EF3 Tornado — Hitchcock, Nebraska

2025-05-18 · near Stratton, Hitchcock, Nebraska

Event narrative

The tornado touched down south of Muddy creek where it tore shingles off of a house. The tornado then traveled to the north and crossed Road 714. As it crossed the road it completely removed a metal machine shed, which included pulling bolts through the concrete foundation. The structure was tossed roughly 50 yards to the north. Other notable damage at this location included leveling two buildings at an old farmstead, pushing a combine roughly 60 feet, tipping over an empty grain cart into a grain truck, pushing a drill backward in the shape of a quarter circle, and then scattering seven empty cattle feeders feeders in a line going north into a wheat field.

The tornado continued north to CR 717 where it damaged trees and grain bins, broke a power pole, and blew a stock tank over a hundred yards at a homestead. The tornado then turned northeast crossing 12th Ave and CR 720 causing damage to trees, pivots, or structures. It then turned back north after passing the CR 720 and Veteran's Highway intersection. It continued along Veteran's Highway, breaking off 30 power poles before ending just south of a homestead between CR 723 and CR722.

The path north of CR 714 is estimated based on radar imagery and connecting the points of the tornado damage that was surveyed.

Wider weather episode

Numerous severe storms moved into SW Nebraska from northeast Colorado and northwest Kansas and led to numerous reports of hail, wind and tornadoes. The strongest tornado was an EF 3 to the north of Stratton, Nebraska along with hail around 2 inches north of Stratton and in Benkelman as well. The EF 3 caused major damage to structures, electric poles, and farm machinery. The same thunderstorm also produced swaths of straight-line winds that also caused damage to electric poles, trees, and structures.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (40.1630, -101.2921)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1257186. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.