By Katie Copple
Published: Jun. 20, 2024 at 6:59 PM CDT|Updated: 7 hours ago
PILGER, Neb. (KTIV) - On June 16, 2014, four EF-4 tornadoes touched down in Northeast Nebraska in an event that is still studied by meteorologists and weather scientists today. One of them tore through the Village of Pilger, Nebraska, damaging or destroying over half of the buildings in the Stanton County town.
THE TORNADOES
The four violent tornadoes erupted over an hour and a half on the afternoon of June 16, 2014.
- The 1st EF-4 struck an in-home daycare outside of Stanton. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured inside.
- The 2nd EF-4, the first of the twins, tore a diagonal path through the Village of Pilger, a small community of under 400.
- The 3rd EF-4, the second of the twins, developed alongside its sister, tearing a path through the countryside.
- The 4th EF-4, the last to develop, destroyed several rural homes and farms outside of Wakefield.
REMEMBERING THOSE LOST
We want to take a moment to honor the memory of two people who lost their lives that day. Five-year-old Calista Dixon-- known as Cali-- died as she, her younger sister, and her mother, tried to find shelter as the tornado moved into Pilger. Cali’s mother, Kandi, suffered critical injuries in the same storm that took her daughter’s life.
Seventy-four-year-old David Herout from Clarkson, Nebraska, also died that day. He was driving east of Pilger when the storms began. His car was swept off the roadway by the storm.
The storms injured at least 20 others.
HOW THE STORMS DEVELOPED
A lot of things have to come together to produce the number of intense tornadoes like those on June 16, 2014.
A warm front was lifting into Northeast Nebraska and that helped cause a morning round of thunderstorms. Those storms left a boundary between rain-cooled air to the north and a hot and humid air mass to the south over Eastern Nebraska. This is the area that ended up seeing four EF-4 tornadoes in less than an hour and a half, which included the tornado that went directly through Pilger.
A STORM CHASER RECALLS THE CHASE
Meteorologist Tony Laubach is a field meteorologist for AccuWeather and spent several seasons as part of “Storm Chasers” on The Discovery Channel. He and his chase partner were in Northeast Nebraska on June 16, 2014, but what they saw that day was something they never expected.
First Alert Meteorologist Cat Taylor spoke with Laubach as he recalled his jaw-dropping day of storm chasing, and the twins he caught on camera.
“I’ve seen tornadoes with satellites and two tornadoes at once, and sometimes, two tornadoes from very different storms that are separated,” Laubach told Taylor, “to see two tornadoes of this intensity, I mean, these are both EF-4s. It’s the second-strongest rated tornadoes and they were within a couple of miles of each other and I wonder if we’ll ever see anything like that again to that extent.”
To see Laubach’s interview and his storm video from that chase, visit our full story here: ‘You literally could have thrown a rock and hit both of them from one spot’ - Storm chaser recalls twin tornadoes
IN-HOME DAYCARE STRUCK IN STANTON
The first EF-4 of the afternoon formed outside of Stanton, Nebraska and set its sights on a family farm.
Inside were Troy and Amy Kremlacek, Amy’s son 11-year-old Christian, and four young children in Amy’s in-home daycare. It took the tornado seconds to reduce the home to rubble, trapping all seven inside.
“I can only see myself and one of the the child on my lap and the child next to me,” Amy Kremlacek recalled of those moments huddling in their basem*nt. “So I could just see the three of us and then I was talking to the other two children that I could hear down there still.”
KTIV’s Matt Breen sat down with the Kremlacek’s in their home to discuss that unforgettable day. You can view that story here: Nebraska family of three, four daycare children survive collapse of home during 2014 tornado
THE TWINS
Following the Stanton tornado, what unfolded next in Northeast Nebraska would leave many stunned. Two EF-4 tornadoes, boasting wind speeds upwards of 200 miles per hour, materialized from a single supercell.
These violent tornadoes, dubbed the twins, carved a jagged, diagonal path directly through Pilger. While instances of multiple tornadoes touching down from the same thunderstorm are documented, what made these twins exceptionally rare was their sheer intensity.
Rated EF-4, just one step below the highest rating on the Enhanced Fujita scale, the twins traversed side by side, intersecting paths once before dissipating. Their remarkable strength and synchronized movement captured the attention of meteorologists and storm enthusiasts alike.
