Tornadoes and Hail in Nebraska, May 21, 1998

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in Nebraska, May 21, 1998
Start: 1998-05-21T18:10
End: 1998-05-21T23:50
Location: Nebraska

May 21, 1998 · NWS GID · 28 events in 11 counties and zones

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: $1.3 million
Crop damage: $7.6 million
Events: 28

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.

Two clusters of strong to severe thunderstorms erupted across south-central Nebraska in the evening and early morning hours. The first dumped hail as large as soft balls on Holdrege and the surrounding area. Dozens of cars and trucks were damaged or totaled by the large hail. A fertilizer operation southwest of town sustained major damage to a storage bin as the hail went through the steel roof. Roofs and siding was damaged along with windows broken and blown in. The first round of thunderstorms also spawned two brief tornado touchdowns to the west of Minden. Both were reported by trained spotters in the area. Large hail north of Arapahoe severely damaged the wheat crop in the area.The second round of storms rolled through around midnight CDT with torrential rains and wind driven hail. Damage was generally confined to crops and, in particular, across a part of northern Hamilton county. As many as fifty sections of beans, corn, and alfalfa were damaged by the wind and hail. Nine sections sustained major damage. Throughout the area, widespread one to four inch rains posed problems for low lying areas and waterlogged early season crops.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

22 hail, 4 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Gosper

When: May 21, 6:10 PM CST
Where: Gosper County, Smithfield
Measured: 1 in hail
Property damage: $15,000
Crop damage: $125,000
Coordinates: 40.580, -99.730

Hail, Kearney

When: May 21, 6:35 PM CST
Where: Kearney County, Axtell
Measured: 1 in hail
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $75,000
Coordinates: 40.480, -99.120

Hail, Phelps

When: May 21, 6:38 PM CST
Where: Phelps County, Holdrege
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Property damage: $50,000
Crop damage: $200,000
Coordinates: 40.450, -99.370

Hail, Kearney

When: May 21, 6:40 PM CST
Where: Kearney County, 3 mi W of Minden
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $150,000
Coordinates: 40.500, -99.000

Hail, Phelps

When: May 21, 6:47 PM CST
Where: Phelps County, Funk
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $150,000
Coordinates: 40.470, -99.250

Hail, Gosper

When: May 21, 6:58 PM CST
Where: Gosper County, 14 mi S of Elwood
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $300,000
Coordinates: 40.400, -99.850

Hail, Furnas

When: May 21, 7:05 PM CST
Where: Furnas County, 2 mi N of Arapahoe
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $300,000
Coordinates: 40.330, -99.900

Hail, Gosper

When: May 21, 7:15 PM CST
Where: Gosper County, Elwood
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Property damage: $50,000
Crop damage: $200,000
Coordinates: 40.600, -99.850

Hail, Phelps

When: May 21, 7:30 PM CST
Where: Phelps County, Holdrege
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Property damage: $1.0 million
Crop damage: $750,000
Coordinates: 40.450, -99.370

Tornado, Kearney

When: May 21, 7:35 PM CST
Where: Kearney County, 5 mi SW of Minden
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.2 mi
Path width: 25 yd
Crop damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 40.450, -99.020

Hail, Kearney

When: May 21, 8:25 PM CST
Where: Kearney County, 1 mi N of Axtell
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $200,000
Coordinates: 40.500, -99.120

Tornado, Kearney

When: May 21, 8:55 PM CST
Where: Kearney County, 5 mi W of Minden
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.2 mi
Path width: 25 yd
Crop damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 40.500, -99.050

Hail, Kearney

When: May 21, 9:35 PM CST
Where: Kearney County, Heartwell
Measured: 4.5 in hail
Property damage: $50,000
Crop damage: $300,000
Coordinates: 40.570, -98.780

Hail, Hall

When: May 21, 9:45 PM CST
Where: Hall County, 5 mi S of Wood River
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Crop damage: $75,000
Coordinates: 40.750, -98.600

Hail, Buffalo

When: May 21, 10:00 PM CST
Where: Buffalo County, Kearney
Measured: 1 in hail
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $75,000
Coordinates: 40.700, -99.080

Hail, Gosper

When: May 21, 10:02 PM CST
Where: Gosper County, Elwood
Measured: 1 in hail
Crop damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 40.600, -99.850

Hail, Adams

When: May 21, 10:08 PM CST
Where: Adams County, 1 mi W of Hastings
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $150,000
Coordinates: 40.580, -98.400

Hail, Buffalo

When: May 21, 10:10 PM CST
Where: Buffalo County, Gibbon
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Crop damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 40.750, -98.830

Hail, Hall

When: May 21, 10:20 PM CST
Where: Hall County, 5 mi S of Doniphan
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 40.700, -98.370

Hail, Phelps

When: May 21, 10:30 PM CST
Where: Phelps County, Holdrege
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Crop damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 40.450, -99.370

Thunderstorm Wind, Clay

When: May 21, 10:50 PM CST
Where: Clay County, 3 mi S of Harvard
Measured: 65 kt (75 mph)
Property damage: $2,000
Crop damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 40.570, -98.100

Hail, Hall

When: May 21, 10:57 PM CST
Where: Hall County, Alda
Measured: 2 in hail
Property damage: $15,000
Crop damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 40.870, -98.470

Hail, Phelps

When: May 21, 11:07 PM CST
Where: Phelps County, Funk
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Crop damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 40.470, -99.250

Hail, Hamilton

When: May 21, 11:10 PM CST
Where: Hamilton County, 12 mi NE of Aurora
Measured: 1 in hail
Property damage: $10,000
Crop damage: $3.5 million
Coordinates: 40.980, -97.830

Hail, Fillmore

When: May 21, 11:30 PM CST
Where: Fillmore County, 10 mi W of Geneva
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $10,000
Crop damage: $300,000
Coordinates: 40.530, -97.770

Thunderstorm Wind, Fillmore

When: May 21, 11:45 PM CST
Where: Fillmore County, Strang
Measured: 69 kt (79 mph)
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $75,000
Coordinates: 40.420, -97.580

Thunderstorm Wind, Fillmore

When: May 21, 11:50 PM CST
Where: Fillmore County, Fairmont
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Crop damage: $15,000
Coordinates: 40.630, -97.570

Thunderstorm Wind, Franklin

When: May 21, 11:50 PM CST
Where: Franklin County, Hildreth
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Crop damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 40.330, -99.030

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.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

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: 5645569, 5645570, 5645571, 5645572, 5645573, 5645574, 5645646, 5645647, 5645648, 5645649, 5645650, 5645651, 5645652, 5645653, 5645654, 5645655, 5645656, 5645657, 5645658, 5645659, 5645660, 5645661, 5645662, 5645663, 5645664, 5645665, 5645666, 5645667.