What the record says
On 8 May 1965, a tornado touched down near Wood River, Nebraska. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 125.7 miles long and up to 10 yards wide, rated F4 on the Fujita (F) scale. It killed 4 people and injured 53.
- F4Fujita rating
- 4deaths
- 53injuries
- 125.7 mipath length
- 10 ydmaximum width
It has its own page because it was rated 4 or 5 and it killed three or more people.
This page gives the official record's figures. Numbers of deaths and injuries are sometimes revised after a survey, and they cannot convey what the day was like for the people who lived through it.
Counties it crossed
- Antelope County, Nebraska
- Boone County, Nebraska
- Greeley County, Nebraska
- Hall County, Nebraska
- Howard County, Nebraska
- Knox County, Nebraska
- Madison County, Nebraska
- Merrick County, Nebraska
- Nance County, Nebraska
- Pierce County, Nebraska
The start point was at 40.87, -98.60 and the end point at 42.50, -97.55 (latitude, longitude).
How to read this path
The Storm Prediction Center records most tornadoes as a straight line from the point where they touched down to the point where they lifted. The real path usually curved and was not the same width all the way along. The width given is the widest part. Older records are less precise, and the record starts in 1950.
Source: the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database, public domain.
Other notable tornadoes in Nebraska
- Arcadia, Nebraska tornado7 June 1953, F4, 11 deaths, 15 miles long
- Norfolk, Nebraska tornado30 May 1954, F4, 6 deaths, 23 injuries, 29.9 miles long
- Belvidere, Nebraska tornado9 May 1953, F3, 5 deaths, 82 injuries, 46.9 miles long
- Hastings, Nebraska tornado5 May 1964, F5, 4 deaths, 50 injuries, 79.7 miles long
- Little Sioux, Iowa tornado11 June 2008, EF3, 4 deaths, 48 injuries, 13 miles long
- Omaha, Nebraska tornado6 May 1975, F4, 3 deaths, 133 injuries, 8 miles long
Other notable tornadoes of 1965
- Elkhart, Indiana tornado11 April 1965, F4, 36 deaths, 321 injuries, 37 miles long
- Goshen, Indiana tornado11 April 1965, F4, 31 deaths, 252 injuries, 21.2 miles long
- Crawfordsville, Indiana tornado11 April 1965, F4, 28 deaths, 123 injuries, 45.7 miles long
- Kokomo, Indiana tornado11 April 1965, F4, 25 deaths, 835 injuries, 48 miles long
- Adrian, Michigan tornado11 April 1965, F4, 23 deaths, 294 injuries, 90.3 miles long
All tornadoes of 1965 · Nebraska tornado history · All notable tornadoes