Tornado Warning 7, NWS Hastings, NE

042 
WWUS53 KGID 172352
SVSGID

Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service Hastings NE
652 PM CDT Sun May 17 2026

NEC169-180030-
/O.CON.KGID.TO.W.0007.000000T0000Z-260518T0030Z/
Thayer NE-
652 PM CDT Sun May 17 2026

...TORNADO EMERGENCY FOR HEBRON...

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 730 PM CDT FOR EAST
CENTRAL THAYER COUNTY...

At 652 PM CDT, a confirmed large and destructive tornado was located
over Hebron, or 20 miles west of Fairbury, moving east at 25 mph.

TORNADO EMERGENCY for HEBRON. This is a PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS 
SITUATION. TAKE COVER NOW!

HAZARD...Deadly tornado.

SOURCE...Radar confirmed tornado.

IMPACT...You are in a life-threatening situation. Flying debris may 
         be deadly to those caught without shelter. Mobile homes 
         will be destroyed. Considerable damage to homes, 
         businesses, and vehicles is likely and complete destruction 
         is possible.

The tornado will be near...
  Gilead around 705 PM CDT.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

To repeat, a large, extremely dangerous, and potentially deadly
tornado is on the ground. To protect your life, TAKE COVER NOW! Move
to an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. Avoid
windows. If in a mobile home, a vehicle or outdoors, move to the
closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris.

Heavy rainfall may hide this tornado. Do not wait to see or hear the
tornado. TAKE COVER NOW!

&&

LAT...LON 4012 9762 4016 9763 4024 9737 4014 9737
TIME...MOT...LOC 2352Z 255DEG 21KT 4015 9756 

TORNADO...OBSERVED
TORNADO DAMAGE THREAT...CATASTROPHIC
MAX HAIL SIZE...2.00 IN

$$

Thies

784 
WWUS53 KGID 180001
SVSGID

Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service Hastings NE
701 PM CDT Sun May 17 2026

NEC169-180011-
/O.CAN.KGID.TO.W.0007.000000T0000Z-260518T0030Z/
Thayer NE-
701 PM CDT Sun May 17 2026

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR EAST CENTRAL THAYER COUNTY IS CANCELLED...

The tornado threat has diminished and the Tornado Emergency has been 
cancelled. However, additional tornadoes remain possible, and a 
Tornado Warning remains in effect for the area.

A Tornado Watch remains in effect until 1100 PM CDT for south central
Nebraska.


&&

LAT...LON 4012 9762 4016 9763 4024 9737 4014 9737
TIME...MOT...LOC 2359Z 260DEG 19KT 4016 9750 

$$

Thies

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Hastings NE
648 PM CDT Sun May 17 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Severe weather is likely this afternoon and evening, mainly in
  areas along/east of Highway 281. All severe threats are
  possible (large hail, damaging wind, and a few tornadoes),
  mainly in the 5pm-10pm window.

- Portions of northern Kansas and perhaps the Highway 81
  corridor in Nebraska have one more chance for severe storms on
  Monday afternoon. The rest of the area will be noticably
  cooler with only a few showers expected.

- Cooler-than-normal conditions are expected through midweek.
  Then we gradually trend warmer (with more rain chances) late
  in the week.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 1235 PM CDT Sun May 17 2026

The main concern in this forecast revolves around severe
convection today and on Monday.

Currently, most of the area is in the warm sector, with a cold
front pushing in from the west, and a dryline/triple-point
expected to push in from the southwest this afternoon. The
eastern half of the area should be quite unstable by late
afternoon, the MLCAPE values likely in the 2000-4000 J/kg range.
If anything, CAMs have trended a bit further west with storm
initiation...possibly as early as 4pm...but becoming more likely
by around 5pm in the Highway 281 corridor. Strong deep-layer
shear will be supportive of supercells, potentially merging into
multiple line segments later into the evening hours. Confidence
in coverage is highest in northern parts of the area and
southern portions of the area, areas to the south and east of
Hastings may not

Generally the entire area near/east of Highway 281 has some
threat for tornado today, although the highest risk is expected
to be north and east of Grand Island where low-level shear is
maximized. Sig-tor parameter (STP) values of 5-7+ are forecast
by the RAP/mesoanalysis, which is a quite substantial indicator
of tornado potential.

A storm or two may approach western areas later this evening,
but are expected to weaken as the move into the area in the
8-10pm timeframe. Most of our Nebraska counties should be
storm-free by 8-9pm, but southern portions of the area have
potential for a longer-duration event, with storms continuing
to build near and just north of I-70. If this occurs, localized
flooding is possible (mainly Mitchell/Osborne counties),
although this will depend exactly on where storms setup.

