On This Date: 'Night Of The Twisters' Strikes Grand Island, Nebraska
A terrifying evening of tornadoes struck Grand Island, Nebraska, 45 years ago in what's sometimes called the "night of the twisters".
The city was hit by a slow-moving supercell thunderstorm complex that contributed to the spin-up of an unbelievable seven tornadoes near or in Grand Island in just 2 hour and 45 minutes. It's described as "arguably an unparalleled event in meteorological history" by the National Weather Service in Hastings, Nebraska.
Some of the tornadoes were intense to violent, with one rated F4 and three others rated F3 on the original Fujita Scale. The twisters killed 5 people, injured 200 and destroyed more than 500 hundred homes and businesses.
Another interesting fact is that three of the tornadoes were rare anticyclonic ones, meaning winds rotated clockwise as opposed to counterclockwise. It's estimated just 1% of all tornadoes rotate in this clockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere where we live.
The swarm of tornadoes also inspired a book, television movie and tornado and engineering research, the National Weather Service says.
Chris Dolce has been a senior digital meteorologist with weather.com for nearly 15 years after beginning his career with The Weather Channel in the early 2000s.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Severe weather in weekend forecast: See the map
Damaging winds along with a chance of hail and tornadoes are threatening states across the Southeast as a large swath of the country braces for severe weather for the rest of the weekend, forecasters said. Over 1.5 million people were under tornado watches in Arkansas the morning of June 7. States in the Southern Plains region to the Carolinas are at risk for clusters of strong to severe thunderstorms moving rapidly, the Storm Prediction Center said. The storms will progress eastward throughout the day. Heavy rainfall is also expected to pose a risk of flash flooding in some of the areas affected by storms, particularly across the mid-South and another cluster of states in New England, the National Weather Service said on June 7. Millions were under flood watches throughout Oklahoma and parts of the Texas Panhandle and southwestern Missouri; as well as parts of New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire. The multi-day severe weather event could impact over 100 million people in total east of the Rockies through the weekend, AccuWeather reported. Major cities in the storm paths include Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Oklahoma City, according to the outlet. Earlier in the week, east 20 tornadoes ripped through New Mexico into the Texas border town of Lubbock, leaving more than 10,000 residents in West Texas without power, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, part of the USA TODAY network, reported. Forecasters said bad weather could cause even more damage on June 8, when widespread storms are expected again across the Southern Plains. The storms could bring wind gusts of 80 to 100 mph, hail 3 inches in diameter and tornadoes, with cities including Oklahoma City and Dallas in the area of most risk, the Storm Prediction Center said. The flooding risk will persist on June 8, where "drenching strong to severe thunderstorms" are expected, the weather service said. AccuWeather warned some of the storminess could develop at night, obscuring tornadoes by rain and darkness. Nighttime tornadoes are more deadly than daytime ones, according to the National Weather Service. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Severe thunderstorms, tornadoes in weekend forecast for Southeast
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
National Weather Service warns strong storms could roll through Kentucky. What to know
Coming off the heels of a round of deadly tornadoes in May, the National Weather Service anticipates a round of severe storms could hit the southern portion of Kentucky on June 7. "We'll see generally quiet weather across the region this morning. However, another round of strong to severe storms is forecast to move into the region this afternoon and continue through the evening," a spokesperson for the National Weather Service Louisville office said in an email. The worst of the storms is expected to hit southern Kentucky. Here is what to know about the severe weather heading to Kentucky: The main threats for June 7 consist of heavy rainfall, isolated flash flooding, and the potential for isolated damaging winds. The slight chance for severe weather is expected to hit southern Kentucky. Showers and thunderstorms are expected across the state into the afternoon and evening. More: Is Kentucky becoming more tornado-prone? Well, it's complicated Tornadoes in May, including an EF-4, were responsible for killing 19 people in Eastern Kentucky. Two weeks later, a small tornado hit Washington County, killing another person. As of May 23, President Donald Trump approved a major disaster declaration for Kentucky related to the tornadoes, severe storms and straight-line winds that decimated parts of the state from May 16-17, including the EF-4 tornado that tore through Russell, Pulaski and Laurel counties, The Courier Journal previously reported. This marked the third major disaster declaration issued for the state for 2025, following historic flooding in April and February. Reporters Connor Giffin and Stephanie Kuzydym contributed to this report. Contact business reporter Olivia Evans at oevans@ or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter at @oliviamevans_. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: National Weather Service forecast strong to severe storms in Kentucky
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
CMA Fest Day 3: More rain, storm chances for Saturday
Day 3 of CMA Fest may be another soggy one, with a threat of storms later n the day, so pack up your ponchos (and carefully consider your footwear) if you're heading to downtown Nashville for another day of country music. The latest forecast for June 7 shows there is a chance of rain throughout the day and with storms, some of which may be severe, possible in the afternoon and evening. The Nashville area is under a slight risk (level 2 of 5) for severe storms Saturday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. "Main threats include damaging winds and heavy rainfall," forecasters said of the afternoon and evening storm risk. "There is a lesser threat of large hail. And there is a very low chance of tornadoes mainly across southern Middle Tennessee." The timing for the storms will vary across the region, but NWS said the main window is from a severe weather threat is from 1-6 p.m. The CMA Connect app will send out real-time alerts about when stages are closed, where attendees can shelter and when it is safe to return to outdoor stages. Be sure to have your notifications enabled so you don't miss any key updates from festival organizers. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: CMA Fest Saturday weather: Rain, storm chances continue Day 3
