The Great Plains are sometimes known for its significant tornado events. Perhaps none is more well-known by its famous videos than the Great Plains tornado outbreak on April 26, 1991. If you have seen any tornado documentary, the videos of the F-5 tornado striking McConnell AFB in Wichita or the news crew sheltering under an overpass have become the standards, those are from the same tornado outbreak.
Like the tornado outbreak on March 13, 1990, the Great Plains outbreak of April 26, 1991 had a component in Nebraska and Iowa. This is the center focus of the newest installment of This Week in Weather History
THE SET-UP
The tornado outbreak of 1991 could not have come with a more classic severe weather set-up for the plains. A powerful low-pressure system was lifting through Nebraska, with a warm front ahead of it near Omaha into southern Iowa. Trailing to the south of the system was a cold front through western Kansas into the Oklahoma/Texas Panhandles. Just ahead of this cold front was a dry-line, a classic for tornadic supercells to form along in the central Plains. The center point of the tornadoes would be southern Kansas into northern Oklahoma, but tornadoes would also form in eastern Nebraska into western Iowa.
THE TORNADOES OF NEBRASKA/IOWA
The supercell which moved into southeast Nebraska was responsible for multiple strong tornadoes as it moved from Beatrice into the Omaha metro and towards Denison.
The first tornado touched down in Washington County, Kansas and quickly crossed the border into Gage County, Nebraska. This F-3 tornado damaged numerous homes just west and north of Odell. As the tornado approached the south side of Beatrice, many homes were damaged just a few miles to the south. Luckily, everyone managed to get the warning and run to the basement, and no one was killed or injured by the Beatrice tornado.
As the storm continued into northeast Gage County, an F-2 damaged a few homes northeast of Beatrice. As the storm crossed into Otoe County, another F-3 developed south of Palmyra. Passing a few miles east of town, many homes were damaged in Otoe County. In one home, five people ran to the crawlspace when the tornado hit, two of them needing medical attention afterward, but survived. The tornado lifted on the Otoe-Cass County line.
As the storms passed over the Omaha metro, no tornadoes came from them. As they crossed into western Iowa, a final F-3 tornado touched down on the northeast side of Denison. This tornado caused particularly intense damage to farms in northern Crawford County, just northeast of Denison proper. The tornado lifted in Sac County, not after smashing a barn sticking pieces of wood into the dirt.
THE OMAHA HAILSTORM
As the storms crossed through Omaha, sirens blared as wall clouds were reported, but the biggest danger came with hail. In a narrow swath from 108th and Harrison to 72nd and McKinley, hail up to 3" in diameter fell. The epicenter was around 90th and Maple, where nearly every car in one neighborhood had windows blown out. Other homes lost windows, siding, and shingles. By the end of the storm, over 20 million dollars in damage was done to the metro from the hail.
THE TORNADOES OF KANSAS/OKLAHOMA
Where the most significant activity happened was in southern Kansas into northern Oklahoma, where numerous violent tornadoes crossed through. The strongest of these was an F-5 tornado which tore through the southern and eastern suburbs of Wichita. Known as the "Andover Tornado", this tornado directly struck McConnell AFB on the south side of Wichita, and continued into Andover. Unfortunately, as the tornado moved into Andover it took the lives of 17 people and injured over 200 others. As it crossed I-35 east of Wichita, a video was shot of people taking shelter under an overpass. You should NEVER shelter under an overpass during a tornado, they are death traps.
Farther south into northern Oklahoma, an F-4 tornado moved near the community of Red Rock, and was well-documented by storm chasers as it crossed through the landscape. Another F-4 touched down just northwest of Tulsa, killing 1 and injuring 24 others.
In all, over 30 tornadoes touched down from Oklahoma to Illinois, a few of which in Nebraska and Iowa.