THOSE WHO FLEE, THOSE WHO STAY
In the immediate aftermath of the Pilger tornado, things changed dramatically for almost everyone in the village.
Mike Frohberg worked on victim Cali Dixon before she passed away. But, back then, he didn’t have the skills to truly help her in the moment. So, he became an EMT, and eventually the county’s EMS director.
“So that kind of kind of (drove) me to be an EMT, because I wanted to help where we needed to at least kind of have a better understanding of what I needed to do,” he said. “So just kind of standing there in shock is not going to be an option for the future.”
Marianne Psotta, on the other hand, left her damaged home in Pilger and has never returned.
KTIV’s Matt Hoffmann spoke with both about how the Pilger tornado changed their lives. You can read more here: Those who stay, and those who flee: deadly Pilger tornado throws lives on different paths
PILGER TAKES A DIRECT HIT
The damage from the ground in Pilger was jaw-dropping, but from above it was unimaginable.
Debris was scattered for miles around Stanton County, some even appearing several counties away. First responders from communities near and far flocked to Pilger that night to help where they could.
Stanton County Sheriff Mike Unger was part of an army of first responders that night and in the days that followed. Unger has led the county for decades and knows many who live there by name.
He told KTIV’s Katie Copple that driving into Pilger moments after the tornado passed through is something he will never forget.
“Pilger itself looked like a war zone, “he said. “I saw people walking up towards the highway, you could see the damage from the highway. And some of these people I knew, and it just looked like they had the walk of death, they were just like shadows of themselves.”
For more from Sheriff Unger, visit this story here: ’Pilger itself looked like a war zone’ - Stanton County Sheriff reflects on June 2014 tornado outbreak
There wasn’t much left on Main Street after the tornado, but one building stood tall among the devastation: the Village Library.
It was left relatively untouched. The building did suffer some roof damage and, some items, like the library computers, were dirty and covered in dust, but, the books were fine. In fact, just one book fell off the shelves in the storm.
Main Street was also home to the town’s bank, Midwest Bank. It was open when the storms moved through. Those inside took cover in an unlikely place, the bank’s vault. Emergency Management Director Mike Frohberg says the bank’s manager directed people into the vault and locked it from the outside. He then hid in a crawl space. The people in the vault survived, as did the bank manager. In fact, many of the people first responders came across were those emerging from the vault, unharmed.
”(He) kind of sacrificed himself but he had all of his employees safe,” Frohberg said. “And after the tornadoes went through, he got out and opened up the bank vault, and then let all those people back out again.”
The building was destroyed. Employees relocated to the branch in Wisner while a new building was constructed back on Main Street in Pilger. That’s where the bank sits today, but most of the staff are new, and the bank manager from 2014 has since retired.
One of the biggest blows to the community was the loss of its middle school. Housing 5th and 6th graders for the Wisner-Pilger School District, the building was all but gutted in the twister. This all happened with a new school year set to begin in August. The school had become a fixture in the small town.
“It’s extremely difficult to see an old building like that, again, a fixture and a landmark in this community and what it meant to this community and generations of students that went through there to, unfortunately, be able to say that, and to tell them that, you know, this was a condemned building, and it did need to be demolished,” Wisner-Pilger Superintendent Chad Boyer said.
KTIV’s Clayton Anderson spoke with district officials about the impact losing the middle school had on Pilger and the district. You can see that story here: A decade after historic school building is destroyed in a tornado, Wisner-Pilger Schools reflects on district changes
Just across the street from the school, the tornado had slammed into St. John’s Lutheran Church dumping debris, including walls, pews, even the organ, in a nearby cornfield. Pastor Terry Makelin was with the church’s youth group, in Branson, Missouri, as the tornado tore through Pilger. Frantic calls to his cell phone alerted him to the destruction back home. The immediately returned to Pilger to find nothing left.
“Well, the destruction was just absolutely mind-warping,” Makelin said. “And you walk through and you have to try to identify where our house is supposed to be located at? Because it wasn’t there anymore.”
KTIV’s Matt Breen visited the new church and spoke with Pastor Makelin about losing the building they called home. You can see that story here: Pilger, NE church rebuilds after 2014 tornado destroyed sanctuary, parsonage
One of the most shocking images in the wake of the tornado was grain bins at the Farmers Co-op. Winds of over 166 miles per hour destroyed them leaving piles of grain where the towering bins once stood. That destruction meant a tough decision. Would the the co-op rebuild or would it relocate to another community.
