EF2 | Keith, NE | 0.3 | 200 | $3.5 million | ||
| May 23 | 5:44 PM MDT | EF0 | Keith, NE | 0.1 | 25 | $20,000 | ||
| May 23 | 7:04 PM CDT | EF2 | Jackson, OK | 15.1 | 2,000 | $300,000 | ||
| May 23 | 7:06 PM CDT | EF1 | Henderson, TX | 4.3 | 480 | 6 | $300,000 | |
| May 23 | 7:15 PM CDT | EF0 | Robertson, TX | 14.9 | 300 | |||
| May 23 | 7:25 PM CDT | EF0 | Jackson, OK | 0.9 | 40 | $10,000 | ||
| May 23 | 8:25 PM CDT | Unrated | Hayes, NE | 0.0 | 25 | |||
| May 23 | 9:02 PM CDT | EF1 | Hitchcock, NE | 0.3 | 80 | |||
| May 23 | 9:30 PM CDT | EF0 | Red Willow, NE | 0.4 | 28 | $1,000 | ||
| May 23 | 11:30 PM CDT | EF1 | Phelps, NE | 1.7 | 100 | $200,000 | ||
| May 23 | 11:51 PM CDT | EF0 | Kearney, NE | 4.3 | 75 | $75,000 | ||
| May 23 | 12:00 AM CDT | EF0 | Kearney, NE | 8.4 | 60 | $350,000 | ||
| May 23 | 12:08 AM CDT | EF1 | Howard, NE | 7.0 | 95 | $75,000 | ||
| May 23 | 12:26 AM CDT | EF1 | Adams, NE | 2.5 | 80 | $400,000 |
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.