Tornadoes · United States · Nebraska

Tornadoes in Frontier County, Nebraska

37 tornadoes have crossed Frontier County since 1950, 40th 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 4. 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
37
Deaths
0
Injuries
4
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
EF3, May 17, 2019

The strongest

  1. F3, Dawson and Frontier counties, NebraskaSeptember 11, 1978F3, 22.5 mi (36 km)
  2. F3, Frontier and Lincoln counties, NebraskaJune 18, 1975F3, 21.9 mi (35 km)
  3. EF3, Frontier and Lincoln counties, NebraskaApril 20, 2007EF3, 15.7 mi (25 km)
  4. F3, Frontier County, NebraskaJune 18, 1975F3, 15.0 mi (24 km)
  5. F3, Frontier County, NebraskaApril 20, 1954F3, 5.9 mi (9 km)
  6. EF3, Frontier County, NebraskaMay 17, 2019EF3, 2.1 mi (3 km)
  7. F2, Frontier and Lincoln counties, NebraskaMay 18, 1962F2, 14.2 mi (23 km)
  8. F2, Frontier County, NebraskaMay 18, 1960F2, 4.5 mi (7 km)
  9. F2, Frontier County, NebraskaMay 30, 1977F2, 1.9 mi (3 km)
  10. EF2, Frontier County, NebraskaMay 17, 2019EF2, 0.6 mi (1 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 20 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Frontier County. Each year links to every tornado in Nebraska that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20198EF3
20161EF0
20082EF0
200712EF3
20051F1
20031F0
20022F0
20003F1
19851F0
19811F1
19782F3
19771F2
19761F1
19753F3
19711F0
19641F1
19621F2
196022F2
19573F2
19541F3

Every tornado that crossed Frontier County

37 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 17, 20197:15 PM CDTEF1Frontier4.7400$250,000
May 17, 20197:12 PM CDTEF0Frontier0.340
May 17, 20197:05 PM CDTEF3Frontier2.1400$100,000
May 17, 20196:58 PM CDTEF2Frontier0.6178$12,000
May 17, 20196:55 PM CDTEF0Frontier0.5315$1,000
May 17, 20196:45 PM CDTEF0Frontier0.150
May 17, 20196:32 PM CDTEF0Frontier0.120
May 17, 20196:10 PM CDTEF0Red Willow3.0100
May 8, 20167:29 PM CDTEF0Frontier0.020
May 29, 20083:50 PM CDTEF0Frontier0.120
May 6, 20086:30 PM CDTEF0Frontier0.110
April 20, 20079:16 PM CDTEF3Frontier15.74402$420,000
May 11, 20054:55 PM CDTF1Frontier2.050$50,000
June 23, 200310:21 PM CDTF0Frontier0.110$10,000
May 26, 20027:05 PM CDTF0Frontier0.520
May 26, 20026:40 PM CDTF0Frontier0.520
October 31, 20005:38 PM CSTF1Frontier9.0150$250,000
October 29, 20006:45 PM CSTF1Frontier1.050$100,000
July 3, 20007:10 PM CDTF0Frontier0.120
May 26, 19857:58 PM CDTF0Frontier0.220
August 6, 19816:00 AM CDTF1Frontier0.850$50,000 to $500,000
September 11, 19784:10 PM CDTF3Dawson22.520$5,000 to $50,000
April 8, 19786:10 PM CSTF1Red Willow27.410
May 30, 19776:00 AM CDTF2Frontier1.950
July 3, 19769:00 PM CDTF1Frontier0.530$500 to $5,000
June 18, 19757:30 PM CDTF3Frontier21.910$500 to $5,000
June 18, 19757:00 PM CDTF3Frontier15.010$500 to $5,000
June 18, 19756:30 PM CDTF1Red Willow12.610$500 to $5,000
May 30, 19716:55 PM CDTF0Frontier0.110
August 31, 19646:00 PM GMT-5F1Frontier0.537$5,000 to $50,000
May 18, 19622:40 PM GMT-5F2Frontier14.210$5,000 to $50,000
June 15, 196011:00 PM GMT-5F1Frontier0.1101$5,000 to $50,000
May 18, 19607:30 PM GMT-5F2Frontier4.5101$50,000 to $500,000
July 12, 19577:38 PM GMT-5F0Frontier0.110under $50
July 4, 19576:15 PM GMT-5F1Frontier0.133$5,000 to $50,000
July 2, 19576:00 PM GMT-5F2Frontier0.1880
April 20, 19548:30 PM GMT-6F3Frontier5.91,760$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

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