Elkhorn - 216th and West Maple, (NWS Omaha/Valley Damage Survey, Courtesy)
OMAHA — The Elkhorn-Bennington-Blair tornado that occurred on Friday, April 26 has been upgraded to a EF-4 rating after new drone footage was reviewed.
According to the National Weather Service – Omaha/Valley, their office has conducted a thorough review of all available information in the wake of the damaging tornado outbreak on April 26.
The review included direct comparison to other tornadoes of a similar magnitude, forensic analysis and evaluation of newly available high resolution overhead photography immediately after the tornado and prior to clean up.
Staff with NWS Omaha/Valley said that the overhead drone footage was recently made available to the office, and it included views of areas the damage survey teams had been unable to access in the immediate aftermath of the tornado.
The new analyses indicated that the tornado that tracked through the Elkhorn, Bennington and Blair areas exhibited several points of EF-4 damage, with an estimated peak wind speed of 170 mph based on the damage.
This is an increase of only five miles per hour from the previous rating, but the tornado had initially been rated a high-end EF-3.
NWS Omaha/Valley noted that all other tornado damage information from the date will be maintained.
With the upgrade, there have now been four EF-4 tornadoes that occurred in the United States.
The others being the Marietta–Dickson–Baum, Oklahoma tornado on April 27, the Hominy–Barnsdall–Bartlesville, Oklahoma tornado on May 6 and the Greenfield, Iowa tornado on May 21.
April 26, 2024 Severe Weather Gallery
