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NWS releases tornado damage ratings from Sunday and Monday storms

The National Weather Service conducted tornado surveys on the severe storms from May 17th & 18th.
Tim talks tornado reports from Sunday and Monday
Posted
and last updated

The National Weather Service (NWS) has confirmed five or more tornadoes occurred in Nebraska on Sunday, May 17 and are still working to confirm several other tornadoes from Monday's round of storms.

This post will be updated as more surveys are completed.

Sunday's Storms

For the Sunday storms, two tornadoes were confirmed near the Omaha Metro.

An EF-1 tornado with winds of 105mph occurred in Ashland, near Sandy Pointe Lane and County Road B.

Ashland, NE tornado track on May 17, 2026

An EF-1 tornado with winds of 105mph occurred in Plattsmouth that approached the southwest side of town, near Wiles Rd and 15th St.

Plattsmouth, NE tornado track on May 17, 2026

There were three other tornadoes that occurred on Sunday, near Hebron, St Libory and Winnebago, Nebraska.

The St Libory tornado, near Grand Island, NE was rated an EF-3 with max winds of 160 mph.

St Libory, NE tornado track on May 17, 2026
Tornado damage near St Libory, NE on May 17, 2026

The Hebron and Winnebago tornadoes were also rated at EF-1 with winds of 95 mph.

Hebron, NE tornado track on May 17, 2026
Tornado damage in Hebron, NE on May 17, 2026

Monday's Storms

The NWS has also confirmed that the Auburn, NE storm was indeed tornado damage from two separate tornadoes, and EF-0 and and EF-1 with wind speeds up to 100mph, including an area of straight-line wind damage due to a 95 mph 'downburst' that occurred.

There was also a brief tornado that occurred on the south side of HWY 136 in the Elk Creek area, between Tecumseh and Auburn, on the Johnson/Nemaha county line with max winds of 95mph.

The National Weather Service is still working to confirm damage from Monday's observed tornadoes near Pawnee City, Odell, Falls City, Nebraska. We expect to see these on Wednesday.

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