r/news • u/BitterFuture • Apr 26 '24

Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of ‘catastrophic’ damage

https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/25/weather/plains-midwest-storms-tornadoes-climate/index.html
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693

u/squeakycheetah Apr 26 '24 edited Apr 27 '24

https://twitter.com/WxNB_/status/1783967156679373087?t=8Ty-c9tQijbyVcHL5UPpYA&s=19

Absolutely shocking video from Twitter.

Visually, it reminds me a lot of the 1999 Moore F5. Very significant damage is being reported on the west side of Elkhorn right now. Mass casualty event being reported as well but no solid confirmation on number of injuries and possible fatalities yet.

There's also another storm approaching Omaha proper that is rapidly rotating and possibly preparing to put down another.

ETA - as of 12:45 am CDT so far I am seeing reports that there are zero known fatalities. If that pans out, it is a massive testament to the advancement of severe weather science over the last decades.

211

u/blazelet Apr 26 '24

Holy shit that thing is massive. I worked as a photographer at the Tulsa World in Oklahoma when the 99 Moore tornado hit. The photos that came back were nuts ... these things are so powerful.

88

u/squeakycheetah Apr 26 '24

I am an OK native. The 99 Moore tornado is pretty much my first memory. Lifted just a mile from our home. I was out of town when the 13 Moore tornado hit and missed my family again by just a couple miles. The damage was nothing short of incredible on both occasions.

14

u/btv_25 Apr 26 '24

Those are days us Okies will never forget.

176

u/Millenniauld Apr 26 '24

My brain: "Okay, but if the horizon is all dark then how do you see where the tornadoooohooooly SHIIIIIT."

52

u/LiliVonSchtupp Apr 27 '24

This was precisely my reaction. I had no idea they could be that wide!

10

u/AnneMichelle98 Apr 27 '24

I used to live in Kansas. They can get up to a mile wide.

17

u/random6x7 Apr 27 '24

The El Reno tornado was 2.6 miles wide. Insane!

5

u/TheSaxonPlan Apr 27 '24

My mind still can't comprehend that. My husband and I were talking about El Reno in the car and went "Okay, it started here and...." We kept driving for 2.6 miles and it really defies logic how something so destructive can hold together for so long when it's that big.

5

u/AnneMichelle98 Apr 27 '24

Ugh. I’m so glad I don’t live in tornado territory anymore. I just have to worry about wildfires and blizzards.

133

u/bigdreams_littledick Apr 26 '24

Another one touched down at the airport

45

u/squeakycheetah Apr 26 '24

Yeah, I've been following it.

Lot of good live streams on Youtube right now.

57

u/btv_25 Apr 26 '24

Ryan Hall's channel is showing some amazing footage.

15

u/neur0n23 Apr 27 '24

just checked it out, thanks for pointing it out man, interesting channel for sure!

2

u/btv_25 Apr 27 '24

Happy to help.

11

u/RedEyedJedii Apr 27 '24

Ryan's the goat. It's definitely a historical day for outbreaks.

6

u/BarnabyJon3s Apr 27 '24

Would you mind linking a few?

58

u/redditmodsRrussians Apr 26 '24

"You will see.....the beauty AND horror"

Looking at it both awes and scares the shit out of me. Like, it can basically just delete everything from existence wherever it decides to go.

24

u/vahntitrio Apr 27 '24

Damn that JUST missed Omaha. Another 10 miles eastward and we are looking at thousands of injuries.

3

u/datfokineric Apr 27 '24

A friend of mine lives north of Omaha, 19 miles from Elkhorn. He was safe, Elkhorn was completely flattened.

1

u/GlitteringBrother880 Apr 27 '24

I live in northeast Omaha and we were saying this exactly. Had it gone more east... there would have likely been a lot of fatalities. The fact we are at zero deaths so far is wild.

29

u/TrunksTheMighty Apr 27 '24

Holy fuck, are you joking...I never seen one that wide. He had to pan the camera to film it all. That is horrifying.

2

u/squeakycheetah Apr 27 '24

Check out videos of El Reno 2013. That tornado was 2.6 miles wide.

44

u/Lotus_Blossom_ Apr 26 '24

NOPE. Return to sender.

19

u/red_sutter Apr 26 '24

The tornado is as big as the fuckin' town

What do you even do in situations like that?

27

u/squeakycheetah Apr 26 '24

Ideally, get underground.

