1975 Omaha tornado outbreak

Coordinates: 41°15′N 96°00′W / 41.25°N 96°W

1975 Omaha tornado

Type	Tornado outbreak
Duration	May 6–7, 1975
Tornadoes confirmed	36
Max rating^1	F4 tornado
Duration of tornado outbreak^2	~2½ days
Damage	unknown
Casualties	3 fatalities, 137+ injured
Areas affected	Midwestern and Southern United States
^1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale ^2Time from first tornado to last tornado

The 1975 Omaha tornado was a violent tornado that hit the Omaha, Nebraska metropolitan area. It was part of a two-day outbreak that struck the Midwest and Southern United States on May 6–7, 1975, ending in the very early hours of May 8 across Louisiana. South Dakota, Iowa, Texas and Mississippi were also struck by several tornadoes. In total, 36 tornadoes touched down across 6 states. The outbreak killed three people, while injuring hundreds more.

Omaha Tornado event

During the early afternoon of May 6, 1975, a tornado watch was issued for much of eastern Nebraska. Initial tornado activity started in northeast Nebraska throughout the first half of the afternoon. At around 4:15 PM, a tornado warning was issued for the Omaha area and an F4 tornado^[1] touched down about 15 minutes later in Sarpy County, Nebraska. The storm then moved north-east, cutting into Douglas County crossing Interstate 80 (injuring several motorists) and through west-central sections of the city of Omaha. The tornado chopped a path across 10 miles (16 km) of streets and residences, crossing the city's busiest intersection at 72nd & Dodge. Extensive damage occurred along 72nd street, with numerous homes and apartments severely damaged, along with Creighton Prep School and the United Methodist Church. The Westgate subdivision was devastated, with many homes leveled, and a few that were swept away. The nearby Westgate Elementary School was destroyed. Bergan Mercy Hospital, Lewis and Clark Junior High School, a motel, and several industrial buildings were severely damaged as well. The tornado later lifted in the Benson Park area at 4:58.^[2]

In one remarkable instance, First United Methodist Church minister of music Mel Olson spotted the rolling clouds in the sky outside the windows of the room where he was rehearsing a children's choir. He led them to safety below the church building. The building, located at 70th and Cass Streets, was struck and heavily damaged by the twister. The room where the children had been practicing, with three walls of windows, was hit and the glass exploded.

Three people were killed and 133 reported injured. One of the fatalities was thrown several feet by the tornado from her home to a backyard four or five houses away.^[3] Debris was found miles away. Over 4,000 buildings were damaged and 287 were destroyed. In terms of damage, it was the costliest tornado in American history to that date, with insurance costs estimated at up to $1.1 billion (in 1975). It was the third costliest tornado, behind the Oklahoma City area F5 tornado on May 3, 1999 and the Wichita Falls, Texas tornadoes on April 10, 1979.

Confirmed tornadoes

Confirmed tornadoes by Fujita rating

F0	F1	F2	F3	F4	F5	Total
11	6	14	3	2	0	36

May 6 event

F#	Location	County	Time (UTC)	Path length	Damage
South Dakota
F0	SW of Kimball	Brule	1705	12.4 miles (19.8 km)	Barns and farm structures were destroyed on four separate farms. 5 cattle were killed.
F1	SW of Tabor	Bon Homme	1946	0.1 miles (0.16 km)	Two barns were destroyed and a farmhouse was partially unroofed.
F0	SW of Tripp	Bon Homme	2010	0.1 miles (0.16 km)
Nebraska
F4	N of Pierce	Pierce	1905	4.1 miles (6.6 km)	Tornado struck the town of Magnet, damaging or destroying every building in town. Homes were leveled, cattle were killed, and vehicles were thrown over 200 yards and destroyed. Remarkably, only one person was injured.
F3	E of Pierce to W of Menominee	Pierce, Cedar, Knox	1915	44.8 miles (71.7 km)	Tornado destroyed barns and trailers and killed livestock. Homes and vehicles were damaged on the west side of Pierce.
F0	SW of Bloomfield	Knox	1930	5.4 miles (8.6 km)
F3	N of Stanton	Stanton, Wayne	1945	15.9 miles (25.4 km)
F0	SE of Colon	Saunders	2100	3.4 miles (5.4 km)
F0	S of Waterbury	Dixon	2130	3 miles (4.8 km)
F4	Omaha area	Sarpy, Douglas	2133	8 miles (12.8 km)	3 deaths - See section above
Iowa
F2	NE of Crescent	Pottawattamie, Harrison	2200	12.8 miles (20.5 km)
F2	W of Beebeetown	Pottawattamie, Harrison	2220	10.6 miles (17 km)
Source: Tornado History Project - Storm Data for May 6, 1975, Grazulis (1975)

