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F3 tornado in Polk County, Nebraska

Tornado May 7, 1993 · Polk County, Nebraska

F3
Rating
60.0 mi
Path length
10 yd
Path width
$50.0M
Damage as recorded
What F3 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F3 meant severe damage: whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned; the scale paired it with winds of 158–206 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.

What the National Weather Service wrote

Tornado touched down four miles south of Blue Hill in northern Webster county. Two farm homes, and outbuildings were damaged. Two 12,00 bushel grain bins were destroyed. The tornado moved north into southeast Adams county, where it damaged 75 to 100 homes in Ayr and Pauline. It then moved into southwest Clay county where it derailed 25 cars from a train between Glenvill and Fairfield. A farm house, garage and grain bins were damaged near Glenvill. It then moved north and lifted to a funnel cloud over northern Clay and southern Hamilton counties but touched down again just north of Interstate 80 where it destroyed three domes, and one church. Other homes and outbuildings were damaged. The tornado was last spotted moving into western Polk county northeast of Hordville.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 10333573. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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