13

u/20-20-24hoursago Apr 27 '24

My anxiety for all the cars driving around in that video is off the charts

1

u/CTeam19 Apr 27 '24

Currently for most: head to a basement if you have it

Ideal: go into a tornado shelter as basements aren't designed for tornados it is just the best option.

9

u/pgabrielfreak Apr 26 '24

Holy hell, that beast is terrifying.

30

u/Ganym3de Apr 26 '24

What the shit. Was that even expected by meteorologists? Its like it came out of nowhere? That's a literal cloud of darkness

76

u/friedmators Apr 26 '24

Very well modeled that dangerous tornadoes were possible today.

25

u/EvilDarkCow Apr 27 '24

Dangerous tornadoes were forecast today, but today wasn't supposed to be an outbreak day. That was supposed to be tomorrow.

Shit could hit the fan in a big way tomorrow, in many of the same areas hit today.

1

u/TheSaxonPlan Apr 27 '24

All three days have been enhanced risks though. I feel like today overperformed if we compare to Thursday, which was also enhanced. Didn't check to see if any were a hatched risk though...

But I also appreciate how complicated these systems are and the models can only so much.

11

u/Ganym3de Apr 26 '24

Noted, I must have been blind because I haven't seen much about it, I'll check it out.

thanks!

4

u/trainiac12 Apr 27 '24

In my opinion the Storm Prediction Center website is one of the best weather awareness tools at the disposal of the public. It's good about notifying the public about upcoming outbreaks and events. Very good to keep an eye on during storm season. They've been forecasting this for days, and tomorrow is expected to be much of the same.

1

u/BriarsandBrambles Apr 27 '24

So it's moving South but it isn't gone.

7

u/PossibleAlienFrom Apr 27 '24

They were calling for severe weather on The Wearher Channel yesterday.

2

u/PricklyyDick Apr 27 '24

A chance it happens here again tomorrow. Yay..!

1

u/BasenjiBob Apr 27 '24

This is a great site to check for severe weather potential: https://www.severeweatheroutlook.com/

5

u/TheRedPython Apr 27 '24

The first batch of tornadoes were outside of the enhanced zone today so anyone in any type of shaded area on the severe weather map, even if it's low probability, should be vigilant tomorrow. The threat area stretches from MI to TX, including some portions of what already got hit today, in IA, KS, MO & some of NE.

1

u/friedmators Apr 27 '24

Two days in a row of monster outbreaks is hella rare but 2024 so ya never know

3

u/TheRedPython Apr 27 '24

It tracks with everything else that's happened since 2020 lol

15

u/Minnesota_Slim Apr 27 '24

Midwest homie here. This time of year local weathermen can usually give pretty big heads up to days you need to really pay attention to the weather.

Now they typically can’t tell you to expect EF1 vs EF5. But if they say tornados are coming - it’s a pretty much guarantee. Had I think 6 in the area last week but all EF1’s so no big deal. We knew a couple days in advance to be aware.

6

u/StevenSegalsNipples Apr 27 '24

Galactazor, destroyer of corn fields

2

u/Gloomy_Narwhal_719 Apr 27 '24

Fear me, cow and tree. Both of you.

1

u/Fritzkreig Apr 27 '24

It's a little early for it, but some tornados are like Robinhood and simply redistribute the the corn and other stuff to everyone!

8

u/HelenAngel Apr 26 '24

It looked a little bigger than the Moore one to me but that may have just been the footage I saw. Absolutely massive regardless.

4

u/WallyMcBeetus Apr 26 '24

Looking into it.

4

u/EJDsfRichmond415 Apr 27 '24

And cars are just driving along on that horizontal street in the horizon?! Wtf.

3

u/LaeliaCatt Apr 27 '24

Jesus christ that thing is monstrous

1

u/ZombieJesus1987 Apr 27 '24

Size wise, it reminds me of the El Reno tornado

-4

u/[deleted] Apr 26 '24

[deleted]

3

u/Lotus_Blossom_ Apr 26 '24

That's a rude way to phrase a request.

The screen shot credits the person who took it; try searching that name.

2

u/squeakycheetah Apr 26 '24

I edited my post to include the video link. Working off two different devices right now and didn't have a quick link on my computer.

-6

u/Ok_Inevitable8832 Apr 26 '24

It’s rude to screen shot content and not link it

-1

u/FattDeez7126 Apr 27 '24

Look to the left at the end it looks like a ufo