Tornado and Hail in Nebraska, May 11, 1998

Name: Tornado and Hail in Nebraska, May 11, 1998
Start: 1998-05-11T16:29
End: 1998-05-11T20:52
Location: Nebraska

May 11, 1998 · NWS GID · 29 events in 14 counties and zones

Severe Thunderstorms rumbled across much of south-central Nebraska through the evening hours. A brief tornado passed northwest of Gilead damaging a shed, irrigation pipe and some fence.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $485,000
Crop damage: $2.0 million
Events: 29

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS GID wrote it up.

Severe Thunderstorms rumbled across much of south-central Nebraska through the evening hours. A brief tornado passed northwest of Gilead damaging a shed, irrigation pipe and some fence. The majority of reports were large hail. The hail knocked out a windshield at Waco while thunderstorms covered the ground with large hail just south of Gilead. Given the time of year, crop damage was held to a minimum. Property damage was also minor.

The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 104 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:27 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

28 hail, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Buffalo

When: May 11, 4:29 PM CST
Where: Buffalo County, Miller
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 40.930, -99.380

Hail, Buffalo

When: May 11, 4:50 PM CST
Where: Buffalo County, Ravenna
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 41.030, -98.930

Hail, Sherman

When: May 11, 5:03 PM CST
Where: Sherman County, Hazard
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $20,000
Crop damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 41.100, -99.080

Hail, Valley

When: May 11, 5:10 PM CST
Where: Valley County, 2 mi SE of Ord
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Crop damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 41.580, -98.920

Hail, Sherman

When: May 11, 5:18 PM CST
Where: Sherman County, Rockville
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 41.120, -98.850

Hail, Howard

When: May 11, 5:35 PM CST
Where: Howard County, 2 mi NW of Boelus
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Crop damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 41.100, -98.750

Hail, Howard

When: May 11, 5:45 PM CST
Where: Howard County, Farwell
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Property damage: $20,000
Crop damage: $75,000
Coordinates: 41.220, -98.630

Hail, Hall

When: May 11, 6:05 PM CST
Where: Hall County, 2 mi SW of Wood River
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Crop damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 40.800, -98.630

Hail, Hall

When: May 11, 6:20 PM CST
Where: Hall County, Grand Is
Measured: 1.25 in hail
Property damage: $45,000
Crop damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 40.920, -98.350

Hail, Merrick

When: May 11, 6:30 PM CST
Where: Merrick County, Palmer
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 41.220, -98.250

Hail, Nuckolls

When: May 11, 6:32 PM CST
Where: Nuckolls County, 5 mi W of Superior
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $20,000
Crop damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 40.030, -98.170

Hail, Hall

When: May 11, 6:40 PM CST
Where: Hall County, 1 mi NE of Grand Is
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Property damage: $20,000
Crop damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 40.930, -98.330

Hail, Clay

When: May 11, 6:40 PM CST
Where: Clay County, Glenville
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Property damage: $20,000
Crop damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 40.500, -98.250

Hail, Hamilton

When: May 11, 6:55 PM CST
Where: Hamilton County, Giltner
Measured: 1 in hail
Property damage: $25,000
Crop damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 40.780, -98.150

Hail, Nance

When: May 11, 6:58 PM CST
Where: Nance County, 7 mi W of Fullerton
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Property damage: $10,000
Crop damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 41.370, -98.120

Hail, York

When: May 11, 7:15 PM CST
Where: York County, Waco
Measured: 2.5 in hail
Property damage: $80,000
Crop damage: $300,000
Coordinates: 40.900, -97.450

Hail, Fillmore

When: May 11, 7:30 PM CST
Where: Fillmore County, Shickley
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Property damage: $20,000
Crop damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 40.420, -97.720

Hail, Hamilton

When: May 11, 7:45 PM CST
Where: Hamilton County, Stockham
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Property damage: $20,000
Crop damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 40.720, -97.970

Hail, Merrick

When: May 11, 7:55 PM CST
Where: Merrick County, 1 mi W of Central City
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Property damage: $45,000
Crop damage: $350,000
Coordinates: 41.120, -98.020

Hail, Polk

When: May 11, 7:55 PM CST
Where: Polk County, Osceola
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Property damage: $20,000
Crop damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 41.180, -97.550

Hail, Fillmore

When: May 11, 7:58 PM CST
Where: Fillmore County, Exeter
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Property damage: $20,000
Crop damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 40.650, -97.450

Tornado, Thayer

When: May 11, 8:00 PM CST to 8:05 PM CST
Where: Thayer County, Gilead to 1 mi NW of Gilead
Rating: F0
Path length: 2.5 mi
Path width: 25 yd
Property damage: $10,000
Crop damage: $10,000
Coordinates: 40.130, -97.480

Hail, Hamilton

When: May 11, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Hamilton County, 10 mi SE of Aurora
Measured: 2 in hail
Crop damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 40.770, -97.870

Hail, Merrick

When: May 11, 8:05 PM CST
Where: Merrick County, Central City
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 41.120, -98.000

Hail, York

When: May 11, 8:08 PM CST
Where: York County, Mc Cool Jct
Measured: 1 in hail
Property damage: $10,000
Crop damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 40.750, -97.580

Hail, York

When: May 11, 8:09 PM CST
Where: York County, Bradshaw
Measured: 2 in hail
Property damage: $40,000
Crop damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 40.880, -97.730

Hail, Polk

When: May 11, 8:10 PM CST
Where: Polk County, 3 mi NE of Shelby
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Crop damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 41.230, -97.400

Hail, Thayer

When: May 11, 8:50 PM CST
Where: Thayer County, 1 mi S of Gilead
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Crop damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 40.120, -97.470

Hail, Polk

When: May 11, 8:52 PM CST
Where: Polk County, Polk
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Property damage: $20,000
Crop damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 41.080, -97.800

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Nebraska in 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Nebraska, 1998 Warnings in Nebraska, May 1998

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5644455, 5644456, 5644457, 5644458, 5644459, 5644460, 5644461, 5644556, 5644557, 5644558, 5644559, 5644560, 5644561, 5644562, 5644563, 5644564, 5644565, 5644566, 5644567, 5644568, 5644569, 5644570, 5644571, 5644572, 5644573, 5644574, 5644577, 5644575, 5644576.