Severe Weather Outbreak Eases as Tornado Radar Tracks Tuesday Storms
Tornado radar still showed severe thunderstorms possible Tuesday evening from parts of Texas into the Ohio Valley, Great Lakes, upstate New York and New England as the outbreak that began last weekend moved toward its end. The tornado threat was much lower, but damaging wind gusts, hail and locally flooding rain remained in play.
The outbreak began Saturday with over 200 reports of severe weather, then added another 275 reports Sunday and over 300 reports Monday. That run included three weak tornadoes in Linn and Livingston Counties, Missouri, and an EF3 tornado near St. Libory, Nebraska, that destroyed four homes but injured no one because residents took shelter after NWS tornado warnings.
Nebraska Storm Damage
The most damaging Sunday storm struck Howard County, Nebraska, near St. Libory about 10 miles north of Grand Island around 5 p.m. CDT. The National Weather Service rated that tornado EF3 with peak estimated winds of 160 mph.
Other Nebraska damage stretched from a rare tornado emergency near Hebron to reports of a radar-confirmed tornado north of Ashland and apparent tornado damage near Plattsmouth, south of Omaha near the Missouri River. The Hebron tornado was rated EF1.
Midwest Reports Sunday
Sunday reports also reached northwest Iowa and southern Minnesota, including near Mason City and Worthington. Thunderstorm wind gusts up to 82 mph were clocked near Estherville, Iowa, and strong winds damaged a grain elevator in Greenville, Iowa.
The Tuesday evening threat covers a broader area than the last few days, but the severe-weather risk is lower than it was over the weekend and Monday. The forecast leaves the most immediate hazard in scattered thunderstorms, not the tornado outbreak that dominated earlier rounds.
Early Wednesday Outlook
The outbreak is expected to draw to a close by early Wednesday. For people across the long corridor from Texas to New England, the practical question Tuesday evening is whether local storms stay in the damaging wind, hail and flooding-rain category or intensify before the threat winds down.
