Hastings, NE

Weather Forecast Office

Dec. 25, 2016: Brief Tornadoes and Hurricane Force Winds Impact SC Nebraska and NC Kansas. First Christmas Tornadoes In the Local Area in Recorded Weather History!

Rare Christmas Tornadoes and Hurricane Force winds

A wide variety of severe weather occurred across the Central Plains on Christmas Day 2016 as a strong storm system moved quickly through northern Kansas and southern Nebraska. The day began with a line of thunderstorms which produced some tornadoes and damaging wind gusts. Then later on Christmas evening, widespread Hurricane Force winds were recorded for a few hours across the area causing widespread damage. A Christmas to go down in the record books.

Christmas Day 2016 brought rare December tornadoes to north-central Kansas and south-central Nebraska. The brief, weak tornadoes developed just before noon along a line of thunderstorms. The first tornado touched down at 11:45 AM approximately four miles northwest of Alton, KS and tracked northeast for 1.9 miles. The tornado was rated EF-0 and damaged trees in shelter belts, fencing, a bin feeder, small shed and soffits and shingles on a home. The second tornado set down at 11:50 AM 2.8 miles south of Funk, NE and tracked northeast for 2.8 miles. The tornado was rated EF-1 and damaged at least six power poles and four center pivot systems. Another tornado briefly touched down and did minor damage to a farm at 12:17 PM approximately 7 miles southeast of Minden, NE. This tornado was rated EF-0. Yet another tornado developed at 12:24pm about 4 miles northwest of Gibbon, damaging multiple power poles and center pivots and destroying a small outbuilding in the Blue Sky Subdivision along is 4.2 mile track. This tornado was also rated EF-0.

The Nebraska tornadoes are the 'latest calendar year' tornadoes in Nebraska since at least 1950 and are the first December tornado since December 13, 1975. In 1975, a tornado tracked eight miles between Chester and Gilead in Thayer County and a brief tornado occurred near Steinauer in Pawnee County.

In Kansas, prior to 2016, it appears at least eight tornadoes occurred in Kansas in December since 1950. The most recent December tornado was an EF-0 in Harper County on December 14, 2014. Prior to that two tornadoes occurred in Cherokee County on December 18, 2002. The latest 'calendar year' tornado was on December 26, 1959 when an F2 tornado occurred west of Talmage in Dickinson County.

In addition to the tornadoes, thunderstorms produced damaging winds into the afternoon on Christmas, then during the evening hurricane force winds of 60 to near 80 mph blasted the region behind a cold front. More information on the winds and damage can be found here.

NWS Hastings radar loop from 10:30-3:00 p.m. CST on December 25th. The NWS Hastings coverage area is outlined in orange and interstates are in red.

Tornadoes
Thunderstorm Damage
Hurricane Force Winds
Wind Reports
Wind Damage Photos

Christmas Day Tornadoes

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Tornado #1 - Northwest of Alton, KS
Osborne County

Date	December 25, 2016
Time (Local)	11:45 - 11:48 a.m. CST
EF Rating	EF-0
Est. Peak Winds	85 MPH
Path Length	1.9 mi
Max Width	50 yds
Injuries/Deaths	0 / 0
Summary: This tornado briefly touched down northwest of Alton, KS. It damaged trees, tipped over an empty bulk bin, and caused very minor damage to a home on its short path.

EF-0 Tornado Track 4 NW of Alton, KS


Shelter belt, shed and tree damage northwest of Alton, KS. Photos Taken by NWS Hastings

Tornado #2 - Near Funk, NE
Phelps County

Date	December 25, 2016
Time (Local)	11:50 - 11:53 a.m. CST
EF Rating	EF-1
Est. Peak Winds	100 MPH
Path Length	2.76 mi
Max Width	200 yds
Injuries/Deaths	0 / 0
Summary: This tornado snapped 6 power poles, damaged trees, and upset several center pivots before lifting just before reaching US Highway 6.

EF-1 Tornado Track Near Funk, NE


Power line damage near Funk, NE	Center pivot damage near Funk, NE Photos by NWS Hasings.	Center pivot damage near Funk, NE

Tornado #3 - Southeast of Minden, NE
Kearney County

Date	December 25, 2016
Time (Local)	12:17 - 12:19 p.m. CST
EF Rating	EF-0
Est. Peak Winds	75 MPH
Path Length	0.51 mi
Max Width	50 yds
Injuries/Deaths	0 / 0
Summary: This tornado only briefly touched down in rural Kearney County, causing minor damage to a farm located there.

EF-0 Tornado Track 7 SE of Minden, NE

Storm-relative velocity showing weak and brief tornado signature southeast of Minden, NE

Tornado #4 - Northwest of Gibbon, NE
Buffalo County

Date	December 25, 2016
Time (Local)	12:24 - 12:28 p.m. CST
EF Rating	EF-0
Est. Peak Winds	85 MPH
Path Length	4.22 mi
Max Width	50 yds
Injuries/Deaths	0 / 0
Summary: This tornado damaged power poles, overturned multiple center pivots, and destroyed an outbuilding in the Blue Sky Subdivision northwest of Gibbon, NE.

EF-0 Tornado Track 4 NW of Gibbon, NE


Center pivot damage NW of Gibbon, NE Photo taken by NWS Hastings	Center pivot damage NW of Gibbon, NE Photo taken by NWS Hastings.	Destroyed outbuilding in Blue Sky Subdivision. Photo courtesy of Heather Riggleman.

