EF2 tornado in Wheeler County, Nebraska

Tornado May 12, 2023 · Wheeler County, Nebraska

EF2

Rating

7.3 mi

Whole path

75 yd

Path width

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Wheeler County → Holt County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 75 yards (0.04 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF2 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF2 is considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, consistent with estimated gusts of 111–135 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

This tornado touched down in far northern Wheeler County, quickly strengthening and caused extensive damage to shelter belts. Debarking was observed in trees along the county line. This tornado continued northwestward into Holt County, damaging additional trees, farm outbuildings, and pivot systems.

The wider storm

A closed low pressure system moved slowly across the northern Plains and spawned multiple tornadoes across north central Nebraska.

Began near Bartlett (42.0800, -98.7000).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

7 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF1 Custer County EF1 Wheeler County EFU Custer County EFU Custer County EFU Wheeler County EFU Custer County EFU Logan County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1103711. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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