Hartington residents feel fortunate that tornado didn't cause any damage

HARTINGTON — A tornado made a leisurely trip over Hartington has week, but fortunately left little damage in its wake.

The National Weather Service office in Valley issued a severe thunderstorm warning for this area late Wedneseday afternoon. A tornado warning was then issued for portions of Cedar County near Hartington after area tornado spotters confirmed the presence of a tornado.

The tornado was first seen over the golf course as it moved northeast over town, exiting before touching down.

The weather service office later shared video of the tornado taken near the golf course.

The tornado dropped corn stalks from nearby fields all over the golf course and throughout much of the town. The Cedar Catholic and Hartington-Newcastle golfers cleaned much of the debris on the course up during their afternoon practice session.

Cedar County Emergency Management Director Kevin Garvin said as of Thursday morning no damage had been reported to his office as the result of the storm.

Last year, Nebraska had 21 tornadoes, less than half the annual average — 51 — of the past 30 years, based on National Weather Service statistics.

For tornadoes to form, certain conditions must be met. They need heat, moisture and a trigger, like a frontal system moving through.

According to a study compiled by Victor Gensini of Northern Illinois University, over the past four decades, tornado frequency has increased over much of the Midwest and Southeast and decreased in portions of the central and southern Great Plains, a region traditionally associated with Tornado Alley.

The Great Plains remain the most active zone for tornadoes in the United States, but the Ohio Valley and Deep South are seeing a faster upward trend.

Nebraska has been on a downward trend with tornadoes for more than a decade, said Ken Dewey, professor emeritus of applied climatology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

A couple of factors could be at play in the drop in the number of tornadoes in this region, Dewey said.

Several prior years were noticeably rainy, which typically means cooler than normal weather. So in those years, the weather could simply have been too cool to generate the energy needed for a high number of tornadoes.

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