Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Watches in 2026

Tornado Watch 99

April 11, 20265 counties in Kansas; 17 counties in Nebraska

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 11, 2026, 4:31 PM CDT for 5 counties in Kansas; 17 counties in Nebraska. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Apr 11, 2026, 4:31 PM CDT (21:31 UTC)
Expired
Apr 11, 2026, 7:28 PM CDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1.5 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 22 counties

Jewell County, KS, Phillips County, KS, Republic County, KS, Smith County, KS, Washington County, KS, Adams County, NE, Buffalo County, NE, Clay County, NE, Fillmore County, NE, Franklin County, NE, Gage County, NE, Hall County, NE, Hamilton County, NE, Harlan County, NE, Jefferson County, NE, Kearney County, NE, Nuckolls County, NE, Phelps County, NE, Saline County, NE, Thayer County, NE, Webster County, NE, York County, NE

The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 9 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:31 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

What SPC expected

The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.

Two or more tornadoes
40%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
20%
Ten or more severe wind reports
30%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
20%
Ten or more severe hail reports
30%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
20%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
60%

Warnings issued inside it

6 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 11, 4:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPRepublic27 min
Apr 11, 5:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPRepublic, Washington33 min
Apr 11, 5:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threatTOPRepublic, Washington32 min
Apr 11, 5:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXJefferson44 min
Apr 11, 6:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXGage, Jefferson39 min
Apr 11, 6:33 PM CDTTornado WarningOAXGage, Jefferson13 min

Discussions around it

SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.

The nearest sounding before it

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 12:00Z, 9.5 hours before the alert went out and 278 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Topeka, KS at 12:00Z on 2026-04-11Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Topeka, KS at 12:00Z on 2026-04-11The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 314 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
678 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
314 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
339 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 11, 1:56 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBarton, Butler, Clay, Cloud, Dickinson, Ellsworth and 24 more3 hr
Apr 11, 5:32 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCButler, Harvey, Sedgwick88 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Nebraska, 2026Tornado Watches in Kansas, 2026Every tornado watch in 2026

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.