Hail in Nebraska, May 23, 1998

Name: Hail in Nebraska, May 23, 1998
Start: 1998-05-23T19:30
End: 1998-05-23T23:40
Location: Nebraska

May 23, 1998 · NWS GID · 16 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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $685,000
Crop damage: $6.5 million
Events: 16

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.

Late evening severe thunderstorms rolled across the northeast half of south-central Nebraska dropping hail and heavy rains with their passage. The thunderstorms moved southeast across Howard and Merrick counties near 10 pm and dumped hail the size of softballs near St. Paul and Palmer. Windshields were damaged and windows knocked out of homes near Palmer. Later, thunderstorms in Clay county dumped large hail and overturned a pivot system southeast of Saronville. Significant crop damage was reported in southeast Valley county and across Howard and Merrick counties. Much of the alfalfa crop was leveled as was much of the corn and soybeans in the path of the thunderstorms. Many farmers replanted their crops. In some places, drifts of hail were still in fields and lawns 24 hours after the thunderstorms passed.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

16 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Valley

When: May 23, 7:30 PM CST
Where: Valley County, Ord
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $45,000
Crop damage: $300,000
Coordinates: 41.600, -98.930

Hail, Valley

When: May 23, 7:45 PM CST
Where: Valley County, 6 mi NE of Ord
Measured: 2 in hail
Property damage: $60,000
Crop damage: $500,000
Coordinates: 41.670, -98.850

Hail, Greeley

When: May 23, 8:20 PM CST
Where: Greeley County, 2 mi W of Greeley
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Property damage: $80,000
Crop damage: $1.0 million
Coordinates: 41.550, -98.570

Hail, Greeley

When: May 23, 8:40 PM CST
Where: Greeley County, Wolbach
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Property damage: $80,000
Crop damage: $1.0 million
Coordinates: 41.400, -98.400

Hail, Sherman

When: May 23, 8:40 PM CST
Where: Sherman County, 4 mi N of Loup City
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Property damage: $20,000
Crop damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 41.330, -98.980

Hail, Howard

When: May 23, 8:50 PM CST
Where: Howard County, 5 mi SW of Cotesfield
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Property damage: $20,000
Crop damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 41.320, -98.530

Hail, Howard

When: May 23, 9:10 PM CST
Where: Howard County, Farwell
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $45,000
Crop damage: $300,000
Coordinates: 41.220, -98.630

Hail, Howard

When: May 23, 9:25 PM CST
Where: Howard County, 2 mi N of St Paul
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Property damage: $80,000
Crop damage: $1.0 million
Coordinates: 41.250, -98.470

Hail, Merrick

When: May 23, 9:30 PM CST
Where: Merrick County, Palmer
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Property damage: $80,000
Crop damage: $1.3 million
Coordinates: 41.220, -98.250

Hail, Hall

When: May 23, 9:45 PM CST
Where: Hall County, Grand Is
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Property damage: $25,000
Crop damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 40.920, -98.350

Hail, Merrick

When: May 23, 10:00 PM CST
Where: Merrick County, 2 mi E of Chapman
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Property damage: $20,000
Crop damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 41.020, -98.130

Hail, York

When: May 23, 10:26 PM CST
Where: York County, 3 mi N of Bradshaw
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Property damage: $20,000
Crop damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 40.930, -97.730

Hail, Hamilton

When: May 23, 10:40 PM CST
Where: Hamilton County, 5 mi E of Stockham
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Property damage: $10,000
Crop damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 40.720, -97.870

Hail, Clay

When: May 23, 11:10 PM CST
Where: Clay County, Saronville
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $40,000
Crop damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 40.600, -97.930

Hail, Fillmore

When: May 23, 11:25 PM CST
Where: Fillmore County, Shickley
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $40,000
Crop damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 40.420, -97.720

Hail, Thayer

When: May 23, 11:40 PM CST
Where: Thayer County, Bruning
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Property damage: $20,000
Crop damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 40.470, -97.530

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

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 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: 5644713, 5644714, 5644715, 5644716, 5644717, 5644718, 5644719, 5644720, 5644721, 5644722, 5644723, 5644724, 5644725, 5644726, 5644791, 5644792.