Local twisters add perspective to state's last F5

May 5 may be Cinco de Mayo, but for residents of certain areas in east central Nebraska, today's the 50th anniversary of the one of the worst tornadoes Nebraska has ever experienced.

The last F5, measured by the old Fujita Scale, tornado reported in the state killed two people on a farm about three miles northwest of Bradshaw, injured 20 near Harvard and hurt others near Hastings and rural areas. More than 40 farmsteads were damaged and over 100 head of livestock were killed.

Hamilton County suffered the heaviest damage, $3 million in property.

But Southwest Nebraskans don't have to go across the state to stir memories of tornadoes.

Many of us remember the June 15, 1990 F4 tornado that skirted Stratton, Culbertson and McCook before heading toward Stockville, injuring one man who took shelter in a well pit. While it did plenty of damage, it would have been far worse had its path been a mile or two farther south.

That was a busy tornado season for McCook, which also reported two F1s and an F0 on May 15 and another F0 on April 25.

Few are around to remember 1928, but that's when McCook's most devastating twister -- actually about four tornadoes, struck McCook.

According to the Gazette Centennial edition, as recounted by local historian Walt Sehnert, "With no early warning system in place, people were ill-prepared for such an emergency. At about 8:15 in the evening the storm touched down in McCook. Starting on the west side of McCook, the twister mowed a path five to six blocks wide beginning with the 700 block of West 4th St. and demolished many houses all the way to the canyon at the city's north edge. In some blocks the destruction was virtually complete. It was estimated that 1,000 people were made homeless from the storm. Trees were uprooted and dashed against houses. Dozens of automobiles were strewn around the streets as if they were toys."

The old Fujita scale was replaced by the Enhanced Fujita Scale in 2007, more accurately matching wind speeds to the severity of damage caused by the tornado.

By any measure, we're thankful for the many lives that are saved by modern technology, from Internet text messages to outdoor sirens to commercial radio stations to broadcast, cable and satellite televisions.

You can take advantage of some of the latest technology by downloading the American Red Cross tornado app from iTunes or the Google Play or visiting http://rdcrss.org/1iQ7tx2

You can also review historial McCook tornado information by visiting http://bit.ly/1g2Cvw8 or http://1.usa.gov/1rVpz0f