A train conductor waiting for a signal change saw a massive EF-3 tornado coming toward him on April 26 in Waverly, Nebraska. He held on as the twister knocked over train cars and broke windows.
WAVERLY, Neb. – A train conductor was caught in the direct path of an EF-3 tornado in Nebraska, part of a severe weather outbreak over the weekend responsible for more than 100 tornadoes across the Plains and Midwest.
On April 26, a violent supercell produced dozens of tornadoes over eastern Nebraska in Elkhorn, Waverly, Blair and communities outside of Omaha. During the severe weather outbreak, the NWS office in Omaha issued a rare Tornado Emergency, warning of the life-threatening weather event.
Video taken April 26 shows the conductor and engineer watching as the tornado continued approaching the train tracks, where they were stopped waiting for the signal to change.
Despite the massive tornado barreling toward them, the pair continued to discuss the twister’s size and approach relatively calmly.
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The conductor stuck his phone outside the train car and recorded the roar of the tornado as it whipped around branches and debris.
Only when the windows are being pelted with debris do the engineer and conductor sound worried about their safety.
A screenshot from a video recorded in Waverly, Nebraska on April 26, 2024 of an EF-3 tornado moving toward a train on the tracks.
(ViralHog)
“That just took that building out!”
“Um, should we get away from the windows?”
“OK, taking cover.”
“It’s going right over us. Hold on. Hold on!”
Train derailment between Lincoln and Waverly in Nebraska
(@CoachHNSmith / FOX Weather)
As the tornado roars by the tracks for about 30 seconds, the train is repeatedly hit with debris as it passes over them. The video shows the conductor gripping onto a handle inside the train. Cracks in the double-pane windows are visible in the video after the tornado.
As the twister cleared the area, the engineer wondered out loud if they would have any cars down because of the tornado.
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“We’re going to have something on the ground,” the conductor said. “I guarantee we will.”
According to the conductor who recorded the video, the tornado derailed 31 cars. Both the engineer and conductor were unharmed.
“We ain’t going nowhere,” the conductor mused moments after the tornado moved away.
NWS damage survey teams would later find damage consistent with an EF-3 tornado and wind speeds up to 158 mph. The tornado moved across more than 8.5 miles of Lancaster County, including Waverly.
BNSF Railway reported no injuries.