Tornadoes · United States · Nebraska

Tornadoes in Perkins County, Nebraska

41 tornadoes have crossed Perkins County since 1950, 29th of the 93 counties in Nebraska with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.9 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
41
Deaths
0
Injuries
1
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, May 2, 1991

The strongest

Every year with a tornado

The 26 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Perkins County. Each year links to every tornado in Nebraska that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20241Unrated
20222Unrated
20203Unrated
20181EF0
20171EF0
20081EF0
20074EF2
20021F0
199911F1
19981F0
19972F0
19961F0
19952F2
19932F1
19915F3
19902F1
19881F1
19841F1
19761F0
19741F0
19691F2
19671F0
19641F0
19581F1
19572F1
19511F0

Every tornado that crossed Perkins County

41 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 23, 20246:17 PM MDTUnratedKeith6.425
May 27, 20226:56 PM MDTUnratedPerkins0.010
May 16, 20227:41 PM MDTUnratedPerkins0.010
July 8, 20206:01 PM MDTUnratedPerkins0.110
July 8, 20205:55 PM MDTUnratedPerkins0.110
July 8, 20205:50 PM MDTUnratedPerkins0.110
June 6, 20187:24 PM MDTEF0Perkins0.110
May 16, 20175:36 PM MDTEF0Perkins0.120
July 14, 20083:35 PM MDTEF0Perkins0.220
March 28, 20077:20 PM MDTEF1Perkins2.330$15,000
March 28, 20077:20 PM MDTEF2Perkins15.9900$1.2 million
March 28, 20077:12 PM MDTEF0Perkins0.220
March 28, 20077:11 PM MDTEF1Chase2.520$15,000
August 24, 20023:54 PM MDTF0Perkins0.125$1,000
July 2, 19996:47 PM MDTF1Perkins14.04001$700,000
May 21, 19986:45 PM MDTF0Perkins0.130
August 21, 19976:21 PM MDTF0Perkins11.050
August 21, 19976:08 PM MDTF0Perkins2.350
June 5, 199610:20 PM MDTF0Perkins0.120
May 21, 19955:30 PM MDTF0Perkins0.510
May 21, 19954:33 PM MDTF2Perkins5.01,000$50,000 to $500,000
June 12, 19938:01 PM MDTF1Perkins0.113$500 to $5,000
June 12, 19936:45 PM MDTF0Perkins0.113
June 1, 19916:30 AM MDTF1Perkins2.023$5,000 to $50,000
May 29, 19918:36 PM MDTF0Perkins0.223
May 16, 19913:10 PM MDTF0Perkins0.223
May 16, 19913:10 PM MDTF0Perkins0.223
May 2, 19916:00 PM MDTF3Perkins13.0173$500,000 to $5 million
June 15, 19905:20 PM MDTF0Perkins0.223
June 1, 19908:12 PM MDTF1Perkins0.523$50 to $500
May 30, 198811:00 PM MDTF1Perkins0.240$5,000 to $50,000
June 11, 19848:50 PM MDTF1Perkins14.020$500 to $5,000
June 23, 197612:30 PM MDTF0Perkins0.230
July 27, 19745:15 PM MDTF0Perkins2.010
June 24, 19696:30 PM GMT-6F2Perkins9.920$50,000 to $500,000
June 14, 19677:00 PM GMT-6F0Perkins0.110
June 21, 196412:25 AM GMT-7F0Perkins0.110
July 18, 19584:55 PM GMT-7F1Perkins0.110$5,000 to $50,000
May 24, 19576:30 PM GMT-7F1Perkins0.110$500 to $5,000
April 22, 195711:30 AM GMT-7F1Perkins0.110$50 to $500
July 7, 19514:30 PM GMT-7F0Perkins5.110$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

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