Monday will start off cloudy and relatively cool, with
potentially some showers/drizzle in the morning and early
afternoon. An additional round of convection is expected to
develop along the stalled front. Less of the area is expected to
be impacted than today and Saturday, but nevertheless, portions
of northern KS, along with the Hwy 81 corridor could see severe
storms in the 3-8pm timeframe.

A Red Flag Warning remains in effect until 9pm today for
southwestern zones that are expected to see a quick burst of dry
air behind the dryline this afternoon. After today, the overall
fire weather threat is relatively low for the rest of this
week.

Not much time was spent on the longer-range forecast. Temperatures
remain below-normal through midweek, then gradually warm back
up into the Memorial Day weekend. Rain/t-storm chances also
return to the forecast by the end of next week.

&&

.AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z TUESDAY/...
Issued at 648 PM CDT Sun May 17 2026

For KGRI/KEAR Airports:

The threat for severe thunderstorms has shifted east of KEAR and
KGRI, although lightning will remain in the vicinity of KGRI for
another hour or so. VFR conditions are expected this evening,
with ceilings falling to MVFR and eventually IFR late tonight
through Monday morning. Ceilings could lift back to MVFR Monday
afternoon, but at least MVFR should prevail through the rest of
the forecast period. Light rain showers or drizzle could also
fall Monday morning. Winds are expected to remain northerly
through the forecast period. Gusty winds this evening should
settle at around 10-15 kts overnight through Monday morning,
then become gusty again Monday afternoon.

&&

.GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NE...Red Flag Warning until 9 PM CDT this evening for NEZ083-084.
KS...Red Flag Warning until 9 PM CDT this evening for KSZ005-006-
     017-018.

&&

DISCUSSION...Mangels
AVIATION...NWS Bismarck

Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Hastings NE
126 PM CDT Sun May 17 2026

KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087-
181200-
Phillips-Smith-Jewell-Rooks-Osborne-Mitchell-Valley-Greeley-Nance-
Sherman-Howard-Merrick-Polk-Dawson-Buffalo-Hall-Hamilton-York-
Gosper-Phelps-Kearney-Adams-Clay-Fillmore-Furnas-Harlan-Franklin-
Webster-Nuckolls-Thayer-
126 PM CDT Sun May 17 2026

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for south central Nebraska and
portions of north central Kansas.

.DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight.

The threat for severe weather returns late this afternoon and
evening, primarily for areas near and east of Highway 281. Threats
include hail to the size of baseballs, damaging wind gusts near
70 MPH, and a few tornadoes. The main timeframe for severe storms
will be 5pm to 10pm, although a few storms could develop earlier
than that window or persist a bit later than that.

In addition to the severe weather potential today, near critical
to critical fire weather conditions are expected, and a Red Flag
Warning is in effect for portions of the area from 1PM to 9PM.
Please refer to the warning statement for more specific
information.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday.

Severe weather concerns continue on Monday as a cold front moves
across the area. The best potential for severe weather will be in
northern Kansas and along and east of the Highway 81 corridor in
Nebraska. The main timeframe of concern is 3PM to 8PM.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotters are encouraged to report any hail, damaging wind, or
tornadoes to the National Weather Service.

&&

More information may be obtained at the following web page:
   https://www.weather.gov/hastings

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Hastings NE
633 PM CDT Sun May 17 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0608 PM     Tstm Wnd Gst     1 NNW Strang            40.42N 97.59W
05/17/2026  M50 MPH          Fillmore           NE   Mesonet

&&

CS

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Hastings NE
634 PM CDT Sun May 17 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0633 PM     Hail             Clarks                  41.22N 97.84W
05/17/2026  E1.00 Inch       Merrick            NE   Emergency Mngr

&&

CS

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Hastings NE
635 PM CDT Sun May 17 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0634 PM     Hail             Deshler                 40.14N 97.73W
05/17/2026  E2.50 Inch       Thayer             NE   Emergency Mngr

&&

CS

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Hastings NE
638 PM CDT Sun May 17 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0549 PM     Tstm Wnd Gst     Glen Elder              39.50N 98.31W
05/17/2026  M53 MPH          Mitchell           KS   Mesonet

&&

CS

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Hastings NE
639 PM CDT Sun May 17 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0555 PM     Tstm Wnd Gst     7 E Tipton              39.35N 98.34W
05/17/2026  M55 MPH          Mitchell           KS   Mesonet

&&

CS

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Hastings NE
646 PM CDT Sun May 17 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0600 PM     Tstm Wnd Gst     2 W Central City        41.11N 98.05W
05/17/2026  M74 MPH          Merrick            NE   Mesonet

&&