A tornado that tore through rural Howard County Sunday evening has now been rated a high-end EF-3 by the National Weather Service in Hastings, with estimated peak winds reaching 160 miles per hour.
The tornado tracked just north of the village of St. Libory, carving a 6-mile path across southeast Howard County between 5:04 and 5:15 p.m. Sunday. The tornado reached a maximum width of 350 yards.
According to the National Weather Service damage survey, the tornado rapidly intensified after crossing Highway 281 north of the Highway 58 intersection. Survey crews found four homes in a rural housing development were “essentially destroyed,” while multiple detached garage structures were also destroyed.
The tornado also snapped power poles, rolled irrigation pivots, damaged fencing, and caused ground scouring before lifting near the Merrick County line northeast of St. Libory.
Despite the destruction, no fatalities or injuries were reported. The National Weather Service said residents who were home at the time took shelter after receiving tornado warnings and seeing the storm approach.
Across the surrounding countryside, cleanup efforts continued Monday as producers assessed damage to pasture, pivots, grain bins, and newly emerged cornfields. Twisted metal from grain bins could be seen wrapped around trees while debris remained scattered across fields and fence lines.
Makayla Coufal, whose family farms in the area, said the damage stretched across both crop ground and pasture.
“There’s quite a bit of damage here,” Coufal said. “There’s some cow-calf pairs still in the field, as well as newly planted corn acres with debris just everywhere.”
Volunteers from across central Nebraska arrived with trailers, side-by-sides, and work gloves to help affected families clear debris.
Former Nebraska Corn Board chairman Tim Scheer was among those helping with cleanup Monday. He noted just two counties to the west producers have been battling wildfires related to persistant drought.
“It’s feast or famine,” Scheer said. “Fortunately we got some rain, but unfortunately these people had to pay for it with the tornado.”
The St. Libory tornado was one of three tornadoes confirmed Sunday by the National Weather Service office in Hastings.
A brief tornado southwest of Dannebrog in Howard County was rated EF-U because no damage was found, while a tornado near Hebron in Thayer County was rated EF-1 with peak winds estimated at 95 miles per hour.
Under the Enhanced Fujita Scale, EF-3 tornadoes carry winds between 136 and 165 miles per hour and are capable of severe damage.