The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:

EF0 Weak 65-85 mph	EF1 Moderate 86-110 mph	EF2 Significant 111-135 mph	EF3 Severe 136-165 mph	EF4 Extreme 166-200 mph	EF5 Catastrophic 200+ mph

Thunderstorm Damage

A line of thunderstorms moved across the area between 10:30am and 2:30pm. Severe wind gusts and brief heavy downpours in addition to the brief tornadoes were observed at many locations across Nebraska and Kansas.

Destroyed Building Near Gibbon, NE

Photo courtesy of Heather Riggleman

Damage near Heartwell, NE

Photo courtesy of Owen Bridges

A Trampoline Blown into a Tree in Riverdale, NE

Photo courtesy of Buffalo County Emergency Management

Downed Tree on West Side of Kearney, NE

Photo courtesy of Buffalo County Emergency Management

Tree Damage Near Belvidere, NE

Photo courtesy of Mitchell Naiman

Uprooted Tree, West Side of Kearney, NE

Photo courtesy of Lucas Dart

Shingles Torn Off Roof, West Side of Kearney, NE

Photo courtesy of Buffalo County Emergency Management

Overturned Center Pivot

Photo courtesy of Buffalo County Emergency Management

Hurricane Force Winds Cause Damage Across the Area

Overview

A deep low pressure system formed over Colorado Christmas morning, and it tracked northeast through western Nebraska, roughly along a line from Imperial to Thedford to Valentine. The barometric pressure was as low as 29.06" (986 mb) as the low passed by each of these locations. As this low entered Nebraska, a strong cold front raced east, crossing the area in the late afternoon and early evening hours. Intense winds of 55 to 75 mph snapped trees, downed power lines, destroyed out builds, and whipped through the trees creating a tremendous roar. A couple locations even measured winds between 76 and 79 mph. Two things contributed to the strong winds: 1) Rapidly increasing pressure behind the front, and 2) increased mixing as colder air moved in. Winds were exceptionally strong even down to the lowest 5,000 ft of the atmosphere. Data from the evening weather balloon, launched at Dodge City, indicated winds were 44 kts (51 mph) just 800 ft above the ground, and 57 kts (66 mph) at 1400 ft. These winds were easily mixed to the surface. As for the rapidly increasing pressure, just as one example, the pressure at the Lexington, NE airport increased 0.20" (6.7 mb) in just one hour after the passage of the front. Just three hours after frontal passage, the pressure climbed 0.43" (14 mb). That is extremely impressive.

Surface Weather Maps


12 pm CST (18Z)	3 pm CST (21Z)	6 pm CST (00Z)

Non-Thunderstorm Wind Reports

Location	Speed (mph)	Time	Source
Exeter 4 NNW	79	7:10 pm	Mesonet
Hastings 1 N	78	6:46 pm	Mesonet
Aurora Airport	76	7:15 pm	AWOS
Grand Island Rgnl Airport	75	6:35 pm	ASOS
Oxford 4 SE	75	5:29 pm	Mesonet
Franklin 2 N	73	5:48 pm	Mesonet
Norman 2 NE	73	6:19 pm	Mesonet
Juniata 1 NE	73	6:01 pm	Mesonet
Bradshaw 4 WSW	72	7:00 pm	Mesonet
Osceola	72	7:32 pm	Mesonet
Hastings NWS	71	6:41 pm	Mesonet
Logan, KS	70	5:16 pm	Mesonet
Phillipsburg, KS Airport	70	5:14 pm	AWOS
Pleasanton	70	5:58 pm	Mesonet
Oxford 5 NNW	68	5:12 pm	Mesonet
Hildreth 4 NNW	67	5:56 pm	Mesonet
Osceola 9 WNW	67	6:54 pm	Mesonet
Kearney Rgnl Airport	66	5:55 pm	AWOS
Roseland 2 SW	65	6:25 pm	Mesonet
Sumner 3 W	65	5:56 pm	Mesonet
Wilcox 7 SSE	65	5:25 pm	Mesonet
Shelby 1 ENE	65	6:48 pm	Mesonet
Wood River 1 S	65	7:06 pm	Mesonet
Harvard 5 SW	65	6:56 pm	RAWS
Ord Airport	64	8:03 pm	ASOS
Prosser 2 SSE	64	6:30 pm	Mesonet
Naponee 3 SSW	64	5:46 pm	Mesonet
Kearney 2 ENE	64	6:09 pm	Mesonet
Hastings Airport	63	7:05 pm	ASOS
Glenvil 5 S	63	6:36 pm	Mesonet
Kearney 6 E	63	6:30 pm	Mesonet
Lexington 2 W	63	6:00 pm	Mesonet
Wood River 4 WSW	63	6:45 pm	Mesonet
Lexington Airport	62	6:35 pm	AWOS
Holdrege Airport	61	5:55 pm	AWOS
Grand Island 3 WSW	60	7:15 pm	Mesonet
Axtell 2 E	60	5:45 pm	Mesonet
Stromsburg 6 SW	60	6:41 pm	Mesonet
Phillips 7 NE	60	6:32 pm	Mesonet
Wood River 3 WSW	59	6:30 pm	Mesonet
Funk 8 N	59	5:32 pm	Mesonet
Kearney 1 NNE	58	5:52 pm	Mesonet
Wood River	57	5:43 pm	Mesonet
Minden 6 NW	57	6:15 pm	Mesonet
Loomis	56	5:35 pm	Mesonet
Chapman 1 WSW	55	8:00 pm	Mesonet
Alda 5 SSW	55	6:26 pm	Mesonet