EF1 tornado in Saunders County, Nebraska

This tornado started around 5 miles west and 1 mile south of Ceresco. West of town a barn was destroyed along with farm outbuildings. There was also substantial tree damage in the area and the metal panels of a farm building were strewn around power poles and across a field. Considerable tree and building damage occurred in the town of Ceresco, including the roof taken off of a restaurant/bar. Four homes in town were declared uninhabitable due to storm damage and another 71 sustained some sort of damage. In addition around 30 homes outside of town were damaged. Storm debris was scattered across Highway 77 which prompted its closure that continued well into the next day. The tornado probably traveled farther east of town than a mile as a local newspaper later reported that farm outbuilding and tree damage consistent with tornado damage was noted at several farmsteads 4 to 6 miles east of Ceresco. However, downed power lines limited the eastward extent of the NWS storm survey. Power was knocked out across much of town for several days with at least 225 power poles destroyed or severely damaged.

A stationary front over Kansas started lifting north on June 4th as an unseasonably strong upper level low pressure system was organizing over the central Rockies. This allowed very warm and unstable air to feed north into southern Nebraska and southwest Iowa during the afternoon on the 4th. Severe thunderstorms that developed by early afternoon on June 4 over central Nebraska quickly spread and developed into eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa through evening. A few tornadic producing supercells developed over the area...and many of the storms contained very heavy rain which fell on soils that were already saturated from significant rains recorded over the prior week. This caused areas of flash flooding and subsequent river flooding.