...TORNADOES TRACKED THROUGH NORTHEAST NEBRASKA AND SOUTHWEST IOWA...

DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS ON SATURDAY...MAY 6TH...
SEVERAL REPORTS OF TORNADOES WERE RECEIVED IN EASTERN NEBRASKA AND
SOUTHWEST IOWA.  THE INFORMATION WE HAVE RECEIVED REGARDING THESE
TORNADOES IS PRELIMINARY...AND IN SOME CASES THE INFORMATION IS
ESTIMATED.

              TIME     COUNTY       LOCATION

TORNADO #1:   348 PM  KNOX              4 MILES SOUTHEAST OF NIOBRARA
TORNADO #2:   404 PM  KNOX              SANTEE
TORNADO #3:   524 PM  KNOX              1 MILE NORTH OF BLOOMFIELD
TORNADO #4:   528 PM  KNOX              2 MILES SOUTH OF CROFTON
TORNADO #5:   550 PM  KNOX              8 MILES NORTH OF CROFTON
TORNADO #6:   709 PM  MILLS             5 MILES SOUTH OF GLENWOOD
TORNADO #7:   716 PM  MILLS             1 MILE SOUTH OF GLENWOOD
TORNADO #8:   750 PM  FREMONT           3 MILES NORTH OF FARRAGUT
TORNADO #9:   759 PM  FREMONT           IMOGENE
TORNADO #10:  844 PM  MONTGOMERY        4 MILES EAST OF HENDERSON
TORNADO #11:  850 PM  MONTGOMERY        10 MILES SOUTHEAST OF MACEDONIA
TORNADO #12:  852 PM  POTTAWATTAMIE     4 MILES EAST OF CARSON
 

IN COOPERATION WITH EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS IN KNOX COUNTY... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN OMAHA/VALLEY SURVEYED PARTS OF KNOX COUNTY. THE SURVEY CONFIRMED AT LEAST 4 TORNADOES. THE PRELIMINARY INFORMATION ON THE TORNADOES IS LISTED BELOW.
ALL INFORMATION IS PRELIMINARY AND WAS SOMEWHAT AFFECTED BY LIMITED ACCESS FOR THE SURVEY DUE TO MUDDY ROADS...SOME OF WHICH WERE IMPASSIBLE WITH A NORMAL VEHICLE.

TORNADO #1
STARTED: ABOUT 1.5 MILES SOUTHEAST OF BLOOMFIELD
ENDED: ABOUT 4 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF BLOOMFIELD
PATH LENGTH: ABOUT 5.5 MILES
MAX PATH WIDTH: 150 YARDS
DAMAGE RATING: EF0
DEATHS: NONE
INJURIES: NONE
DAMAGE DESCRIPTION:TORNADO APPARENTLY STARTED SOUTHEAST OF
BLOOMFIELD WHERE A CENTER PIVOT WAS FLIPPED. TREE AND BUILDING
DAMAGE CONTINUED FROM THIS AREA NORTHWARD. TORNADO DAMAGE
SIGNALS WERE LESS CLEAR FARTHER NORTH BUT THERE WAS SOME MINOR
DEBRIS.

TORNADO #2
STARTED: ABOUT 4 MILES EAST AND 3 MILES NORTH OF BLOOMFIELD
ENDED 3 MILES WEST AND 2.5 MILES NORTH OF CROFTON
PATH LENGTH: ABOUT 8.75 MILES
MAX PATH WIDTH: 1/4 OF A MILE
DAMAGE RATING: EF1
DEATHS: NONE
INJURIES: NONEDAMAGE DESCRIPTION:TORNADO APPARENTLY STARTED NORTHEAST OF BLOOMFIELD WHERE IT DAMAGED THE ROOF OF A HOG CONFINEMENT. THE TORNADO CONTINUED NORTHWARD DAMAGING TREES...BUILDINGS AND POWER LINES. AT LEAST ONE CENTER PIVOT WAS DAMAGED. SOME HOMES HAD DAMAGE. THE WORST DAMAGE SEEMED TO BE ABOUT 3 MILES WEST OF CROFTON CLOSE TO WHERE IT CROSSED HIGHWAY 12. IT APPEARS THAT THIS TORNADO ENDED AND TORNADO #3 BELOW STARTED JUST ABOUT A MILE TO THE EAST.

