 | |
| Type: | Unknown |
| Active: | May 29th-31st, 2022 |
| Duration of tornado outbreak1: | 65 hours |
| Maximum rated tornado2: | EF5 tornado |
| Highest winds | Unknown |
| Tornadoes confirmed: | TBD |
| Damage: | Unknown |
| Injuries: | Unknown |
| Fatalities: | Unknown |
| Areas affected: | Great Plains, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic |
|
1Time from first tornado to last tornado | |
The tornado outbreak that occurred on May 29th, 30th, and 31st, 2022 was a multi-state, multi-day severe weather event that effected much of the eastern United States. There were multiple violent tornadoes, including at least 2 EF5 tornadoes, one of which completely destroyed a town in Nebraska. Along with tornadoes, flooding, large hail, and severe thunderstorm winds were also reported across a large swath of the affected areas. The outbreak remains one of the worst in United States history.
Tornadoes[]
| Confirmed Total |
Confirmed EF0 |
Confirmed EF1 |
Confirmed EF2 |
Confirmed EF3 |
Confirmed EF4 |
Confirmed EF5 |
| TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | 2+ |
SPC Risk outlook for May 29th, 2022
May 29th Event[]
| List of confirmed tornadoes - May 29, 2022 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nebraska | ||||||
| EF0 | N of Hershey | Lincoln | 11:34 AM - 11:36 AM | 0.5 mi | A weak landspout remained over an open field and caused no damage. | |
| EF1 | S of Lexington | Dawson | 12:42 PM - 12:43 PM | 0.2 mi | A brief tornado mangled a pivot sprinkler and downed 20 feet of chain link fence. | |
| EF0 | Broken Bow | Custer | 1:07 PM | 100 yards | A small and brief tornado traveled 300 feet and hit several houses, ripping off shingles and destroying a wooden shed. A couple small trees were also blown down and a toy car was tossed 20 yards. | |
| EF2 | W of North Loup to N of North Loup | Valley | 1:18 PM - 1:30 PM | 4.2 mi | The first strong tornado of the outbreak touched down in an open field, tossing a tractor 100 yards. The tornado then hit a ranch home, blowing the roof off. Next, a barn was hit and collapsed, with the aluminum silo being rolled 40 yards. The tornado traversed a corn field, downing 300 yards of corn stalks. The tornado was rated high-end EF2 with 125 mph winds. | |
| EF0 | E of Palmer | Merrick | 1:35 PM - 1:38 PM | 0.3 | This small landspout moved slowly over an open field causing no damage. | |
| EF0 | N of Archer | Merrick | 1:40 PM | Staionary | Another landspout tornado touched down half a mile from the previous one, and remained stationary for 45 seconds before lifting. | |
| EF1 | Spalding | Greeley | 1:48 PM - 1:51 PM | 0.6 mi | This small and fast moving tornado hit 2 houses on the outskirts of Spalding, blowing out windows and removing shingles. An EF1 rating was applied when the tornado carried an outhouse 100 yards before blowing it apart. | |
| EF0 | S of Stuart | Holt | 1:52 PM - 1:53 PM | 400 yards | A brief landspout ripped shingles off of a small home south of Stuart. | |
| EF1 | S of Boelus | Howard | 1:57 PM | 700 yards | A very fast moving rope tornado rolled two grain bins and picked up hay bales. | |
| EF3 | N of Dannevirke to N of Wolbach | Howard, Greeley | 1:59 PM - 2:22 PM | 9.8 mi | 2 deaths - A very strong tornado touched down in an open field, intensifying until it struck the village of Cotesfield with 160 mph winds. 12 poorly built homes were swept away, and multiple large trees were uprooted. The Cotesfield postal service office was completely destroyed, and the local church had its roof and brick outside walls removed. One person was killed in one of the swept away homes, and another was killed in their car. The tornado then moved into another field, mangling pivot sprinklers and killing 5 horses. A home north of Wolbach had its roof blown off as the tornado roped out. 14 other people were injured, 9 critically. | |
| EF1 | Grand Island | Hall | 2:08 PM - 2:10 PM | 1 mi | A finger tornado ripped half the roof off of a house and downed a wooden fence encompassing the houses' backyard. A trampoline in another backyard was lifted and carried 50 yards. 10 homes saw shingles blown off, and a mobile home was rolled onto its side. 3 people were injured. | |
