Tornadoes · United States · Nebraska

Tornadoes in Colfax County, Nebraska

36 tornadoes have crossed Colfax County since 1950, 2 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 41st of the 93 counties in Nebraska with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.1 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 1. 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
36
Deaths
0
Injuries
1
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, May 4, 1977

The strongest

Every year with a tornado

The 24 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Colfax County. Each year links to every tornado in Nebraska that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20262EF1
20245EF1
20231EF1
20221EF1
20211EF1
20071EF0
20061F0
20043F0
19991F1
19984F2
19962F0
19922F0
19911F0
19901F0
19831F1
19821F2
19771F3
19731F0
19721F0
19651F2
19631F2
19601F1
19531F1
195211F3

Every tornado that crossed Colfax County

36 tornadoes, newest first. The 2 at the top are this year's, from the surveying office rather than SPC's published database, and their ratings are marked as preliminary.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 13, 20262:56 AM CDTEF1Platte4.430
August 13, 20263:04 AM CDTEF1Colfax0.620
May 24, 20241:30 AM CDTEF1Colfax4.8400
May 24, 20241:08 AM CDTEF1Platte11.8700
May 21, 20245:14 AM CDTEF0Colfax0.550
April 16, 20241:39 PM CDTEF0Colfax5.240
April 16, 20241:18 PM CDTEF0Colfax1.130
July 12, 20235:14 AM CDTEF1Colfax0.350
April 29, 20228:02 PM CDTEF1Colfax3.420
December 15, 20213:27 PM CSTEF1Colfax1.530
August 20, 20076:35 PM CDTEF0Colfax5.3100
March 30, 20062:29 PM CSTF0Colfax0.5440
May 22, 20046:10 PM CDTF0Colfax0.550
May 8, 20047:40 PM CDTF0Colfax0.330
May 8, 20047:00 PM CDTF0Colfax0.250
April 8, 19991:06 PM CDTF1Colfax4.0150$540,000
June 23, 19988:48 PM CDTF2Colfax2.71,000
June 23, 19988:15 PM CDTF1Colfax2.8880
June 23, 19987:35 PM CDTF1Colfax2.0500
June 23, 19987:13 PM CDTF1Colfax2.0800
June 20, 19969:14 PM CDTF0Colfax0.110
June 20, 19966:40 PM CDTF0Colfax0.120$20,000
June 15, 19928:15 PM CDTF0Colfax0.130
June 15, 19928:15 PM CDTF0Colfax0.130
June 4, 19916:00 PM CDTF0Colfax0.110$500 to $5,000
August 2, 19904:15 PM CDTF0Colfax0.140$5,000 to $50,000
June 13, 19832:00 PM CDTF1Colfax0.220$5,000 to $50,000
May 20, 19826:25 PM CDTF2Colfax7.030$500 to $5,000
May 4, 19774:20 PM CDTF3Colfax7.6200$50,000 to $500,000
October 9, 19739:00 PM CDTF0Colfax1.010$5,000 to $50,000
May 23, 19725:50 PM CDTF0Colfax0.110
May 8, 19657:00 PM GMT-5F2Platte24.010
April 28, 19635:00 PM GMT-5F2Colfax13.1300$5,000 to $50,000
May 5, 19605:30 PM GMT-5F1Colfax0.110$500 to $5,000
July 26, 19539:00 PM GMT-5F1Platte9.910
August 13, 19526:30 PM GMT-5F3Colfax44.41,3001

Nearby

Warnings in force in Colfax CountyThe forecast for Colfax CountyThe live radar over Colfax 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.