The tornado that clipped northeast Lincoln on Friday, damaging homes and businesses along the way, had wind speeds that reached 158 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
A total of 10 tornadoes raked across eastern Nebraska and western Iowa in the afternoon and evening hours of Friday, including five rated as EF-3s, according to damage surveyed in the aftermath.
Two tornadoes were rated EF-2, while two more were rated EF-1, according to the Weather Service’s office in Valley.
The Enhanced Fujita Scale, or EF Scale, uses damage surveys to estimate a range of likely wind speeds of tornadoes.
The twister that touched down at about 2:52 p.m. on Friday near 84th Street and Havelock Avenue in northeast Lincoln ultimately stayed on the ground for more than 8.5 miles.
The tornado grew in intensity as it moved north of the Sandhills Global Event Center across Fletcher Avenue, where it damaged residences and businesses, and downed electric transmission lines and power poles as it headed toward U.S. 6.
Garner Industries, which is located near Cornhusker Highway and 98th Street, suffered "a complete failure of the roof and 3 walls" when the tornado struck, the Weather Service wrote in its survey, while cars in the parking lot sustained varying damage, "with the worst being thrown at least 75-100 yards."
Three people of the 70 or so working at the plant at the time suffered injuries that weren't considered life-threatening, authorities said.
As it continued on the ground with EF-3 intensity, the tornado overturned numerous BNSF railroad cars and a semi-tractor trailer as it crossed Interstate 80 just west of the Waverly exit, depositing debris from Garner Industries' roof along the way.
The tornado weakened as it skirted west and north of Waverly, damaging farmsteads and destroying outbuildings near 134th Street and Waverly Road before dissipating in the countryside 3 miles north-northeast of Waverly at 3:04 p.m.
According to the Weather Service, the tornado that originated over Lincoln was on the ground for 12 minutes.
The same storm spawned a new tornado at about 3:30 p.m. near 264th and Q streets in southwest Douglas County, the National Weather Service said.
That tornado followed a northeast track, crossing Center Street and West Dodge Road just to the east of U.S. 275, before moving into western Elkhorn, where it damaged or destroyed dozens of homes.
The 1-mile-wide tornado that struck Elkhorn was rated a high-end EF-3 with maximum wind speeds of 165 mph, the Weather Service said, leaving several homes with no more than a few walls standing.
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After moving through Elkhorn, the twister continued north and east through Douglas County and into Washington County, causing severe damage to dozens of homes in the Bennington Lakes area before damaging a neighborhood southeast of Blair.
In all, the tornado was on the ground for nearly an hour, where it traveled 31 miles and crossed the Missouri River before dissipating near Modale, Iowa.
The Weather Service said it planned additional surveys in the coming days and could adjust its rating for the tornado that hit Elkhorn and Bennington. No injuries were reported, however.
A third tornado rated EF-3 with wind speeds reaching 150 mph developed near downtown Omaha just before 5 p.m., striking Eppley Airfield, where it damaged portions of the airport before crossing the river into Iowa.
The tornado was on the ground for 16 miles, crossing several major highways and interstates north of Council Bluffs before dissipating in Harrison County, Iowa.
Two other tornadoes rated as EF-3 touched down in western Iowa as part of the same system, including one that developed in Pottawattamie County and moved north and east for 13 miles, damaging several homes with wind speeds of 145 mph before ending east of McClelland.
Another more-destructive multi-vortex tornado with wind speeds of 160 mph damaged or destroyed dozens of homes in Minden, Iowa, killing one person and injuring numerous others, authorities said.
The same tornado continued to track to the north for 41 miles in all, tracking just west of Harlan before dissipating near Defiance.
The outbreak across eastern Nebraska and western Iowa spawned tornadoes that spent a combined 4 hours and 51 minutes on the ground, covering a total of 162.5 miles, according to the Omaha Weather Service office.
Those tornadoes weren't the only ones to touch down in Nebraska on Friday. The Weather Service said a tornado that touched down near the Elba and Farwell areas in Howard County was also likely an EF-3, with estimated maximum winds of 145 mph.
That tornado tracked for 9.5 miles on the ground and was 600 yards wide at its widest point, but it moved through a sparsely populated area.
The Weather Service’s Hastings office said the tornado caused extensive damage to a farmstead west of Elba, destroying a metal building and heavily damaging a home, but otherwise only knocked down trees and power poles and overturned pivot irrigation equipment.
Another tornado that touched down near Wolbach was rated as a strong EF-2, with maximum wind speeds of 135 mph. It stayed on the ground for 9.5 miles and was 900 yards wide at one point.
Two other central Nebraska tornadoes were rated as EF-1s, according to the Weather Service.
One that hit near Ravenna had maximum wind speeds of 90 mph, and another that hit near Rockville had wind speeds of 105 mph. They were both smaller and shorter-lived than other tornadoes that were part of the same weather complex.
Journal Star editor Matt Olberding contributed to this report.
Photos and videos: Tornadoes sweep across Lincoln and Omaha areas
The National Weather Service says the tornado that hit northeast Lincoln and Waverly on April 26, causing train cars to be pushed off the tracks and the roof to collapse at Garner Industries, was an EF-3 with winds that reached 158 mph.