Authorities with the National Weather Service have confirmed that a tornado did touch down in Papillion as strong storms hammered the metro on Thursday.

Weather Service officials say it touched down approximately ¾ of a mile south of the intersection of Capehart Road and 84th Street and was on the ground for three miles, moving just east of Midlands Hospital.

The twister is described as the weakest type rated on the Fujita Scale which is used to measure tornado intensity. Estimated wind speeds are between 40 and 71 miles-per-hour.

Thousands of people lost power and some lost property as a volatile air mass crashed through Nebraska and Iowa.

The Omaha Public Power District reported that approximately 8,600 customers were without electricity at the peak of the storm. (click for OPPD power outage map) The major problem was concentrated in an area from southwest Omaha to northeast Omaha near Eppley Airfield. La Vista had a high concentration of problems because of a damaged transmission line.

Mid American Energy reported approximately 1,600 outages in western Iowa at the peak of the storm.

Omaha police shut down eastbound I-80 near the 480 split when a semi tractor-trailer overturned to usher in the evening rush. The interstate was reopend around 7 p.m.

The picture to the right was taken in Herman, Nebraska as high winds slammed into the town.

Tree limbs and power lines came down across the metro Omaha area and there were a number of reports of limited structural damage throughout the area. Damage reports were being tallied on farms throughout the region.

Wind and flying debris shattered glass in the Omaha area. Jagged shards covered the ground beside the Woodmen Tower. Windows that line the walkway between the building and the parking garage were blown out.

Down the street, trash littered Omaha's Old Market. Clutter that fell around The Diner restaurant came from the rooftop of the five-story building next door.

Several tornado warnings were issued through the afternoon, people scurried from workplaces to shelters.

Viewer Photos
Channel 6 viewers sent us a number of pictures of the damages left in the path of the storm. Click here for a look at some of the photos.

Schuyler Storm Video