TornadoLookup

Home / Nebraska / Saunders

EF1 tornado in Saunders County, Nebraska

Tornado December 15, 2021 · Saunders County, Nebraska

EF1
Rating
16.6 mi
Path length
100 yd
Path width
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 100 yards (0.06 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 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

A tornado developed just north of the Jack Sinn Memorial Wildlife Management area, producing damage to farm buildings and then moving off toward the northeast, and eventually the north northeast as observed by a storm chaser. The tornado caused damage to several barns and outbuildings along the track, including complete destruction of barns near Road 11 and Road F. The tornado also overturned several pivot irrigation systems and snapped wooden power poles at multiple locations, including numerous poles along Highway 92 which prompted a multi-day closure of the highway. The tornado also impacted the University of Nebraska Farm where a video was taken of the small fast-moving tornado and several buildings sustained damage. The tornado ended 1 mile northwest of Yutan where a farm outbuilding was blown for a significant distance and trees were damage. Significant downburst winds on the east flank of the tornado circulation were evident on radar and damage to pivot irrigation systems and other structures throughout the duration of the tornado.

The wider storm

A low pressure system brought strong (both thunderstorm, and non-thunderstorm) winds, tornadoes, dust, snow, and record temperatures into eastern Nebraska and western Iowa. The event was determined to be a derecho meeting the criteria of wind damage extending more than 250 miles, including wind gusts of at least 58 mph and numerous gusts of at least 75 mph.

Began near Ceresco (41.0600, -96.5600).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 998198. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

Tornadoes near your address

See every tornado that passed near a place you know, measured to its path.