4/17/12 Weekend Tornado Recap

Over the weekend many dozens of tornadoes were reported in several states. There were a total of 110 tornado reports for Saturday, but there were likely only 75 that actually made it to the ground. A total of 6 people dies, all of which were in the state of Oklahoma. There were also around 50 injuries from tornadoes in other states. Below is a map of the tornado warnings and actual corresponding reports of tornadoes that touched down on Saturday.

Nebraska- The big story here was the baseball size hail, and a lot of it. There were 7 tornadoes in the state, but most of them hit farmland and rural areas, so there were no injuries or fatalities, and just some minor structural damage to some barns, outbuildings, and some trees down.

Kansas- Multiple tornadoes hit here including two EF3's in western part of the state. Sedgwick county, where Wichita is located, has preliminary damage estimates as high as $283 million. There was also an EF4, the highest rated tornado from Saturday's storms, near the town of Salina.

 

Oklahoma - Oklahoma governor declared a state of emergency for 12 counties. The town of Woodward, which is about 140 miles NW of Oklahoma City, was the hardest hit. This is where all of the tornado fatalities came from. Thousands remained without power well into Sunday.

Iowa-This state in particular had a large part of the town of Thurman, which is in the western part of the state, destroyed by an EF2 tornado. Thankfully there were no injuries or fatalities in that area. The state as a whole received four tornadoes, two of them were EF2, one EF0, and one EF1.

In total there were seven EF0 tornadoes, five EF1 tornadoes, three EF2 tornadoes, four EF3 tornadoes, and one EF4 tornado across four states in the Great Plains. Below is a breakdown of the confirmed rated tornadoes in each state:

EF4- Salina, KS
EF3- Wichita, KS
EF3- Woodward, OK
EF3- Greensburg, KS
EF3- Macksville, KS
EF2- Cook, NE
EF2- Thurman, IA
EF2- Creston, IA
EF1- Nebraska City, NE
EF1- McClelland, IA
EF1- Manchester, KS
EF1- Tipton, KS
EF1- Dodge City, KS
EF0- Sterling, NE
EF0- Talmage, NE
EF0- Council Bluffs, IA
EF0- Manchester, KS
EF0- Oxford, NE
EF0- Hardy, NE
EF0- Deshler, NE
**There was also a confirmed tornado in Lincolnville, KS, but it has not yet been rated.

Sources:  CBS News, Associated Press, NOAA, Storm Prediction Center, KWCH, Robert Hurkes.