TORNADO #3
STARTED: 2 MILES WEST AND 2.5 MILES NORTH OF CROFTON
ENDED: TORNADO MOVED ONTO LEWIS AND CLARK LAKE AT WEIGAND MARINA. IT MAY HAVE CONTINUED IN SOUTH DAKOTA.
PATH LENGHT: ABOUT 5 MILES
PATH WIDTH: 3/10 OF A MILE
DAMAGE RATING: EF2
DEATHS: NONE
INJURIES: 2 OR 3 MINOR INJURIESDAMAGE DESCRIPTION:TORNADO APPARENTLY STARTED NORTHWEST
OF CROFTON WHERE A GRAIN BIN WAS DAMAGED. TORNADO MOVED NORTH NORTHWEST...HITTING TWO OR THREE LARGE POWER LINE  SUPPORT STRUCTURES. EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO TREES AND POWER
LINES OCCURRED SOUTH OF WEIGAND. AT THE MARINA...THERE WAS CONSIDERABLE DAMAGE TO TREES. A STORAGE BUILDING OR SHOP WAS SEVERELY DAMAGED...A HOME HAD SOME ROOF DAMAGE...
CAMPERS WERE DAMAGED OR OVERTURNED...BOATS WERE DAMAGED... PARTIALLY SUNK OR MISSING. INJURIES APPARENTLY OCCURRED JUST SOUTH OF THE MARINA ALONG HIGHWAY 121.

TORNADO #4
STARTED: ABOUT 2 MILES EAST AND 4 MILES NORTH OF CENTER ENDED: ABOUT 1 MILE WEST OF SANTEE
PATH LENGTH: ABOUT 11 MILES 
PATH WIDTH: UNKNOWN
DAMAGE RATING: UNKNOWN...PROBABLY EF0
DEATHS: NONE
INJURIES: NONE
DAMAGE DESCRIPTION:SOME OLD FARM SITES RECEIVED DAMAGE AS THE TORNADO TRACKED NORTH THROUGH A VERY RURAL AREA. MOST ROADS IN THIS AREA ARE MINIMUM MAINTENANCE AND
ACCESS WAS VERY LIMITED. AN ATTEMPT WILL BE MADE TO GET MORE INFORMATION IN THE NEXT DAY OR SO. AN APPARENT MICROBURST ALSO OCCURED ABOUT 5 MILES WEST OF BLOOMFIELD...WHICH CAUSED DAMAGED TO SOME TREES AND TWO OR THREE LARGE POWER LINE SUPPORT STRUCTURES. A
CENTER PIVOT WAS DAMAGED. THE DAMAGE PATH WAS ABOUT 200 YARDS WIDE AND 1 OR 1.5 MILES LONG. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN OMAHA/VALLEY WOULD LIKE TO THANK KNOX COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS FOR THEIR ASSISTANCE IN THE DAMAGE SURVEY AND ALSO FOR
THE TIMELY REPORTS DURING THE TORNADOES ON THE EVENING OF MAY 5, 2007.

Date  5/5/07
Time began 2040 CDT
County / nearest city   Montgomery County/5 NNE Emerson to  Pottawattamie County/4 E of Carson
Starting lat/lon   41 Degrees 5.16’/95 Degrees 22.11’
Ending lat/lon    41 Degres 14.84’/95 Degrees 19.26’
Width  400 yards
Length of path  11.5 miles
Injuries  None
Damage  Roof off home…barns destroyed…cars thrown into field…trees and power poles down
EF-scale rating  2
Date   5/5/07
Time began 2100 CDT
County / nearest city  Pottawattamie County/ 3 E Oakland
Starting lat/lon  41 Degrees 17.69’/95 Degrees 21.52’
Ending lat/lon   41 Degrees 20.22’/95 Degrees 19.18’
Width  200 yards
Length of path 3.6 miles
Injuries None
Damage  Trees and power poles down…barns and sheds destroyed
EF-scale rating  1
 

Couple with grandkids gets lifted up by twister

By LINDA WUEBBEN,  Tuesday, May 08, 2007

DAVE ZAVADIL/COURTESY PHOTO AT LEAST TWO twisters appear to be dropping down out of this cloud taken by some storm spotters by Crofton on Saturday afternoon.

