By Harold Campbell/Daily Sun staff writer
Monday, April 17, 2006 10:25 AM CDT

Family members and neighbors traveled from far and wide to help clean up the destruction left by a tornado that struck Gage and Johnson counties Saturday afternoon.

“We're just extremely pleased to have such wonderful friends and family,” Annette Wiese, 6532 E. Sargent Road, said Sunday afternoon. “People have been giving out of the goodness of their heart.”

Wiese and her husband, Gary, lost their two chicken houses, each 76 feet wide and 432 feet long and holding 86,000 broilers earlier in the week, and sustained other property damage in Saturday's storm.

Mrs. Wiese said fortunately the broilers had been shipped to MBA Poultry in Tecumseh Thursday at 48 days old, about four days before they are usually shipped.

“If they wouldn't have been shipped early we would've had about 80,000 chickens wandering around out here,” Gary Wiese said.

The Wiese family said more than 150 people arrived to help Saturday night with another 100 or more coming Sunday. In addition to family and friends, equipment and volunteers came from a number of local and area construction firms, Mrs. Wiese said.

“I've been mainly here to tell people what they can do to help,” Wiese said.

Jeff Argo, who lives about two miles north of the Wieses, was one of the many who came to help with the cleanup.
 

“Everybody around here knows everybody else,” he said. “They're good neighbors.”

Gage County Emergency Management Director Mark Meints said no official damage figure was available, but he estimated the tornado destroyed at least $1 million in property Saturday. Fortunately, he said, no injuries or deaths were reported.

Meints said 73 homes were affected by the tornado - one was destroyed, two received major damage and the rest received repairable damage.

ooo

About a mile from the Wiese residence, the Gil and Judy Buhr farm at 5109 E. Hoyt Road received extensive damage to its two hog sheds and other outbuildings and to the farm office and garage. More than 1,000 hogs from the Buhr farm were taken to the Beatrice 77 Livestock Sale Barn after the storm hit.

Mrs. Buhr said offers for assistance started coming as soon as the tornado left.

“We've had some wonderful help from family and friends,” she said. “I'm sure they know we would do the same thing for them.”

Jim and Shirley McPheron, 1552 E. Lilac Road, also reported they were overrun with help from friends and family following the tornado, which leveled a number of outbuildings, damaged their house, blew out the rear windshields to a number of their vehicles and wrapped a windmill across the top of their garage.

“A lot of people stopped by and helped,” Jim McPheron said. “It was just amazing.”

ooo

Meints said Saturday's tornado was first spotted about 4:28 p.m. Saturday on the ground west of the intersection of Nebraska Highway 112 and U.S. Highway 77 about seven miles west of the Wymore-Blue Springs area.

The tornado traveled to about two and a half miles east of Beatrice and then continued northeast to just north of Sterling, where property and power line damage were also reported. Meints said the tornado finally lifted about one mile south of the Johnson-Otoe county line after being on the ground for 34 miles.

In contrast, the Hallam tornado, which Meints said set a record for staying on the ground for the longest time of any tornado, remained on the ground for 58 miles.

“Saturday's tornado was on the ground for an extended time,” he said.

According to a statement issued Sunday afternoon by the National Weather Service Valley office, the tornado reached its maximum strength of F2 on the Fujita scale -- with winds between 113 and 157 mph - about five miles northeast of Beatrice. The NWS also reported the tornado reached a maximum width of one-half mile wide.

The Fujita scale ranks tornadoes based on wind speed and the damage they can cause. A strength of F2 on the Fujita scale means the tornado is capable of tearing roofs from frame houses, demolishing mobile homes, overturning train cars, lifting cars off the ground and snapping or uprooting large trees, the NWS said.

Meints said David Anderson, Gage County Board of Supervisors chairman, signed a decree Saturday evening declaring a natural disaster, which was forwarded to the governor's office. Meints said the decree was signed mainly in case state assistance such as calling in the National Guard was needed.

“At that time, we didn't know exactly what we would need,” he said.

Assisting in the storm effort Saturday were rural fire departments from Odell, Barneston, Wymore, Blue Springs, Beatrice rural and city, Filley, Pickrell, Cortland, Clatonia and Adams. Meints said rural fire departments helped in handling propane tank leaks and other duties.

Aid also came from Diller, Jefferson County Emergency Management, the Gage County Sheriff's Office and Gage County Highway Department.

Meints said the Salvation Army and Red Cross were also called in to provide assistance. Red Cross disaster teams were assisting Sunday in performing damage assessments in the area.

Although damage was extensive to homes and outbuildings in the county, Meints said damage to county roads was still uncertain. However, barricades were placed at South 51st Road and U.S. Highway 136 because of heavy debris on the roadway, he said.

Meints said his office was beginning to coordinate with volunteer groups interested in helping with cleanup efforts. Groups interested in helping with storm clean-up should call the emergency management office at 402-223-1305.

He also said he would meet with Beatrice Area Solid Waste Agency officials Monday to determine what can be done about disposing of debris left from the storm.

ooo

Those who suffered property damage from the storm said Sunday they were most thankful the tornado caused no injuries or deaths.