| EF5 | S of Cedar Rapids to S of Leigh | Boone, Platte, Colfax | 2:25 PM - 3:03 PM | 49.6 mi | 81 deaths - See section below | |
| EF0 | S of St. Edward | Boone | 2:38 PM - 2:39 PM | 600 yards | A satellite of the EF5 tornado that caused no damage. | |
| EF1 | David City | Butler | 2:41 PM - 2:44 PM | 0.8 mi | This landspout overturned small planes and land vehicles at the David City Municipal Airport. Three hangers had their aluminum roofs peeled off. Dozens of small trees were also snapped. | |
| EF2 | Verdigre to NE of Crofton | Knox | 2:46 PM - 3:10 PM | 31 mi | A cone tornado touched down in the city limits of Veridgre, completely destroying a mobile home. The tornado continued towards Crofton, snapping large trees and tossing farm equipment. The tornado struck a ranch home and barn north of Bloomfield, ripping the roof off of the house and collapsing the barn. Grain silos were crushed and thrown hundreds of yards. The tornado also mangled more than 70 windmills along its path. 5 people were injured. | |
| EF3 | E of Ellis to NE of Beatrice | Gage | 2:59 PM - 3:07 PM | 8.5 mi | 1 death - A small but very powerful rope tornado touched down near Ellis. The tornado never grew to more than 50 yards before striking southeast Beatrice with 150 mph winds. Multiple homes lost their roofs and outside walls, with one poorly anchored home being swept away. A welding shop collapsed due to poor construction, and a general store had its roof cave in. The Church of the Promise saw its wooden structure almost completely blow away, and a farm was blown apart. Hundreds of trees in town were snapped or uprooted, and the tornado also threw a small speed boat out of the Big Blue River. 1 person was killed and over 40 were injured. | |
| EF0 | ENE of Lyons | Burt | 3:11 PM | 200 yards | A brief landspout caused no damage. | |
| EF0 | S of Decatur | Burt | 3:18 PM - 3:24 PM | 3.7 mi | A cone tornado remained over open fields, causing no damage. | |
| EF1 | N of Richland | Colfax | 5:26 PM - 5:25 PM | 400 yards | A small landspout spawned by a straggling supercell ripped the aluminum roof off a ranch home. A wooden fence was blown apart, and a car was overturned. A trampoline was also lifted up and placed back down 30 yards away. This was the last tornado in Nebraska. | |
| North Dakota | ||||||
| EF0 | S of Ahsley | McIntosh | 12:02 PM | 10 yards | A very brief landspout caused no damage. The tornado was caused by a stray storm that quickly dissipated. This was the only tornado recorded in the state during the outbreak. | |
| South Dakota | ||||||
| EF2 | Highmore | Hyde | 12:36 PM - 12:38 PM | 0.2 mi | A brief but strong tornado struck and industrial building, shredding the roof. A shell gas station had its roof be blown off and gas pumps bent to the ground. A Cafe had its aluminum roof be ripped off, and a Ford car sales building had an outside wall blown in. Cars in the sales lot were blown up to 20 yards away. Large trees were snapped, and a wooden shed was obliterated. The tornado moved over open fields for the rest of its duration. The tornado was rated a very high-end EF2 with 135 mph winds. 12 people were injured. | |
| EF0 | S of Ideal | Tripp | 12:45 PM | 20 yd | An extremely brief landspout touched down causing no damage. | |
| EF0 | Ne of Quinn | Hyde | 12:57 PM - 1:01 PM | 2.5 mi | A fairly strong finger tornado remained over open spaces, causing no damage. | |
| EF0 | S of Watertown to N of Gary | Codrington, Deuel | 1:05 PM - 1:40 PM | 33.2 mi | An elephant trunk tornado touched down in a field, moving east-northeastwards. Slightly damaging several homes and barns, the tornado gradually intensified. The tornado then moved through Bemis with 145 mph winds as a cone tornado, completely destroying the poorly built homes that made up the town. Mobile homes were blown apart, and cars were tossed. Large trees were snapped, and grain bins were crumpled and tossed. The tornado then rapidly weakened to a rope tornado with out hitting any more structures and then dissipated north of Gary. Amazingly, no one was killed, but 12 people were injured in Bemis, 10 critically. | |
