OutdoorNebraska

16 Nebraskaland • December 2019 Although I've been a meteorologist for more than two decades, I only recently saw my first tornado. It was an EF1 that occurred on a May afternoon of 2016 in southeastern Nebraska. I'm probably one of the only weather enthusiasts on the planet that has no desire to chase storms, but this sighting was an unintentional intercept on my drive home. Winter may be an unusual time to talk about severe weather, but this is Nebraska and we seem to experience all kinds of weather at any time of year. Annually, we average 50 tornados, with a seasonal peak during May and June. They have occurred every month in the seven decades of systematic reporting. The most risky time of day for tornadic activity is from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. as storms intensify with the heat of the day. These violent cyclones are generally short-lived, lasting on the order of minutes, and they typically take a southwest to northeast track. Their current rating scale (EF) is based on Japanese- American scientist Ted Fujita's work on wind speed and associated damage. The twister I witnessed ranked as a weak tornado (winds between 86 and 100 mph with moderate damage), but the highest is EF5 (over 200 mph with incredible damage). These tornados get their rating based on post-storm damage assessments from trained National Weather Service personnel. Other hazards can and often do occur with tornado- producing storms – hail, lightning, straight-line winds and flash flooding due to locally heavy rain. Speaking of hail, let us return to 2016, when softball-size hailstones pounded Lincoln during that May storm. The same year, Nebraska experienced some unique holiday cheer in the form of the latest tornado on record. Christmas brought with it a rare storm that dropped a couple of tornados in south- central Nebraska. Even though we're into cold season activities, there's a chance you may find yourself as an unexpected storm chaser. Martha D. Shulski, at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is the director of the Nebraska State Climate office. IN THE FIELD 2019 TORNADO NEAR MCCOOK. PHOTO BY RYAN MCGINNIS TORNADOES By Martha D. Shulski

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