After several meetings, the decision to move forward began. The co-op salvaged what was left and began rebuilding the rest through teamwork.
“It was a tough time you just always, you’ve seen every day was just destruction, and it kind of would wear person down,” said Aaron Becker, President of Pilger Co-Op.
In 2014, the co-op was one of Pilger’s biggest employers, and its biggest taxpayer. The co-op also ran the Village grocery store, gas station, and fertilizer plant. Losing it permanently would have been a devastating blow to the town largely dependent on agriculture.
“Without the co-op here, it’d be a big void right in the middle of town,” recalled Becker. “And it’s always been a part of town, you know, and, and I think, for some other individuals, it was probably also the deciding factor for them to rebuild, possibly.”
New grain bins were built and pressed into service just a few months after the tornado and just in time for the fall harvest. The co-op continues to be a focal point in the community today.
NEBRASKA REP. MIKE FLOOD
One man who was on the ground minutes after the tornado, was Mike Flood, who served as a reporter for KTIV’s Norfolk News Bureau in 2014.
Flood, who now represents eastern Nebraska in Congress, was one of the first reporters to arrive in Pilger and talk to those impacted by the tornadoes. In his reports, Flood detailed the destruction he saw in the immediate aftermath. Flood telling KTIV now that it’s hard to forget when he saw when he first arrived into Pilger.
“When I when I was in Pilger, that night, it was a warzone,” Flood recalled. “I remember when I was standing at that spur. They called for ambulances from everywhere. And one after another of these ambulances were coming from Wisner, West Point, Beamer, Norfork, Madison, Battle Creek, I mean, every single town sent an ambulance. And when you’re on the spur, and you don’t know what’s happening, and you see this stream of ambulances coming, you’re thinking this is a mass casualty event, because you don’t know. You look at Pilger and what was built here, and there’s nothing there. And all of a sudden, you see these 10 ambulances coming, and the look on the EMTs faces as they approached Pilger and made that corner, you could just see, they were like, What is this?”
Now serving Nebraskans in Washington D.C. as a member of Congress, Flood says he’s used his experience covering natural disasters, like tornadoes, to better help those impacted in his home state, and nationwide.
“Everybody knows that you want to help them. But you need to let them process what happens,” Flood said about getting people the help they need after a disaster. “Like they don’t need your call the first five minutes, they have to process all of that. And what they need to know is that when they need something, you’re there. It reminds me of somebody that just finds out they got diagnosed with cancer, they don’t hear a word the doctor says they have to process it. And when the time is right, you just have to say whatever you need, we’re going to help.”
THE 4TH EF-4 TORNADO
Developing south of Wakefield, an EF-4 tornado grew in intensity and traveled due north destroying multiple farmsteads. Thankfully, this tornado didn’t strike the heart of Wakefield, but three farms outside of town were destroyed.
THE FAMILY THAT WAS STRUCK TWICE
For one northeast Nebraska family, the June 16th tornadoes were an almost hard-to-believe case of deja vu. Ron and Corliss Krusemark’s home, near Wakefield, was destroyed just eight months after their son and daughter-in-law lost their home in the tornado that hit Wayne, Nebraska.
“You know, when it’s your kids’ place that hurts,” said Corliss Krusemark. “When it’s your own, it hurts.”
KTIV’s Matt Breen sits down with the Krusemark’s about their journey after the tornado. You can find that story here: 2014 tornado touched Wayne County, NE family for the second time in 8 months
THE NATION RESPONDS
When you visit Pilger, you can see the divide between what was old, and what is new. Two-thirds of the village was wiped-out by the tornado. In the aftermath, volunteers from across Siouxland and beyond flooded into Pilger. Local organizations offered essential supplies, shelter, and support to those who lost everything.
National organizations stepped up, too. “Samaritan’s Purse”, the “Billy Graham Organization”, and several Amish families from the East Coast helped in the rebuilding efforts over the weeks, months, and years that followed.
Rock star Bret Michaels also lent a hand. Days after the storm, the rocker brought his band and crew to Pilger to help while in the middle of a summer tour. Months later, he returned to perform a benefit concert in Pilger, with proceeds going to the community.
Local Pastor Terry Makelin says as many as 1,400 people came to Pilger each day to help with cleanup, and rebuilding efforts.
