Hail and Damaging Winds in Nebraska, April 6, 2001

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in Nebraska, April 6, 2001
Start: 2001-04-06T01:30
End: 2001-04-06T23:30
Location: Nebraska

April 6, 2001 · NWS GID · 13 events in 9 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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: $12,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 13

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 Weather Awareness Week came to a fitting close in south-central Nebraska with two rounds of severe thunderstorms. The first round of severe weather occurred during the afternoon, while the second was during the late evening. In both cases, hail and strong winds were reported. Only minor damage resulted. Strong winds in the wake of the storms during the early morning hours also caused some minor damage in Fillmore and Furnas counties.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Hastings, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 5, 1:25 PM CST, 12 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 5, 1:25 PM CST, 12 hours 5 minutes before

SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
225 PM CDT THU APR 5 2001

SFC BOUNDARY STRETCHING FM SWRN KS INTO SERN NEB PRVD FOCUS FOR
SOME SVR TSRA TDA.  MEANWHILE...SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWED MSTR BEING
ADVECTED INTO SWRN NEB AS SPEED MAX ROUNDS BASE OF SRN CA LOW.  AZCN5
300 MB SPEED INCRD 110 KT AS OF 17Z .  PROFILER AT GDAC2 SHOWS SOME
LLVL BACKING OVR THE PAST CPL OF HRS...AND EXPECT THIS TREND TO CONT
WITH RESULTANT DRAG ON LLVL MSTR TOWARD THE NEB/KS BRDR THIS EVE.
AS OF 1915Z...RADAR ALREADY SHOWING SOME WEAK RTNS IN THESE AREAS.

1ST PROBLEM IS TSRA CHCS TNGT AS MDLS SHOW MSTR CNVRGNC FM SWRN
NEB...ACRS THE NCNTRL KS/NEB BRDR ZONES OF THE CWA WITH LOW PRES
DVLPMNT OVR ERN CO. NGM...AS USUAL IS FARTHER N WITH THE BOUNDARY...
TOO FAR BASED ON TREND OF LAST SVRL DAYS.  SFC BASED INSTABILITY MAY
NOT BOGGLE THE MIND WITH THE EXTENSIVE CLD COVER TDA...HOWEVER...
SHOWALTER INDICES/MID LVL LAPSE RATES/DEEPENING NEG EPV PROG...ALONG
WITH 850 TEMP ADVCTN PROG IND POTENTIAL FOR ELEVATED TSRA AS
ATMOSPHERE DESTABILIZES.  WL GO WITH LIKELY POPS FOR THE SRN ZONES AS
DVLPG LLVL JET...50 TO 55KT 850 WND ON META PROG...FEEDS AND CNVRGES
MSTR TWD THE NEB/KS BRDR AFTR MIDNGT AND AFTER DAYBREAK ON FRI.
PROGGED LAPSE RATES OF 7-8C ALONG WITH STRONG SPEED SHEAR ALOFT
POINT TO HAIL...POSSIBLE WND THREAT...SO WL THROW IN A SVR MENTION.

SVR OUTBREAK POTENTIAL FOR FRI RMNS ON TRACK AS MDLS CONT TO MATCH
THE CONCEPTUAL/HISTORICAL PICTURE OF A XG SPRINGTIME-NEGATIVELY-
TILTED MID LVL TROF.  500 MB TEMPS ON THIS MRNG UAA ARE ARND 25C BLO
IN THE SWRN STATES SYS.  META COND PRES DEF AND SFC WND SOLN PAINT
PICTURE OF WARM FRONT ADVNG FM THE S AND CLRG THE LLVL CLD COVER WITH
RESULTANT DESTABILIZATION.  BEST CHC OF SVR WX...INCLUDING TORNADO
POSSIBILITY LKS TO BE IN THE AFTN AND EARLY EVE AS THE MID LVL LOW
TILTS TO THE NEG WITH ARND -20C EXPECTED AT 500 MB. SFC WARM FRONT IS
PROGGED TO LIFT RAPIDLY NWD...SO PROGRESS OF THAT SHEAR ENHANCER WL
BE CRITICAL TO THE SITUATION...HOWEVER...DRYLINE ADVNG ON THE FLANK
ACRS NWRN KS WL ALSO HAVE TO BE DEALT WITH.  WL MAINTAIN HIGH POPS
WITH SVR MENTION INTO THE EVE HRS...WITH SHRA ENDING OVRNGT.

IN THE EFP...PATN EXPECTED TO REPEAT ARND MIDWEEK WITH MRF AND
CANADIAN FORECASTING ANOTHER MID LVL LOW ACRS THE CNTRL PLNS.
ONLY CHANGE TO EFP WL BE OF WORDING FOR TSRA.

.GID...NONE.

09

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 hail, 4 thunderstorm wind, 2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Fillmore

When: April 6, 1:30 AM CST
Where: Fillmore forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 40.525, -97.596 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Buffalo

When: April 6, 1:40 PM CST
Where: Buffalo County, 2 mi N of Kearney
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.733, -99.083

Hail, Phelps

When: April 6, 1:55 PM CST
Where: Phelps County, Funk
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates: 40.467, -99.250

Hail, Buffalo

When: April 6, 2:05 PM CST
Where: Buffalo County, Kearney
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.700, -99.083

Hail, Phelps

When: April 6, 2:10 PM CST
Where: Phelps County, 4 mi E of Holdrege
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.450, -99.283

Hail, Buffalo

When: April 6, 2:50 PM CST
Where: Buffalo County, Ravenna
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.033, -98.933

Hail, Howard

When: April 6, 2:55 PM CST
Where: Howard County, 2 mi NE of Cotesfield
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.383, -98.433

Hail, Howard

When: April 6, 3:15 PM CST
Where: Howard County, 3 mi W of Farwell
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.217, -98.683

Thunderstorm Wind, Webster

When: April 6, 9:25 PM CST
Where: Webster County, Red Cloud
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.100, -98.533

Thunderstorm Wind, Adams

When: April 6, 9:40 PM CST
Where: Adams County, Hastings
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
Coordinates: 40.583, -98.383

Thunderstorm Wind, Greeley

When: April 6, 11:10 PM CST
Where: Greeley County, 5 mi N of Scotia
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 41.533, -98.717

Thunderstorm Wind, Valley

When: April 6, 11:15 PM CST
Where: Valley County, 7 mi NE of Ord
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 41.667, -98.833

High Wind, Furnas

When: April 6, 11:30 PM CST
Where: Furnas forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.177, -99.912 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Nebraska, April 2001

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: 5239185, 5242492, 5242493, 5242494, 5242495, 5239177, 5239178, 5239179, 5239180, 5239181, 5239182, 5239183, 5239184.