Storm Events Database

Storm Events Database

Event Details:

Event Tornado
-- Scale EF3
-- Length 14.8 Miles
-- Width 550 Yards
State IOWA
County/Area POTTAWATTAMIE
WFO OAX
Report Source NWS Storm Survey
NCEI Data Source CSV
Begin Date 2024-04-26 16:01 CST-6
Begin Location 1NNW CARTER LAKE
Begin Lat/Lon 41.311/-95.875
End Date 2024-04-26 16:26 CST-6
End Location 7E LOVELAND
End Lat/Lon 41.506/-95.757
Deaths Direct/Indirect 0/0 (fatality details below, when available...)
Injuries Direct/Indirect 0/0
Property Damage
Crop Damage
Episode Narrative On the morning of April 26th, a potent negatively-tilted shortwave trough ejected out into the central Plains. Upper air analysis shows a jet streak on the downstream side of this trough with substantial divergence aloft over Nebraska. At the surface, morning cloud cover and drizzle across much of eastern Nebraska and western Iowa quickly gave way to partly cloud skies as a warm front moved north through the area, just after noon. At the same time, thunderstorms initiated along a pacific front/dryline in south-central Nebraska. One supercell produced several tornadoes from south-central Nebraska into Boone County, resulting in an EF-2 tornado just west of Cedar Rapids. A second round of supercells initiated in Jefferson and Saline counties. These long-track supercells produced the worst tornado outbreak the Omaha WFO has seen in 10 years. 5 EF-3 tornadoes were surveyed, with several of these tornadoes just shy of an EF-4 rating. One of these EF-3 tornadoes impacted the northeast side of Lincoln, Nebraska where 70 people were reported trapped in a manufacturing plant that collapsed as the tornado passed. Another long-track EF-3 tornado hit portions of Elkhorn, Bennington and Blair, Nebraska. Eppley Airfield was hit by the third EF-3 tornado of the day, doing damage to aircraft hangars on the southeast side of the airport before hitting homes in far western Pottawattamie County. The last two EF-3 tornadoes of the day both impacted portions of Pottawattamie County. While one remained primarily in rural areas in the central part of the county, the final EF-3 of the day hit the town of Minden, Iowa head-on, resulting in 1 fatality and 3 injuries. This was the only fatality of the entire event. This tornado continued into Shelby County, narrowly missing the towns of Tenant and Harlan. A total of 24 tornadoes were confirmed across both Nebraska and Iowa portions of the Omaha CWA. The strongest tornado was the EF-3 that impacted Elkhorn and Blair, with peak estimated wind speeds at 165 miles per hour.
Event Narrative This is a continuation of the Douglas County segment of this EF-3 tornado. This is also the second time the tornado moved through portions of western Pottawattamie County. At the start of this segment, the tornado moved northeast across the Missouri River and crossed Interstate 29 near mile marker 58. It widened to about one-quarter mile, damaging numerous homes and businesses between the interstate and Little Kiln Road. The most intense damage was sustained to a residence along Little Kiln Road due to the collapse of most of the exterior and interior walls except for a few interior rooms. A storm damage survey the following day found this to be EF-3 damage, with peak winds estimated at 152 miles per hour. This damage point was when the tornado was at its strongest. The tornado then continued northeast, moving across Old Lincoln Highway about 1.5 miles south of Crescent. EF-2 damage to several homes occurred due to the major loss of the roof and exterior walls. A vehicle detail shop was also destroyed in this area. The tornado then moved across mainly woodland areas before impacting a home and farm outbuildings near the intersection of Badger and Jefferson Avenues, where EF-2 damage was sustained to the home due to major roof damage. After this, the tornado moved across agricultural and woodland areas between 195th Street and Cougar Avenue, producing EF-1 damage to several manufactured homes and farm outbuildings. Further to the northeast, the tornado produced EF-0 damage to farm outbuildings by removing large portions of their roofs and snapping large tree limbs. This tornado weakened near the intersection of 210th Street and Teakwood Road, producing intermittent damage to tree limbs. It crossed Interstate 880 about 7 miles west of the I-29 and I-880 interchange, or about 7 miles southeast of Missouri Valley. Shortly after crossing Interstate 880, the tornado briefly moved into far southern Harrison County where it dissipated half a mile north of the county line just to the east of Overton Avenue. The peak width of the tornado during this segment of its track was measured at 550 yards, with an average width estimated at 300 yards.


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Event Map:

Note: The tornado track is approximate based on the beginning (B) and ending (E) locations. The actual tornado path may differ from a straight line.
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Measure
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All events for this episode:

Location County/Zone St. Date Time T.Z. Type Mag Dth Inj PrD CrD
Totals: 1 3 0.00K 0.00K
MODALE HARRISON CO. IA 04/26/2024 15:18 CST-6 Tornado EF1 0 0 0.00K 0.00K
MAGNOLIA HARRISON CO. IA 04/26/2024 15:52 CST-6 Tornado EF1 0 0 0.00K 0.00K
PACIFIC JCT MILLS CO. IA 04/26/2024 15:52 CST-6 Tornado EF1 0 0 0.00K 0.00K
COUNCIL BLUFFS POTTAWATTAMIE CO. IA 04/26/2024 15:54 CST-6 Tornado EF1 0 0 0.00K 0.00K
CARTER LAKE POTTAWATTAMIE CO. IA 04/26/2024 15:55 CST-6 Hail 1.75 in. 0 0 0.00K 0.00K
PISGAH HARRISON CO. IA 04/26/2024 15:59 CST-6 Tornado EF0 0 0 0.00K 0.00K
CARTER LAKE POTTAWATTAMIE CO. IA 04/26/2024 16:01 CST-6 Tornado EF3 0 0 0.00K 0.00K
PREPARATION MONONA CO. IA 04/26/2024 16:05 CST-6 Tornado EF0 0 0 0.00K 0.00K
DUMFRIES POTTAWATTAMIE CO. IA 04/26/2024 16:08 CST-6 Tornado EF3 0 0 0.00K 0.00K
MOORHEAD MONONA CO. IA 04/26/2024 16:17 CST-6 Tornado EF0 0 0 0.00K 0.00K
SOLDIER MONONA CO. IA 04/26/2024 16:23 CST-6 Tornado EF1 0 0 0.00K 0.00K
MC CLELLAND POTTAWATTAMIE CO. IA 04/26/2024 16:25 CST-6 Tornado EF3 1 3 0.00K 0.00K
BEEBEETOWN HARRISON CO. IA 04/26/2024 16:26 CST-6 Tornado EF0 0 0 0.00K 0.00K
HARD SCRATCH HARRISON CO. IA 04/26/2024 16:40 CST-6 Tornado EF1 0 0 0.00K 0.00K
YORKSHIRE HARRISON CO. IA 04/26/2024 16:46 CST-6 Tornado EF1 0 0 0.00K 0.00K
SHELBY SHELBY CO. IA 04/26/2024 16:47 CST-6 Tornado EF3 0 0 0.00K 0.00K
CLARINDA PAGE CO. IA 04/26/2024 17:08 CST-6 Hail 1.00 in. 0 0 0.00K 0.00K
IRWIN SHELBY CO. IA 04/26/2024 17:28 CST-6 Tornado EF1 0 0 0.00K 0.00K
DEFIANCE SHELBY CO. IA 04/26/2024 17:49 CST-6 Tornado EF1 0 0 0.00K 0.00K
Totals: 1 3 0.00K 0.00K