Even 10 years later, one volunteer says she can still remember the moment she first drove into town. Erica Dunn lives in northwest Iowa, and in 2014 she was working the night shift at an area medical center as a certified nursing assistant. She heard about the tornadoes and the need for volunteers. After she finished her shift, instead of sleeping, she headed to Pilger to lend a hand. Volunteers met in nearby Wisner, and were bussed into Pilger. Dunn said even amid the destruction, there was hope.
“When I went out on my second day to help out in the field that I noticed that there was a big piece of like a grain bin sticking up and there was a teddy bear. And it was just like right there where you could like see it like eyes and everything intact and it was just a little dirty.”
Dunn says she volunteered that day and many days after because it was the right thing to do to help her neighbors.
THREE-DAY WEATHER EVENT
The twin tornadoes were just a small part of what turned out to be a three-day severe weather event in the Upper Midwest.
On June 16, four EF-4 tornadoes touched down northwest of Stanton, Wayne and Dixon Counties, causing upwards of $20 million in damages.
Central Nebraska experienced its share of tornadoes that afternoon, including three EF-2 twisters near Garfield. These storms also spawned numerous tornadoes in central and eastern Iowa.
The following day another round of severe weather made its way through Siouxland. That storm dropped an EF-3 tornado that traveled the outskirts of Coleridge, Nebraska and three EF-2s were recorded that day, two near Laurel, Nebraska, in Cedar County.
The final day brought one final round of severe weather to the Great Plains. Largely staying north of Siouxland, these storms impacted south central South Dakota.
In all, 76 tornadoes were confirmed across those three days, causing upwards of $127 million in damage.
PILGER TODAY
After the storms, the Village of Pilger was set on rebuilding what was lost. The Farmers Co-Op led the charge as the first to break ground on a new facility. Midwest Bank soon followed, vowing to stay on Main Street. Just two years later, the Co-Op, Midwest Bank and a new local convenience store, called “Pilger Pride”, had opened.
By then, dozens of homes were rebuilt or reconstructed. The community also built and opened the 8,800-square-foot Cooper Community Center which features conference areas, a fitness center and more. It’s that growth that highlights Pilger’s determination to rebuild stronger than before.
“We hung in there. We picked up and got going,” said Village Trustee Ken Wiechman. “That’s part of being tough. You don’t throw in the towel, you pick up and get going again.”
Trustee on the Pilger Village Board of Trustees, Ken Wiechman says that’s what it has taken for Pilger to move forward. Ten years later, Wiechman says the village is still recovering. He has lived in Pilger since 1976 and has seen much of its glory. He worked for the village for 31 years and served on the fire department for 45 years. As he reflects on the ten years since a deadly tornado tore through town, he points out about 9 new businesses that have popped up in the last decade.
That includes the Cooper Community Center, a lawn care business, as well as, a trucking company and body shop. The new brick and mortar shows off newly constructed businesses like the bank, which rebuilt.
Wiechman says, as you drive through town you may notice the other 7 businesses that came back and rebuilt after the storm by their new facades. “Yeah, I’m positive Pilger is going to survive,” he said. “I think Pilger is going to keep growing. But, it’s a new Pilger. I am proud of what’s going on.”
Wiechman says the village is actively working to get new businesses to put down roots in the heart of downtown on North Main Street. He says while the population has dropped, he has seen a few new homes built in the last 10 years.
When the twin tornadoes moved through Pilger, there were about 400 people that called the village home. Now, according to the latest report from the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2020 the village had 240 people living there.
As this village looks forward, they now have a permanent reminder of what happened that day. As residents and volunteers began cleaning up, they began collecting old bricks from buildings destroyed by the twister.
Today, in the lot across from the Midwest Bank, sits a public art memorial in the form of a sundial. The bricks, once part of structures that stood in town, now serve a new purpose, forming a plaza and a place to sit, with the sundial at its center.
It’s hard to believe ten years have passed since that unforgettable afternoon in Pilger. Even now, the scars from that day are still visible, but, the town has tried to put the tornado behind it, looking ahead to its future.
A special thank you to all of the people who shared their stories with KTIV 10 years ago, and today. Your bravery in the face of tragedy is inspiring.
KTIV’s COVERAGE OF THE PILGER TORNADOES
Ten years ago, KTIV covered the Pilger tornadoes and was there from start to finish. The playlist below compiles several recordings of the very newscasts where KTIV’s team covered the tornadoes.
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