| EF0 | N of Altamont | Deuel | 1:22 PM - 1:24 PM | 0.6 mi | A small satellite of the EF3 destroyed a chicken coop and rolled a pickup truck. | |
| EF0 | E of Ottumwa | Stanley | 1:29 PM - 1:31 PM | 1.4 mi | This small landspout ripped shingles off of a house and downed a wooden fence. Grain bins were blown a few yards. | |
| EF4 | N of Wendte to W of Blunt | Stanley, Hughs | 1:52 PM - 2:27 PM | 29.8 mi | 4 deaths - See section below | |
| EF0 | N of Pierre | Hughs | 2:12 PM - 2:14 PM | 0.4 mi | A brief landspout touched down in Lake Sharpe as the main EF4 tornado crossed the lake. The landspout crossed the lake without causing any damage. | |
| EF0 | S of Burke | Gregory | 2:15 PM - 2:18 PM | Stationary | A cone tornado touched down and remained over an open field with little movement for 3 minutes before dissipating. | |
| EF1 | N of Bonesteel | Gregory | 2:25 PM - 2:27 PM | 700 yards | A very small tornado, no bigger than a golf cart, ripped half the aluminum roof off of a small farm building along the Missouri River. As the tornado crossed the river, it sucked up small amounts of water. The tornado dissipated over the river soon after. | |
| EF2 | N of Freeman to NW of Marion | Huthcinson, Turner | 2:36 PM - 2:50 PM | 7.8 mi | A slow moving elephant trunk tornado struck three houses and four barns over its lifetime. The first farmhouse lost its roof and the wooden barn collapsed, and metal storage containers were rolled. A few miles later, another farmhouse lost half of its roof and the barn's roof was ripped off, with cars being tossed several yards. Down the road, a house lost its roof and a side wall, the shed was completely destroyed, and the barn also collapsed. The tornado was rated EF2 with 120 mph winds. No one was killed or injured. | |
| EF0 | S of Redfield | Spink | 2:41 PM | 300 yards | A fast moving, brief landspout zoomed across an open field causing no damage. | |
| EF1 | Garden City | Clark | 2:46 PM - 2:47 PM | 300 yards | A brief landspout tossed grain bins and ripped the roof off of the tiny Garden City US Postal Service Building. A couple large trees were also snapped. | |
| EF5 | S of Gayville to Hub City | Yankton, Clay | 3:20 PM - 3:35 PM | 15.1 mi | See section below | |
Notable Tornadoes[]
St. Edwards-Tarnov, Nebraska[]
At 2:25 PM on May 29th, a very strong mesocyclone produced an elephant trunk tornado near Cedar Rapids. The tornado continued moved east-northeast towards St. Edward as it was growing in size and strength rapidly. At 2:35 PM, the now 1.75 mile wide tornado struck the tiny town of St. Edward directly, with the core of the twister passing trhough the southern half of town. The entire town was enveloped within the tornado, leaving no building in the city limits undamaged. Very large silos at the Green Plains Grain Facility were picked up and tossed up to a mile. A brick auto service building was leveled, along with 2 churches, bar and grill,
EF4 and EF5 damage to St. Edward
bank, general store, 2 banks, and an ice cream place. At the St. Edward public schools, the mobile units were obliterated, and the gymnasium collapsed. The neighboring Kurtenbach Nursery was leveled, and the playground in the nursery's yard was
sheared off its metal bolts and mangled. Thankfully, the tornado hit on a Sunday, so the buildings were vacant as the tornado hit. The St. Edward city hall suffered major damage, with all but an interior room being destroyed. The Grapevine Cafe was swept completely away, and its concrete foundation was cracked in several places. The Cloverlodge Retirement Center collapsed and was partially swept away, killing 43 people. Trucks from a trucking center were mangled and thrown up to a mile away. Every house in the town received at least mid-range EF2 damage, with 52 homes suffering indisputable EF5 damage. 8 well built, well anchored houses in between 8th S Street and 9th S Street were swept away completely, with their bolts being twisted, sheared down, and broken off of the foundation. 3 of those foundations were cracked and swept away as well. The basements of the destroyed houses were filled with debris, killing a total of 8 people. One of the homes had a pool, which was sucked clean and the paving was cracked in dozens of places. Asphalt was ripped from the ground along Beaver Street and 9th S Street, and trees in that area were completely debarked before being uprooted and thrown hundreds of yards. As the tornado moved out of the town, a 300 yard wide swath of 2 foot deep ground scouring was observed for 2