CROFTON - More than 48 hours later and Barry Meyer of Crofton still didn't know what to think. 

Meyer owns CJ's By the Lake, a bar and grill, just a mile from the Weigand-Burbach Recreation Area. He's lived 20 years on the banks of Lewis & Clark Lake and has never seen anything like Saturday's tornado outbreak.

And hopes to never see it again.

"About 5:30 p.m. and my wife, grandkids and I had just loaded into our SUV to head over to the bar for supper," Meyer said. "My house is only 200 yards from my business."

Meyer's son was working at the time and had called to warn him about the tornadic activity south of them.

As they headed into the bar driveway, Meyer could see the base of a mile-wide tornado bearing down on them. He stopped to watch the twister while his son evacuated the bar customers. They headed east, which seemed to be the best direction.

"I am the owner so I told them to lock the doors and leave, not to turn anything off, just get," Meyer said.

As he stayed and watched to the south, the tornado lifted up into the sky. 

"I turned to my wife and said I thought it's going to miss us," Meyer remembered.

But he was wrong. Immediately at least a dozen small twisters popped out of the clouds and touched down all around the vehicle and business. His all-purpose camping convenience store also had campers lined on one side.

As the family members watched, one hit the store and caused some damage. It blew a camper apart and debris was flying everywhere. Another tornado dropped 20 to 30 feet away from their SUV.

Meyer said he tried to tell his wife and grandkids to be quiet and let him think about what to do next.

"My grandkids were screaming, 'God, don't let us die,' " Meyer said.

He and his wife, Roxanne, and grandchildren - Kyan, 11; Hunter, 7; and Aspin, 4 - then experienced something none of them will forget.

Meyer backed up to turn east and saw two twisters touch the blacktop and decided to head west to the Weigand Marina.

At speeds of 80 mph, he dodged small twisters hitting all around him. One even tossed his vehicle around on the road - all within a quarter-mile of his business. 

When Meyer reached the Weigand turnoff, he could see two tornados over the lake sucking up water. Once again, he turned to his wife and said they would be OK.

Once again Meyer was wrong. 

Meyer turned the SUV around to go back and check his business. He said that was his biggest mistake. He had forgotten about the massive, 1.5-mile wide tornado he originally saw.

The huge twister chose that moment to drop back down and pick up his vehicle. Immediately all the windows were imploded - all the glass was pushed to the inside of the SUV. 

They were then picked up inside the black hole but there was no seeing how high or where they were. 

Instinctively Meyer grabbed for the two youngest grandchildren fearing they would be sucked out of the vehicle. All had their seatbelts on or they may have been lost.

All the Meyer family could see were trees whirling and debris circling. It set them back down on all four wheels about 120 feet from where they were, engine still running.

It was light again outside the twister, but he was in mud so deep, he couldn't drive out, even with four-wheel drive.

"Our SUV isn't a convertible yet but almost," Meyer said.

Behind them, Meyer could see the marina being blasted. Trees were destroyed and metal from the park buildings was flying everywhere.

"My boat is sunk," Meyer said.

He added there seemed to him to be 30 or 40 boats sitting on the shore or sunk in the water.

The park officials are considering having the Army Corp of Engineers come and lift the boats out of the marina. Storage sheds were gone and a few windows broken but the main offices and store seemed in good shape.

Meyer had some damage to his bar and grill. Nevertheless, he said, he is thankful God heard his grandkids and their pleas for their lives.