National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

 

 

December Tornadoes
South Central Nebraska and North Central Kansas

Data from January, 1950 - December, 2010

(View our 'Main Tornado Page' for maps for each month of the year, including statewide maps of Nebraska and Kansas.)
 

Notes about the data: All data from 1950-2009 was collected and assimilated into GIS format by the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, OK. This data can be found at https://spc.noaa.gov/gis/svrgis/ The data for the year 2010 was collected and assimilated into GIS by the National Weather Service office in Hastings, NE. The Fujita Scale (F-Scale) rating began in 1971, and the Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF-Scale) began February 1, 2007; Tornadoes prior to 1971 were later assigned an F-scale rating based on damage accounts and records. The tornado descriptions are primarily based on information in StormData and from the National Climatic Data Center, and is supplemented by information in 'Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991,' by Thomas P. Grazulis. The maps below illustrate the tornado touchdown points and tornado tracks. The tornado rating is based on the highest rating given the tornado along its path and is not necessarily at its highest rating at the initial touchdown point. For example, a track and tornado touchdown point with an EF3 rating may have started as an EF0 at the touchdown point and grew in intensity towards the middle or end of the track. The touchdown point represented on the map is the center of the triangle, not at the base (point) of the triangle. Tornado tracks are illustrated by the start and end points of the tornado, which on the map appear linear, versus an actual path the tornado may have taken along its lifespan. Not all tornadoes have tracks due to the length of the track.  If the track length was incredibly small (For example, a brief touchdown or less than a few miles long), it was not plotted.

For Geographic Reference Click the Map!

 

 

Tornado Description

  • F2/EF2: 
    - December 13, 1975
    Thayer County, 2 miles northeast of Chester, NE.  A tornado frequently touched down on its path to 1 mile west of Gilead, NE.  The tornado uprooted trees, destroyed several barns, haystacks and small outbuildings.