The tornado minutes after it left the town
miles as the tornado moved towards Tarnov. An oil rig outside of town was shredded, and the oil pump was ripped out of the ground and wrapped around a fully debarked tree. Acres of corn fields were sheared all the way to the ground, and hundreds, possibly thousands, of trees were debarked and/or uprooted. Pivot sprinklers were mangled, crumpled up, and thrown hundreds of yards, and grain bins were shredded so badly the pieces of aluminum were so thin it was hard to differentiate them from cars or household appliances. The tornado weakened as it hit multiple farm houses, ranches, and barns, inflicting high-end EF4 damage. Cars were crushed, and houses were almost completely destroyed except for a few interior walls. Barns were completely destroyed, and silos were blown apart. The tornado intensified again as it struck the Cci Feedyards. Multiple wooden and aluminum and food storage's were blown apart. The ranch homes on the site were destroyed and swept away. Barns were completely destroyed, and hale bales were found up to two miles away. Dirt in the animal pens was tossed up, leaving 1 foot deep trenches and holes. Amazingly, no one was hurt due to the 20 people there seeking shelter in the facility's concrete 20 foot underground basement. However, over 300 farm animals were killed. The tornado underwent a period of thinning as it left the site, slimming down to 220 yards. However, despite its size, the tornado was still extremely violent and had one of the fastest spinning motions ever observed. The greatly decreased size allowed for dozens of structures previously in the tornadoes path to be spared. However, between the Cci Feddyards and Tarnov, intense ground scouring, up to two feet deep, was observed. 4 houses and 3 farms were hit, all of which were completely destroyed. The tornado then hit the northern half of Tarnov. All 10 buildings associated with the St. Michael Catholic Church were destroyed, and only the 3 main buildings had debris left on their foundation. 10 nearby homes were destroyed and swept clean away. Cars were mangled, and two vehicles were wrapped around trees. The tornado also sucked up
Exposed basement of where a home used to be in Tarnov
chunks of asphalt and concrete off of roads, driveways, and sidewalks along Quail Street, Robin Street, 1st Street, and 3rd Street. Trees in the area were debarked, and many were uprooted. A small industrial building on 1st Street was shredded and completely destroyed, with little debris left on the foundation. Large stainless steel grain bins were crushed and thrown up to 500 yards away. Severe dirt scouring, up to a foot deep in some places, was documented along a 3 miles path from outside of Tarnov, straight through northern Tarnov, and out the other end. A mile long irrigation pipe was ripped out of the ground, twisted, snapped, and thrown in all directions. The tornado finally began to rapidly weaken as it sped east-northeastwards. The tornado heavily damaged 20 more homes, and destroyed 16 barns as it moved south of Leigh. The tornado finally dissipated at 3:03 PM. Damage in St. Edward and adjacent areas was so severe, many people and meteorologists consider the tornado to have been an EF6 tornado. Along with some of the most extreme damage ever documented, some of the highest winds on earth were recorded within the tornado. As the tornado moved through St. Edward, a Doppler on wheels just outside the tornado recorded 294 mph winds. However, it is estimated the some of the sub-vortices within the tornado reached wind speeds of 350 miles per hour. In all, 81 people were killed, 60 people were killed in St. Edward, 12 in Tarnov, and 9 along the ranches and farmsteads along the rest of its path. Over 350 people were injured, and more than 500 farm animals were killed.
