(Omaha/Valley, NE.) – Officials with the National Weather Service in Nebraska, late Thursday night, issued a report on their preliminary assessment of damage in Pottawattamie County from Wednesday’s tornado event.
A “narrow but strong tornado” that began at around 4:24-p.m. seven-miles southwest of Underwood, was rated an EF-2. It packed peak winds of 120 mph, was 50 yards wide, and traveled for 2.3 miles before ending five-miles southwest of Underwood. The twister tracked along L-34 through Sherwood Country Estates before ending near Juniper Road. The maximum damage was sustained to a home in the Sherwood Estates, where a “Narrow tornado removed the majority of homes roof and damaged other nearby homes as well,” according to the Weather Service.
The second tornado was also an EF-2 that began two-miles east of Underwood and last for about five-minutes before ending two-miles north-northeast of Neola. It packed peak winds of 125 mph, was about 75-yards wide, and tracked for 6.7-miles.The narrow twister began producing damage near Mahogany Road and 290th Street at around 4:31-p.m., Wednesday, and tracked north-northeast into the southeast edge of Neola and caused intermittent damage near Railroad Highway, north of Neola.
The most significant damage was to a home along 290th Street, where the roof was removed and walls were blown out. A nearby garage was moved off its foundation, and approximately 10 mature trees and all uprooted behind the home, with substantial damage to hardwood trees in the front yard.
The narrow nature of the tornado, according to the NWS, was evident in the damage in the path, as nearby barns on the east of the track had low end damage, possibly owing to the significant forward speed of the twister. The tornado was seen briefly by the resident before they sought shelter. A business on the southeast side of Neola also had substantial damage to large metal buildings, at least two of which were destroyed.
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