National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Severe Weather in the Central and Southern Plains; Rain and Mountain Snow in the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies

A powerful storm is expected to bring periods of heavy rain, gusty winds, and the potential for severe thunderstorms throughout the southern to central Plains through Monday. Widespread precipitation and heavy mountain snow is expected across the Northwest and northern Rockies through Monday. Up to a foot of snow is possible across the higher elevations of the Cascades and northern Rockies. Read More >

NWS damage survey crews have investigated the tornadic storm damage across Jewell and Mitchell Counties and have rated the tornado an EF3 at its strongest point.  The tornado set down near Glen Elder Dam the night of May 29, 2008 and tracked to the northeast.  The tornado had a path length of nearly 18 miles and a width up to one half mile.

The city of Jewell and areas around the city were hit especially hard with major structural damage in the city of Jewell. The water tower was destroyed/collapsed and multiple businesses including the Jewell CAFE and Bourbon Trucking were completely destroyed.  Several houses in and south of Jewell sustained major damage. 


Additional tornadoes may have occurred in Jewell and Mitchell Counties and this will be investigated over the next few days.

A map of the tornado path and photos of the damage are included below.