Pierra, South Dakota[]
The tornado touching down
A finger tornado touched down in the hills of Stanley County at 1:52 PM, downing trees and power lines. The tornado strengthened, traveling 15 miles before reaching the northwestern outskirts of Pierre. Large industrial
buildings sustained roof and outside wall loss, and 1 story wood frame houses were almost completely destroyed, with only a couple inside walls left. Trees were partially debarked and mobile homes were obliterated. Houses on the shore of Lake Sharpe were destroyed and partially swept away, with debris being pushed into the lake. As the tornado crossed the lake, a speedboat was sucked up and thrown a quarter of a mile. Water in the lake was
The tornado shortly after crossing the lake, with the black-white swirl
pulled into the vortex, creating a highly photogenic white-black swirl effect. The tornado came out the other side of the lake at peak intensity, causing mild ground scouring. The tornado weakened, and traveled two more miles before striking more houses. The homes lost their roofs and multiple outside walls, and cars were thrown several yards before being crushed. Large conifer trees in the area were snapped at the base and blown around. The tornado began to rope out, and traveled 10 miles without striking any buildings before dissipating west of Blunt. The tornado was rated high-end EF4 with 195 mph winds. However,
Damage to the lake shore homes
damage to the lake front houses could support an EF5 rating, and the SuperDestructiveTwister Weather Forecast Center considers the tornado a low-end EF5 with 205 mph winds. 4 people were killed, all in the Pierre city limit.
Westreville, South Dakota[]
At 3:20 PM, a small and laughably weak landspout touched down in an open field. The tornado moved over open fields, causing no damage. As the tornado approached southeastern Westreville, it rapidly intensified,
The tornado at its widest
and grew to a mile wide wedge tornado. The tornado passed directly over a small farm, completely sweeping away the ranch house, barn, and all other buildings on the 3 acre property. Grain bins were mangled and tossed up to half a mile. The tractor was smashed against a debarked tree so hard, it was warped like a piece of plastic. Concrete stairs were ripped out of the ground and dragged across the barren foundation, receiving severe cracking.
Indisputable EF5 damage to a house near Westreville
Severe ground scouring also occurred at the site. Corn stalks were ripped out of the ground, and pavement was cracked and blown away. Another farm down the road experienced similar damage. The outer edges of the tornado struck Westreville, causing minor to moderate damage. The Pleasant Valley Lutheran Church sustained roof loss, while multiple homes lost their roofs, and some exterior walls. Mobiles homes were destroyed and large trees were snapped. The tornado continued over mostly open fields, continuing to produce ground scouring and debarking trees. Multiple more buildings were swept away. The tornado began to weaken as it approached Hub City. The tornado roped out over Hub City, ripping shingles off of multiple buildings. Miraculously, no one was killed or even injured in the mammoth twister due to early warnings and most houses having basements. However, over 40 farm animals were killed, but the tornado helped eradicate an invasive species of dust mite in the counties the tornado trekked through.