Shirley McPheron said the satellite television went out Saturday afternoon and when she turned on the radio she heard a report of a tornado about 10 miles south of Beatrice. A short time later, however, strong winds broke out a large window in the family's living room and she and her husband headed for the basement.

A few minutes later, they emerged and saw the extensive damage. Not only were windows blown out, the roof to their house was damaged, trees were uprooted and outbuildings were destroyed.

“Nothing was left untouched,” she said.

Fortunately, she said, the family's 2-year-old golden retriever Jesse and their goats survived the storm without injury.

“I was about to bring Jesse inside, but that was when the windows blew out and I thought it was best to get to the basement right then,” she said.

However, when the storm passed and she and her husband started to examine the damage, they found Jesse curled up inside a window well with her face next to the ground.

“I think she was pretty scared,” Mrs. McPheron said.

McPheron said he also found the family's goats were also safe.

“They were scared to death, but they were OK,” he said.

Chuck Benash, 2954 E. U.S. Highway 136, had another animal survival story.

Although the tornado uprooted about 10 large trees and destroyed several outbuildings on his property - including his auto repair business, where a tree landed on a Ford Taurus - and his barn, he said the six horses inside the barn managed to find a safe place to hide and were unharmed.

“It was raining so hard I couldn't see, but when it stopped the first thing I did was go check on the horses,” he said. “I don't know how it happened, but they were all right.”

Miraculously, he said, his house sustained no damage and two lawn chairs sitting outside were not even moved.

“Now, we're just going to get things cleaned up,” he said.

At the Wiese house, Annette Wiese said the family stayed up until 1 a.m. Sunday cleaning up debris and then were up again about 5:30 a.m. Sunday.

Along with the other damage to the property, a weather station Gary Wiese received as a birthday present and was sitting on the roof blew away. The last recorded wind speed on the station was 109 mph.

At the Buhr farm, in addition to the farm buildings, the house received damage to the siding and some glass was blown out.

“We're mighty fortunate someone didn't get hurt,” Judy Buhr said
 

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE
530 PM CDT SUN APR 16 2006

...TORNADO UP TO F2 STRENGTH MOVES THROUGH GAGE AND JOHNSON COUNTIES
ON SATURDAY APRIL 15 2006...

A STORM SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED TODAY IN GAGE AND JOHNSON COUNTIES FOR
A TORNADO THAT OCCURRED SATURDAY AFTERNOON. A TORNADO STARTED IN
GAGE COUNTY ABOUT 6 MILES WEST OF WYMORE. IT TRACKED NORTHEAST TO
ABOUT 4 MILES EAST OF DOWNTOWN BEATRICE...THEN CONTINUED NORTHEAST
INTO JOHNSON COUNTY. THE TORNADO LIFTED IN NORTHWEST JOHNSON COUNTY...3 MILES NORTH OF STERLING ...ABOUT 1 MILE SOUTH OF THE JOHNSON/OTOE COUNTY LINE.

THE TORNADO REACHED ITS MAXIMUM STRENGTH...F2...ABOUT 5 MILES EAST
NORTHEAST OF BEATRICE. IT WAS UP TO 1/2 MILE WIDE...IN A 3 MILE
STRETCH...FROM 4 MILES EAST OF BEATRICE TO 6 MILES EAST NORTHEAST
OF BEATRICE. THE TOTAL PATH LENGTH WAS 34 MILES...WITH MOST OF THE
DAMAGE ALONG THE PATH F0 OR F1 IN STRENGTH AND THE WIDTH 1/4 MILE
OR LESS.

TORNADOES ARE RATED BASED ON THE DAMAGE THEY CAUSE. F2 STRENGTH ON
THE FUJITA SCALE MEANS THAT THE ESTIMATED WIND SPEEDS IN THE TORNADO
WERE BETWEEN 113 AND 157 MPH. THIS TYPE OF TORNADO CAN TEAR THE
ROOFS FROM FRAME HOUSES...DEMOLISH MOBILE HOMES...OVERTURN TRAIN
CARS...SNAP OR UPROOT LARGE TREES AND CAUSE LIGHT OBJECTS TO BECOME
MISSILES. CARS CAN ALSO BE LIFTED OFF THE GROUND.

TORNADO INTENSITY FROM THE FUJITA SCALE

STRENGTH       ESTIMATED WIND SPEEDS
F0                            40 TO 72 MPH
F1                          73 TO 112 MPH
F2                        113 TO 157 MPH
F3                        158 TO 206 MPH
F4                        207 TO 260 MPH
F5                        261 TO 318 MPH

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA
417 PM CDT SUN APR 16 2006

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0408 PM     HAIL             5 S FRIEND              40.58N 97.28W
04/15/2006  E0.88 INCH       SALINE             NE   EMERGENCY MNGR

0422 PM     HAIL             UTICA                   40.90N 97.35W
04/15/2006  M0.75 INCH       SEWARD             NE   TRAINED SPOTTER

            WINDS OF 55 MILES AN HOUR

0430 PM     HAIL             3 SE ALBION             41.66N 97.96W
04/15/2006  M0.75 INCH       BOONE              NE   TRAINED SPOTTER

