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This very large tree between 10th and 11th Streets on Elmer Avenue in York was uprooted and crashed to the east during the May 12 storm that swept across parts of Nebraska and the Northern Plains.
Federal disaster aid will be flowing into Nebraska as a result of a powerful wind storm that caused at least $1 billion in damage in the Northern Plains on May 12.
Known as a derecho for its long path, the storm generated winds of 80 mph to more than 100 mph in Nebraska, according to the National Weather Service. It also struck Iowa, the Dakotas and Minnesota.
A dollar estimate for damage in Nebraska isn't available because no single entity tracks public and private losses. However, the National Centers for Environmental Information has classified the storm as a billion dollar disaster.
Traveling at speeds of 50 mph to more than 70 mph, the storm injured a number of people who were caught in the open. At least three people died in the Dakotas and Minnesota. Some injuries occurred from flying debris and some from crashes when drivers were blinded by a haboob, a wall of dust generated by the winds, or when a semi-trailer was toppled by the winds. In Nebraska, an 11-vehicle crash occurred in the dust storm, according to the state.
A tractor heads down a dirt road just outside Hershey surrounded by a cloud of a dust during the May 12 storm. Winds reached 60 to 70 mph, and the ensuing dust storm reduced visibility on many of Nebraska's roads.
The storm was the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane or an expansive EF0 to EF1 tornado striking the five states, according to the weather service. Wind sensors in the path of the storm captured the highest number of extreme straight-line winds on record.
In addition to straight-line winds, the storm spun out more than 30 tornadoes, according to the weather service.
In Nebraska, the storm left several people injured and caused extensive damage to power poles and lines, center pivots, trees and parts of some communities, said Alma Beland, emergency manager for Region 26.
Beland said the Burwell fairgrounds in Garfield County sustained about $1.5 million in damage.
The grandstands at the Garfield County Fairgrounds in Burwell, which were on the National Register of Historic Places, were destroyed. Temporary grandstands have been brought in for this month's Big Nebraska Rodeo.
The fairgrounds is home to the "Nebraska Big Rodeo," a Rodeo Hall of Fame event, held each July. Most heavily damaged was the grandstands, so temporary grandstands have been brought in for the rodeo, which is under way this week.
President Biden issued the disaster declaration for 20 Nebraska counties: Antelope, Boone, Burt, Cedar, Cuming, Custer, Dixon, Garfield, Greeley, Holt, Knox, Logan, Pierce, Polk, Sherman, Thurston, Valley, Wayne, Wheeler and York Counties.
Damage in those counties easily exceeded $4 million, said Jodie Fawl of the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency. That is the threshold the state had to reach to qualify for federal aid, and it is a partial estimate of damage to public infrastructure.
This is the state's 10th federally declared disaster since 2015, Fawl said. Prior to this storm, the most recent previous declaration stemmed from a December wind storm and tornado outbreak.
A postcard shows 48th Street and Poppleton Avenue after the tornado.
Main Street Ralston after the tornado. From the 1914 World-Herald book, "How Omaha Rebuilt the Tornado District in One Year."
From the book "Ribbon of Destruction, the 1913 Douglas County Tornado."
Map showing the route of the tornado, from the book "Ribbon of Destruction, the 1913 Douglas County Tornado," published by the Douglas County Historical Society.
S.J. Henderson seated on a box, looking over belongings and his insurance policy on April 24, 1913. Piles of debris and a broken desk are next to him. The paper in his hand reads: Standard Tornado Policy, The Insurance Company of North America.
A streetcar smashed at 24th and Lake Streets after the tornado.
The tornado cloud as it was seen in Ralston. From a book printed by the Omaha Daily News titled "Tornado."
Damage to Sacred Heart Convent, now Duchesne Academy, after the tornado.
A view north across Bemis Park from 34th and Cuming Streets a day after the tragedy.
Easter Sunday ended tragically in the Omaha area in 1913. A powerful tornado swept through Ralston and Omaha that evening without warning and caused more than 100 deaths. Several thousand buildings were damaged or destroyed in the two towns, and Ralston was almost leveled. Damage was estimated at $8.7 million. This photo is looking north on 24th Street from Erskine Street.
Knights of Columbus workers rake for valuables in the ruins of a home at 42nd and Harney Streets, where a woman was killed.
Joslyn Castle after the tornado. From the 1914 World-Herald book, "How Omaha Rebuilt the Tornado District in One Year."
Joslyn Castle, seen in 1914, the year after the tornado. From the 1914 World-Herald book, "How Omaha Rebuilt the Tornado District in One Year."
The scene at 42nd and Harney Streets after the tornado.
The Highland Terrace apartments at 40th and Harney Streets after the tornado hit. The owner, a woman, had purchased the building only a few days before the storm hit.
37th and Cass Streets after the tornado. Fourteen houses within a block were destroyed. From the 1914 World-Herald book, "How Omaha Rebuilt the Tornado District in One Year."
The Arthur Brandeis residence at 38th and Cass Streets after the tornado. From the 1914 World-Herald book, "How Omaha Rebuilt the Tornado District in One Year."
