EF2 Tornado — Morrill, Nebraska

2017-06-12 · near Bayard, Morrill, Nebraska

Event narrative

A long-track discontinuous tornado path was surveyed by the NWS damage team, initially touching down northwest of the Highway 26 and L62A intersection, 4 miles north-northwest of Bayard, NE. The tornado continued east along and north of L62A. Significant damage consistent of EF-2 tornadic damage was surveyed at a farmhouse approximately 6 miles northeast of Bayard. The house was severely damaged with the roof taken off and numerous exterior walls destroyed (DI 4, DOD 8). A detached garage was swept clean (DI 1, DOD 8) with several trucks slid from their original location. A flat bed and horse trailer were lofted 100 yards from their original position. Trees to the west of the residence were denuded. This storm produced additional damage some of which was due to straight-line winds along L62A. This damage included damage to a steel farm outbuilding, rolled mobile home, rolled semi tractor trailer, rolled center pivots, and continued tree denuding. The storm lifted northeast near Highway 385 with additional damage surveyed at Angora, including downed power poles and a train derailment. The discontinuous tornado continued northeast exiting Morrill County near Highway 385 by 1904 MST. This storm continued and produced additional damage in Box Butte County.

Wider weather episode

One of the most significant severe weather episodes to affect the western Nebraska Panhandle occurred during in the early evening of Monday 12 June 2017. Several tornadoes, hail to baseball size, and damaging winds were observed. Supercell thunderstorms developed during the afternoon along Interstate 25 between Fort Collins, CO and Wheatland. Lifting northeast, these thunderstorms spread into the western Nebraska Panhandle during the early evening.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (41.8219, -103.3408)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 721654. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.