EF1 tornado, Platte County, Nebraska, August 13, 2026

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 mphthis tornado

   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. 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.

Rating, as surveyed

EF1, preliminary

Date

August 13, 2026

Touchdown

2:38 AM CDT (07:38 UTC)

Lifted

2:46 AM CDT (07:46 UTC)

On the ground

8 minutes

Path length

6.3 miles (10.1 km)

Path width

30 yards (27 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

County

Platte County

Touchdown point

41.647, -97.631

Lift-off point

41.666, -97.513

Highest wind the damage implies

104 mph

Surveyed by

NWS OAX

The office's name for it

SW Humphrey

Survey last edited

August 23, 2026

Record number

None yet. SPC numbers 2026 in the spring of 2027.

A tornado developed in an open field between 400 Ave and 385 Ave southwest of Cornlea, NE and moved east-northeast. The tornado moved across 370 Ave where it overturned an irrigation system, took down several powerpoles, snapped several softwood trees, and took the roof off of a shed. The tornado continued to the northeast producing sporadic tree and corn damage and flipping over another center pivot. The tornado lifted to the southwest off Humphrey, NE before reaching Highway 81.

Written by NWS OAX in the NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit. A survey is revised as better evidence arrives.

27 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS OAX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 110 mph.

• Irrigation line overturned
• Numerous small tree limbs snapped
• Irrigation line overturned, knocked down corn
• Center pivot overturned with power poles blown over

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

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.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 06:31 UTC and running to 12:24 UTC.

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 Marginal Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 05:58 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.

NWS Omaha, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Aug 13, 12:22 AM CDT, 2 hours 16 minutes earlier. Its key messages:

• There is a 60 to 100% chance for showers and storms for areas along and north of Interstate 80 after midnight tonight. Storms will likely be severe with damaging wind gusts, some of which could be significant (65-80 mph), and heavy rainfall which may lead to flash flooding.
• More showers and storms develop Thursday evening into Friday morning (30 chance south, 80% north). Some storms could be strong.
• Periodic shower and storm chances continue through the weekend into early next week.

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Omaha/Valley NE
1222 AM CDT Thu Aug 13 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- There is a 60 to 100% chance for showers and storms for areas
  along and north of Interstate 80 after midnight tonight.
  Storms will likely be severe with damaging wind gusts, some of
  which could be significant (65-80 mph), and heavy rainfall
  which may lead to flash flooding.

- More showers and storms develop Thursday evening into Friday
  morning (30 chance south, 80% north). Some storms could be
  strong.

- Periodic shower and storm chances continue through the weekend
  into early next week.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 1215 AM CDT Thu Aug 13 2026

Ridging is evident over the south central CONUS on this evening's
water vapor imagery. Overshooting tops in western Nebraska are
running -85C. The KLNX radar is lit up with severe convection that's
headed this way. It's tied to an upper level shortwave. Upscale
growth has been observed in the western half of Nebraska. Model
guidance has been consistent in keeping the resultant MCV chugging
into the eastern part of the state after midnight tonight and
bringing a swath of damaging winds. Some gusts of 75mph+ are
possible (5% at any given point). Large hail and a QLCS type tornado
can't be ruled out (2%), but flash flooding due to heavy rain is
much more likely (15%+). Guidance does have the strongest winds
tending to fizzle out before the storms hit the Missouri River.

The warm front continues to lie along the KS/NE border and
another LLJ is ramping up and transporting plenty of moisture
over the cooler air in place. Our 00Z balloon showed 1.6" of
PWAT which is over the 90th percentile. Warm cloud depths of
4,000 meters means the rain will be efficient.

The HREF has probability of 3"+ of rain in three hours at
30-50% for all areas north of the Platte River / I-680. It's
closer to 50-80% for 1"+ of precip in 3 hours. Current FFG
suggests 2-3" in three hours would be about all soil could
handle. Thankfully, the system looks progressive enough that
there won't be much for training / repeating rounds of rain.
Still, I expect a ribbon of 3-5" rainfall reports.

.THURSDAY...

The last of the strongest storms should be out of the area by
8am although some wrap around showers could linger through mid-
morning around the SD state line.

Temps will have a wide range from north (77F) to the south (95F)
where dewpoints in the 70s will push heat indices past the 100F
mark. Should the forecast pan out, a heat advisory may be
necessary in the southern tier of counties, but confidence is
low with convective debris / outflow as possible flies in the
ointment.

A 15-20% chance of thunderstorms redevelops in the afternoon as
instability peaks near 4000 J/kg. Convection is conditional,
meaning it's most likely to never develop, but if it is able to
bust through the inhibition, a supercell is possible which
suggests wind and hail damage is possible. Again, this is less
than likely (20%).

Better chances of precip wait again until after dark for the
approach of another MCV/MCS that originates in the Front Range.
We'll also watch PoPs climb as the LLJ ramps up again. The HREF
suggest rainfall rates will be less than those of early Thursday
morning, but should another 2-3" fall on tonight's soggiest
locations, flash flooding would once again be an issue.

.FRIDAY AND THE WEEKEND...

Temps on Friday and Saturday will again have a 15-20 degree
discrepancy from north (70s) to south (90s). Regular
opportunities for showers remain (40-60% Friday) and (60-70%)
for Saturday as monsoonal moisture continues to stream around
the high pressure ridge over TX. PoPs peak overnight thanks to
that nocturnal summer jet.

Saturday night brings a strong cold front through the area
leaving Sunday the coolest day of the week so far. With the sfc
high settling into the area, skies will clear from north to
south and the day should be mostly dry.

.BEYOND...

Global models tend to diverge in solutions for next week with
the Euro bringing a trof through the area, the Canadian a ridge,
and the GFS splitting the difference. Will keep regular 20% PoPs
in the forecast for next week, which isn't far from August
climatology.

&&

.AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z FRIDAY/...
Issued at 1220 AM CDT Thu Aug 13 2026

Storms will move out of central Nebraska this evening, and effect
the TAF sites overnight and into early Thursday morning. A few of
the stronger storms will be capable of damaging winds and very heavy
rain fall. The best chance for severe weather to impact KOFK will be
between 08-10Z, and KOMA could see impacts between 09-12Z. A few
storms may graze KLNK between 10-13Z. Expect conditions to
deteriorate to MVFR, perhaps IFR, as storms roll through. VFR
conditions should return around 16Z Thursday, with winds remaining
out of the northeast.

&&

.OAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NE...None.
IA...None.

&&

DISCUSSION...Nicolaisen
AVIATION...Cage

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.

Columbus Municipal (OLU), 30 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

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

The Omaha radar (KOAX), 107 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 07:35 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 2026 tornado in NebraskaEvery tornado in Nebraska since 1950Warnings in force in Nebraska nowThe forecast where you are

5 more have been surveyed in the United States that day, so far.

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. A survey can be revised, so the rating, the path and the casualties can all still change.

NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit, the record the survey teams file from the damage, and NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports. Neither is the official database for 2026, which SPC publishes in the spring of 2027.