Tornadoes · United States · Nebraska

Tornadoes in Box Butte County, Nebraska

43 tornadoes have crossed Box Butte County since 1950, 28th of the 93 counties in Nebraska with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.8 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 0. None was rated F4 or above.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale

    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. F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale

    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.

Now

Tornadoes
43
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, July 20, 1978

The strongest

  1. F3, Sioux and Box Butte counties, NebraskaJuly 20, 1978F3, 53.2 mi (86 km)
  2. EF2, Morrill and Box Butte counties, NebraskaJune 12, 2017EF2, 31.6 mi (51 km)
  3. F2, Box Butte and Sheridan counties, NebraskaJune 15, 1962F2, 21.3 mi (34 km)
  4. F2, Box Butte and Dawes counties, NebraskaMay 14, 1962F2, 18.3 mi (29 km)
  5. F2, Box Butte and Sheridan counties, NebraskaJune 25, 1975F2, 16.2 mi (26 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 23 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Box Butte County. Each year links to every tornado in Nebraska that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20191Unrated
20171EF2
20142EF0
20132EF0
20102EF0
20051F0
20041F0
19991F0
19963F0
19932F1
19924F0
19912F1
19906F0
19892F1
19881F1
19781F3
19771F1
19752F2
19701F0
19641F1
19622F2
19582F1
19552F1

Every tornado that crossed Box Butte County

43 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
September 20, 20196:05 PM MDTUnratedBox Butte10.320
June 12, 20177:19 PM MDTEF2Morrill31.6300$3.5 million
May 18, 20147:20 PM MDTEF0Box Butte6.230
May 14, 20142:30 PM MDTEF0Box Butte0.830
May 28, 20134:05 PM MDTEF0Box Butte2.250
May 27, 20134:05 PM MDTEF0Box Butte0.330
June 7, 20107:24 PM MDTEF0Box Butte2.0100
May 24, 20102:11 PM MDTEF0Box Butte0.350
July 5, 20054:58 PM MDTF0Box Butte0.140
June 10, 20042:26 PM MDTF0Box Butte0.130
June 30, 19995:05 PM MDTF0Box Butte0.10
August 2, 19967:56 PM MDTF0Box Butte10.050
July 25, 19963:13 PM MDTF0Box Butte1.0100
June 5, 19969:37 PM MDTF0Box Butte0.250
June 23, 19931:47 PM MDTF1Box Butte1.530$500 to $5,000
May 5, 19937:00 PM MDTF1Box Butte0.580$500 to $5,000
July 28, 19925:13 PM MDTF0Box Butte0.130
July 11, 19925:38 PM MDTF0Box Butte0.130
June 16, 19923:51 PM MDTF0Box Butte0.130
June 16, 19923:20 PM MDTF0Box Butte0.120
July 9, 199111:52 AM MDTF0Box Butte0.110
June 28, 199112:25 AM MDTF1Box Butte0.330$500,000 to $5 million
August 22, 19901:18 PM MDTF0Box Butte0.210
July 18, 19904:03 PM MDTF0Box Butte0.210$500 to $5,000
May 27, 19902:00 PM MDTF0Box Butte0.513
May 27, 19901:45 PM MDTF0Box Butte0.513
May 27, 19901:35 PM MDTF0Box Butte0.513
May 27, 19901:30 PM MDTF0Box Butte2.0200
June 29, 19892:43 PM MDTF1Box Butte0.240$500 to $5,000
June 29, 19892:20 PM MDTF0Box Butte0.130$50 to $500
May 30, 19888:45 PM MDTF1Box Butte0.230$5,000 to $50,000
July 20, 19788:05 PM MDTF3Sioux53.223$50,000 to $500,000
May 14, 19775:30 PM MDTF1Box Butte0.320$500 to $5,000
June 25, 19759:15 PM MDTF1Box Butte68.020$5,000 to $50,000
June 25, 19758:00 PM MDTF2Box Butte16.230$50,000 to $500,000
July 13, 197010:37 PM MDTF0Box Butte0.110
July 29, 19645:45 PM GMT-7F1Box Butte0.110$5,000 to $50,000
June 15, 19624:50 PM GMT-7F2Box Butte21.310
May 14, 19624:30 PM GMT-7F2Box Butte18.3880$5,000 to $50,000
June 18, 19582:00 PM GMT-7F1Box Butte0.110$5,000 to $50,000
June 15, 19583:00 PM GMT-7F0Box Butte0.110under $50
August 3, 19554:30 PM GMT-7F1Box Butte0.510$50 to $500
July 9, 19559:30 PM GMT-7F0Box Butte0.110$500 to $5,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Box Butte CountyThe forecast for Box Butte CountyThe live radar over Box Butte CountyEvery county in Nebraska

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.