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F2 tornado in Clay County, Nebraska

Tornado May 22, 2004 · Clay County, Nebraska

F2
Rating
20.0 mi
Path length
700 yd
Path width
$4.5M
Damage as recorded
$1.0M
Crop damage
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

NOAA recorded where this tornado touched down but not where it lifted, so it appears as a point. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F2 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F2 meant considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted; the scale paired it with winds of 113–157 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

A large tornado moved out of Adams county and into central Clay county. Approximately 15 residences were hit by the tornado. Thirty-eight cars of a forty-nine car Union Pacific train were derailed southeast of Glenvil. Over 100 center irrigation pivots were damaged or destroyed across Clay County.

The wider storm

One of the worst severe weather outbreaks in recent years struck south-central Nebraska the afternoon and evening of May 22. No less than 17 different tornadoes rolled across south-central Nebraska. Dozens of homes were damaged and a few completely destroyed. Over 250 center irrigation pivots were damaged or destroyed in south-central Nebraska alone. Large hail and strong straight-line winds of up to 80 mph also wreaked havoc on the region. Several million dollars in property damage was reported. Hundreds of power poles were snapped resulting in dozens of miles of downed electrical line.

Began near Spring Ranch (40.6333, -97.5667).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

F2 Thayer CountyF1 Fillmore CountyF1 Thayer CountyF1 Adams CountyF1 Clay CountyF1 Fillmore CountyF0 York CountyF0 Thayer CountyF0 Furnas CountyF0 Harlan CountyF0 Harlan CountyF0 Harlan CountyF0 Franklin CountyF0 Webster CountyF0 Thayer CountyF0 Adams CountyF0 Thayer County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5403110. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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