The residence owned by D.C. Patterson at 38th Avenue near Davenport Street. From the 1914 World-Herald book, "How Omaha Rebuilt the Tornado District in One Year."
Ruins of Trinity A.M.E. Church at 21st and Binney Streets. From the 1914 World-Herald book, "How Omaha Rebuilt the Tornado District in One Year."
Looking north from 40th and Dodge Streets. From the 1914 World-Herald book, "How Omaha Rebuilt the Tornado District in One Year."
A sign on the demolished building at right gives locations of relief stations. Hundreds were in need of food, clothing and shelter after the tornado.
The ruins of Omaha Furniture Manufacturing Co. at Ralston after the tornado. From the 1914 World-Herald book, "How Omaha Rebuilt the Tornado District in One Year."
A relief station at 48th and Leavenworth Streets after the tornado.
A World-Herald illustration of the tornado's path.
A crowd gathers to watch rescue operations at the Idlewild Pool Hall after the tornado.
An unidentified house toppled and shattered.
This home at 402 N. 38th St. was damaged in the 1913 Easter tornado.
The Howard Baldridge home after the tornado.
The scene at 23rd Street and Patrick Avenue after the tornado.
This postcard reads: "The ruins of the home of George Shrader five miles south east of Murray Nebraska where Mrs. Shrader was killed on Easter Sunday by the tornado. Mr. Shrader was a pioneer contractor for the Union Pacific and with the money made from contracting he purchased this 400 acre farm on which he has been living since the territorial days."
A postcard with photo by Mrs. Blance Gabus of Brock, Nebraska, shows a barn blown into schoolhouse in Berlin, Nebraska.
A postcard with photo by Mrs. Blance Gabus of Brock, Nebraska, shows the scene at Berlin, Nebraska.
The scene at 42nd and Farnam Streets, on the south side of the street.
A view of the destroyed Joslyn Palm House from a castle turret after the 1913 tornado.
A view of the destroyed Joslyn Palm House after the 1913 tornado.
Joslyn Castle after the 1913 tornado.
View of 44th and Leavenworth Streets.
View of 24th and Lake Streets.
View near 38th and Davenport Streets.
This is a view of destruction at 34th Street and Lincoln Boulevard. The nearby Methodist Hospital sustained blown-out windows. Wind sheared off the north wing of the Academy of the Sacred Heart (Omaha Duchesne) at 36th and Burt Streets.
Looking north from the intersection of 77th and Burlington Streets in Ralston one year after the March 23, 1913, tornado. Ralston, along with other communities affected by the storm, began rebuilding almost immediately.
The west Leavenworth district after the tornado.
The scene in the Bemis Park district after the tornado.
The German Lutheran Church at 28th and Parker Streets.
The German Lutheran Church at 28th and Parker Streets.
The scene at 39th and Cass Streets.
The Duchesne Academy building — unroofed — after the tornado.
Three people stand outside their Miami Street home March 25, 1913, after the Easter tornado. They each hold some belongings, including a screwdriver, chair, picture frame and rug.
On March 24, 1913, a young boy and girl sit on top of a wagon loaded with a saddle, mattresses and bedding. The boy holds a dog. The children are identified as Lyn Hill, 4, left, and Alvin Hill, 8. They lived at 2611 N. 19th Ave. They are helping their aunt, Miss Minnie Swan, whose house was destroyed by the tornado. A second aunt was injured.
Photographers in front of Bostwick's 1912 Packard and tornado wreckage on April 1, 1913. From left: lab man Bob Mullin, Homer O. Frohardt, unidentified guard and Louis Ray Bostwick. Near Academy of the Sacred Heart.
Damage at 31st and Seward Streets.
Howard Stove Works in Ralston.
A gardener in the destroyed Joslyn Palm House.
The scene at 34th Street and Lincoln Boulevard after the tornado.
The March 24, 1913, Morning World-Herald front page. Take a closer look (PDF).
The March 24, 1913, Evening World-Herald front page. Take a closer look (PDF).
nancy.gaarder@owh.com, twitter.com/gaarder
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Nancy Gaarder helps cover public safety and weather events as an editor on The World-Herald's breaking news desk. Follow her on Twitter @gaarder. Email: nancy.gaarder@owh.com
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President Joe Biden approved federal disaster aid Wednesday for parts of Nebraska pummeled by a December storm that brought the state its first-ever winter derecho.
Nebraska was touched by three billion-dollar weather disasters: Rolling blackouts from the February cold; power outages from a July windstorm; and a historic December tornado outbreak and windstorm.
This very large tree between 10th and 11th Streets on Elmer Avenue in York was uprooted and crashed to the east during the May 12 storm that swept across parts of Nebraska and the Northern Plains.
The grandstands at the Garfield County Fairgrounds in Burwell, which were on the National Register of Historic Places, were destroyed. Temporary grandstands have been brought in for this month's Big Nebraska Rodeo.
A tractor heads down a dirt road just outside Hershey surrounded by a cloud of a dust during the May 12 storm. Winds reached 60 to 70 mph, and the ensuing dust storm reduced visibility on many of Nebraska's roads.
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