0433 PM     TORNADO          10 SW BEATRICE          40.17N 96.88W
04/15/2006                   GAGE               NE   TRAINED SPOTTER

            DEBRIS OBSERVED

0436 PM     TORNADO          5 S BEATRICE            40.20N 96.75W
04/15/2006                   GAGE               NE   NWS EMPLOYEE

0439 PM     HAIL             2 N RISING CITY         41.23N 97.30W
04/15/2006  M1.25 INCH       BUTLER             NE   TRAINED SPOTTER

0452 PM     TORNADO          4 E BEATRICE            40.27N 96.67W
04/15/2006                   GAGE               NE   EMERGENCY MNGR

            SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE REPORTED

0458 PM     HAIL             PLATTE CENTER           41.54N 97.49W
04/15/2006  M0.75 INCH       PLATTE             NE   EMERGENCY MNGR

0458 PM     HAIL             1 S DUNCAN              41.35N 97.49W
04/15/2006  M0.75 INCH       PLATTE             NE   EMERGENCY MNGR

0500 PM     HAIL             NEWMAN GROVE            41.75N 97.78W
04/15/2006  M0.75 INCH       MADISON            NE   TRAINED SPOTTER

0523 PM     HAIL             PALMYRA                 40.71N 96.39W
04/15/2006  M1.75 INCH       OTOE               NE   LAW ENFORCEMENT

0532 PM     HAIL             OMAHA                   41.26N 96.01W
04/15/2006  M0.75 INCH       DOUGLAS            NE   TRAINED SPOTTER

            24TH AND VINTON ST

0535 PM     HAIL             BATTLE CREEK            42.00N 97.60W
04/15/2006  M1.00 INCH       MADISON            NE   TRAINED SPOTTER

0536 PM     TSTM WND DMG     STERLING                40.46N 96.38W
04/15/2006                   JOHNSON            NE   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            POWER LINES DOWN AND OTHER PROPERTY DAMAGE

0540 PM     HAIL             STEINAUER               40.21N 96.23W
04/15/2006  M0.88 INCH       PAWNEE             NE   TRAINED SPOTTER

0543 PM     HAIL             3 NE EAGLE              40.85N 96.39W
04/15/2006  M0.75 INCH       CASS               NE   LAW ENFORCEMENT

0545 PM     HAIL             UNADILLA                40.68N 96.27W
04/15/2006  M0.88 INCH       OTOE               NE   LAW ENFORCEMENT

0552 PM     HAIL             PIERCE                  42.20N 97.53W
04/15/2006  M0.75 INCH       PIERCE             NE   TRAINED SPOTTER

0554 PM     HAIL             1 E NORFOLK             42.03N 97.40W
04/15/2006  M0.75 INCH       MADISON            NE   TRAINED SPOTTER

0555 PM     HAIL             AVOCA                   40.80N 96.12W
04/15/2006  M0.75 INCH       CASS               NE   EMERGENCY MNGR

0555 PM     HAIL             ELK CREEK               40.29N 96.13W
04/15/2006  M0.75 INCH       JOHNSON            NE   PUBLIC

0600 PM     HAIL             3 E JOHNSON             40.41N 95.94W
04/15/2006  E0.88 INCH       NEMAHA             NE   PUBLIC

0625 PM     HAIL             1 SW JULIAN             40.51N 95.88W
04/15/2006  E0.75 INCH       NEMAHA             NE   PUBLIC

0625 PM     HAIL             6 NW WISNER             42.05N 97.00W
04/15/2006  M0.75 INCH       CUMING             NE   PUBLIC

0637 PM     TORNADO          2 N JULIAN              40.55N 95.87W
04/15/2006                   OTOE               NE   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            ALONG HIGHWAY 75...SOME TREE DAMAGE NOTED.

0650 PM     HAIL             5 W UNDERWOOD           41.39N 95.78W
04/15/2006  M0.75 INCH       POTTAWATTAMIE      IA   TRAINED SPOTTER

0708 PM     HAIL             TABOR                   40.89N 95.67W
04/15/2006  M1.75 INCH       FREMONT            IA   PUBLIC

0710 PM     TSTM WND GST     2 NE LITTLE SIOUX       41.83N 96.00W
04/15/2006  E60 MPH          HARRISON           IA   CO-OP OBSERVER

            DAMAGE TO ROOF AND TREE LIMBS DOWN, LATE REPORT.

0715 PM     HAIL             2 W HASTINGS            41.02N 95.53W
04/15/2006  M0.88 INCH       MILLS              IA   PUBLIC

0752 PM     HAIL             6 WSW COLERIDGE         42.47N 97.31W
04/15/2006  E0.88 INCH       CEDAR              NE   PUBLIC

0817 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     ELK HORN                41.59N 95.06W
04/15/2006                   SHELBY             IA   EMERGENCY MNGR

0925 PM     HEAVY RAIN       6 NW FORDYCE            42.76N 97.45W
04/15/2006  U0.00 INCH       CEDAR              NE   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            WATER OVER HIGHWAY 81, EIGHT MILES SOUTH OF YANKTON