May 7 event

F#	Location	County	Time (UTC)	Path length	Damage
Mississippi
F3	W of New Hope	Lowndes	1145	0.2 miles (0.32 km)	Trees down and light house damage.
F0	Biloxi area	Harrison	1710	0.2 miles (0.32 km)	Sign twisted.
F2	NE of Smyrna	Copiah	1750	9.7 miles (15.5 km)
F1	S of Eaton	Forrest, Jones	1930	5.4 miles (8.6 km)	Struck the town of Providence, where two homes were unroofed, and another was badly damaged. Many trees were downed, some of which landed on houses and roads. Two chicken houses were destroyed as well.
South Dakota
F0	N of Manchester to SE of Caprey	Kingsbury	1655	0.1 miles (0.16 km)
F1	E of Wendte	Stanley	1800	0.1 miles (0.16 km)
F0	W of Onida	Sully	1955	0.1 miles (0.16 km)
F0	SW of Onida	Sully	2130	0.1 miles (0.16 km)
F0	N of Mission Ridge	Sully	2220	0.1 miles (0.16 km)
Texas
F2	NE of Kingsland	Travis	2200	0.1 miles (0.16 km)
F1	N of Leander	Williamson	2300	1 miles (1.6 km)
F2	NW of Nolanville	Bell	2300	0.1 miles (0.16 km)
Iowa
F2	SE of Manteno	Crawford	2330	0.1 miles (0.16 km)
F2	NW of Jacksonville	Shelby	0000	9.9 miles (15.8 km)
F0	Creston area	Union	0015	0.1 miles (0.16 km)
F2	SW of Van Wert	Decatur	0100	0.1 miles (0.16 km)	A barn and two hog houses were destroyed.
F2	Osceola area	Clarke	0130	10 miles (16 km)	6 farms were damaged in the area, where barns and sheds were destroyed. The roof and doors were ripped from one house.
Louisiana
F2	W of Clare	Sabine	0400	0.1 miles (0.16 km)
F2	Welsh area	Jefferson Davis Parish	0605	1 miles (1.6 km)	4 trailers and 6 homes were destroyed. One trailer was found deposited in a treetop. Many trees were snapped and uprooted and 3 people were injured.
F1	Mansfield area	De Soto	0615	0.7 miles (1.1 km)
F2	SW of Estherwood	Acadia	0700	0.5 miles (0.8 km)
F1	S of Duson	Lafayette	0730	0.5 miles (0.8 km)
F2	Baton Rouge	East Baton Rouge	0730	6.2 miles (9.9 km)
F2	NW of Jack	St. Helena	0800 (05/08)	0.1 miles (0.16 km)
Source: Tornado History Project - Storm Data for May 7, 1975, Tornado History Project - Storm Data for May 8, 1975, Grazulis (1975),

See also

• List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks

References

1. NWS Storm Summary and Damage Survey - May 1975 Omaha Tornado
2. "Damage Photos from the '75 Omaha Tornado". NWS Omaha. NWS Omaha. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
3. Omaha 5/6/75

External links

• Black Tuesday: May 6, 1975