Tornadoes · United States · Nebraska

Tornadoes in Keya Paha County, Nebraska

14 tornadoes have crossed Keya Paha County since 1950, 88th of the 93 counties in Nebraska with a tornado on record, an average of one every 5.4 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
14
Deaths
0
Injuries
1
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
EF2, May 22, 2010

The strongest

Every year with a tornado

The 9 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Keya Paha County. Each year links to every tornado in Nebraska that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20101EF2
200711EF1
20032F0
19851F1
19781F0
19661F1
19653F2
19632F2
19562F2

Every tornado that crossed Keya Paha County

14 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 22, 20109:30 PM CDTEF2Keya Paha9.020$120,000
May 5, 20073:57 PM CDTEF1Keya Paha16.71001$100,000
June 24, 20038:48 PM CDTF0Keya Paha0.120$30,000
June 9, 20035:58 PM CDTF0Keya Paha0.120
July 17, 19856:45 PM CDTF1Keya Paha1.050$500 to $5,000
May 28, 197812:50 PM CDTF0Keya Paha4.920
June 24, 19669:00 PM GMT-5F1Keya Paha0.110
May 8, 19656:30 PM GMT-5F2Brown4.110
May 8, 19656:30 PM GMT-5F2Brown9.010
May 8, 19655:30 PM GMT-5F2Rock44.910
June 8, 196312:30 AM GMT-5F1Keya Paha1.010$5,000 to $50,000
June 8, 196311:45 PM GMT-5F2Keya Paha0.333$500 to $5,000
November 2, 19563:00 PM GMT-6F0Keya Paha0.110
June 5, 195610:40 PM GMT-5F2Keya Paha0.110$50 to $500

Nearby

Warnings in force in Keya Paha CountyThe forecast for Keya Paha CountyThe live radar over Keya Paha 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.