Eastern Nebraska and western Iowa is no stranger to violent tornadoes through the decades. A violent tornado is classified as being either an (E)F-4 or an (E)F-5 on the (Enhanced)Fujita Scale. Since the 19th century, around 70 violent tornadoes have impacted our coverage area. If we break these down by counties, many counties have been hit by around 3 violent tornadoes through the course of its history. Counties like Dodge or Nemaha County have surprisingly been hit by none, while Harrison and Pottawattamie Counties have been hit by over 6!
However, the county with the most number of violent tornadoes is Page County in southwest Iowa with 8 violent tornadoes. Page County lies around 60 to 90 minutes southeast of Omaha if you drive on I-29, then take Iowa Highway 2 across the county. Page County is home to two larger cities which sit on its western and eastern sides, which is Shenandoah and Clarinda respectively.
Besides the eight violent tornadoes, a curious facet of this is that half of those occurred in the final week of March or the first couple weeks of April. The other four happened in the traditional months of May and June. So today, let's travel to Page County to uncover its tornadic history by recapping all 8 tornadoes in this installment of This Week in Weather History.
TORNADO 1: MARCH 28, 1907
The first violent tornado in Page County occurred in 1907 in late March. This tornado began on the Missouri side in northern Nodaway County, where it would do much of its damage. Two farmsteads were leveled, all of their buildings destroyed. The tornado then moved east of Braddyville by only a couple of miles, further damaging several homes in the region. The tornado lifted near the Page/Taylor County line.
TORNADO 2: MAY 12, 1908
May 12, 1908 is perhaps one of the oldest tornado outbreaks in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa we know a fair amount of. Numerous tornadoes touched down across southeastern Nebraska, northwest Missouri, and southwest Iowa. One tornado moved through Sarpy County close to Louisville, Springfield, and Bellevue. Another tornado hit Nemaha in southeast Nebraska.
The strongest tornado of the day touched down in Atchison County Missouri near Westboro, damaging two homes in the vicinity. The tornado soon crossed into Fremont County Iowa where one home suffered substantial damage. Finally, the tornado crossed into Page County where it twisted one farmhouse off its foundation, and laid waste to another south of Shenandoah. The tornado lifted north of Yorktown. People from Clarinda reported that debris was suspended so high up in the air, when they came back down they were covered in ice.
TORNADO 3: JUNE 16, 1926
The two previous tornadoes impacted mainly rural sections of Page County, but the tornado which formed in June 1926 would break that streak. This violent tornado tore directly through the southern side of Clarinda, a town of over 4,500 residents in 1926, where it did significant damage. The tornado began a few miles southwest of town, near the fairgrounds, and moved northeast into the city. Homes were pushed off their foundation, twisted around, and set down feet from where they once held firm. One home was lifted from its foundation and thrown a few feet away, leaving only the piano in perfect condition behind. The destruction to the homes was so severe, there is some speculation that the tornado approached near-F5 intensity in Clarinda (winds greater than 260 mph).
Since the tornado was visible, many residents saw the twister approaching and ran for cover. This is what likely saved many lives in town as the destructive fury broke over Clarinda. One tragic story involved three young boys, out in the fields when the storm came. They tried to run back to the house, but didnt make it far and laid on the ground. One boy was killed in the tornado, the two others survived uninjured. As the tornado continued through town, a piece of a roof flew off and smashed into the KSO radio tower, knocking it over. The tornado continued east of Clarinda before dissipating on the hill east of town.
In total, 19 homes were destroyed in Clarinda. Damage in the tornado exceeded $250,000 (around 4 million today). One elderly man was killed in Clarinda when he couldn't make it to shelter, bringing the death toll from the violent tornado to two.
TORNADO 4: JUNE 1, 1949
Like the 1908 event, the June 1949 tornado outbreak impacted areas outside of Page County. An F-3 moved over the western side of Nebraska City, another F-4 hit Atchison County, MO, and an F-2 slid by Falls City. However, the strongest tornado of the day would be in Page County near Essex, northeast of Shenandoah.
This tornado began east of Shenandoah and continued east of Essex, impacting several farmsteads in the county. Many families saw the tornado approaching and dashed into their cars, attempting to flee the tornado that way, which was mostly successful. Two farmsteads were leveled, leaving nothing standing. In one farmstead, an elderly woman was unable to make it to her basement when the tornado hit. She sat in her rocking chair and prayed as the tornado smashed the windows, she survived without a scratch. The tornado would lift near the Montgomery County line. Three people were injured, but no one was killed.
TORNADO 5: APRIL 5, 1954
This was a localized tornado outbreak where three tornadoes impacted Page and Taylor Counties. Tornado #1 moved near Northboro, Tornado #2 moved south of Braddyville into Siam, and Tornado #3 was west of Bedford.
The strongest tornado was the second one, which clipped Page County to move into Taylor County by Siam. In Page County, one large farmhome was completely levelled and debris was strewn for miles upstream. No one was seriously injured with this tornado, nor was anyone killed in the 1954 tornado.
TORNADO 6: APRIL 12, 1964
1964 would prove to be a tragic year for the residents of Page County, as not one but two violent tornadoes swept through the county on different days. The first of these occurred almost exactly 10 years after the 1954 tornado, just six days beyond the 10-year anniversary. This tornado touched down near Coin and moved through the heart of Yorktown before lifting northeast of there by the Montgomery County line. Every building in Yorktown sustained some sort of significant damage, but only a few were completely leveled. Many had no idea the tornado was coming, and only ran for cover seconds before the tornado hit. Unfortunately, one life was lost in the Yorktown tornado.
TORNADO 7: JUNE 19 & 22, 1964
The week of June 19 through June 22 would be historic for Page County, as not one but two tornado events would occur back-to-back. The first event happened on June 19, and the second round on June 22. Both of these would produce strong tornadoes, but it would be the June 22 event which produced a violent tornado.
On June 19, one tornado touched down north of Coin, damaging over 20 farms as it crossed over Page County. None of these farms were leveled, meaning this tornado likely attained F-3 intensity as it continued northwest of Clarinda. In Clarinda, a second F-3 tornado touched down striking the Muncipal Airport. Hangars were destroyed and a few planes tossed, but the damage was relatively minor. The second tornado lifted just over the Taylor County line.
Three days later, on June 22, an F-4 tornado developed in Fremont County. This tornado moved near Coin, hitting farms that barely escaped damage a few days prior. This tornado destroyed multiple farms in its path, but no one was injured or killed.
TORNADO 8: MARCH 29, 1979
The final violent tornado to occur in Page County happened on March 29, 1979, when a tornado hit the small community of Braddyville. The tornado touched down just southwest of town, in Missouri, then made a direct hit on the town of around 100 people. Residents ran to shelter wherever they could find it. The mayor of Braddyville sought shelter with his wife under their pool table, holding on when the rest of the house was destroyed around them.
Most of the town was ruined. Of the 92 homes and businesses in town, only 9 were untouched, while 32 were completely destroyed. This tornado produced the most injuries of any of the Page County storms, around 20 people. Fortunately, no one was killed in the tornadoes.
SINCE 1979
No more violent tornadoes have affected the county since 1979, but several weak tornadoes have impacted the county. An F-3 hit the north side of Clarinda damaging 25 homes before moving northeast into Taylor and Adams County. 3 people were hurt, no one was killed. More recently, an F-2 moved east of Coin in August of 2004. The latest tornado to affect Page County was in 2019 when a brief tornado touched down in a field near Shenandoah.
