Nebraska, 2002

Hail and Damaging Winds in Nebraska, April 16, 2002

April 16, 2002 · NWS GID · 31 events in 24 counties and zones

A powerful low pressure pushed a dryline and cold front across south-central Nebraska during the late afternoon and early evening hours. Thunderstorms erupted along the initial boundary in Polk and York counties.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 24 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$250,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
31

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.

A powerful low pressure pushed a dryline and cold front across south-central Nebraska during the late afternoon and early evening hours. Thunderstorms erupted along the initial boundary in Polk and York counties. Strong winds and hail resulted and there were numerous of building damage in the Shelby area along with widespread tree damage. Later that evening, thunderstorms fired again, this time southeast of Hastings. Several reports of dime size hail were received.As the dryline plowed across south-central Nebraska during the early evening hours, the result was a scene reminiscent of the 1930s. Winds gusts in excess of 60 mph were recorded in some areas. Freshly tilled fields and recent dry weather made for widespread areas of blowing dust, which was responsible for visibilities less than one mile at times. The highest wind gust of 78 mph was recorded near Gothenburg. Lexington and Ord both measured 60 mph. There were several auto accidents in the area which were indirectly related to the wind and poor visibility.

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 16, 1:30 PM CST, 1 hour 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 16, 1:30 PM CST, 1 hour 45 minutes before
SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
230 PM CDT TUE APR 16 2002

MAIN CHALLENGE IS POSSIBLE EVENING WEATHER...THEN TEMPERATURES.

LATEST SURFACE ANALYIS SHOWS DRIER AIR INVADING THE AREA...WITH DEW
POINTS ONLY HOLDING ON IN THE FAR EAST CWFA.  NEGATIVELY TILTED
UPPER SHORT WAVE SWINGING OUT OF SOUTHERN HIGH PLAINS WILL PROVIDE
PLENTY OF LIFT THIS EVENING...BUT WITH ONLY LIMITED MOISTURE TO WORK
WITH...THREAT OF THUNDERSTORMS...LET ALONE SEVERE WEATHER...NOW
QUITE SLIM IN GID CWFA.  BIGGEST THREAT WOULD BE WIND FROM A HIGH
BASED STORM IN THE NORTHEAST CWFA. WILL KEEP A SMALL POP FOR THE
EAST...NEAR THE 850 MB DEW POINT BOUNDARY...BUT REMOVE ELSEWHERE.

IN THE MEAN TIME...WINDS BEGINNING TO DIMINISH AS BOUNDARIES CROSS
THE AREA AND WILL LIKELY CANCEL THE WIND ADVISORY BY AFTN ZFP
ISSUANCE.  AS WINDS SHIFT TO THE NORTHWEST AND DIMINISH...TEMPS WILL
DROP TONIGHT...UNLIKE THE PAST FEW NIGHTS.  GUIDANCE GENERALLY
ACCEPTED.

QUICK RETURN FLOW SETS UP WEDNESDAY AND TEMPS SHOULD RECOVER
NICELY...MAYBE EVEN A BIT ABOVE GUIDANCE.  BUT STORMS NOT LIKELY TO
GET GOING UNTIL NIGHTTIME IN AN AREA OF LOW LEVEL THETA E
ADVECTION...WHICH WILL PLACE THE FOCUS NORTHEAST OF OUR AREA...SO
WILL LEAVE DRY.

NO BIG CHANGES TO THE EXTENDED PACKAGE.  COOLER AIR WORKS INTO THE
AREA THU NGT...BUT MOISTURE APPEARS TOO LIMITED TO PRODUCE ANY PCPN
EXCEPT MAYBE IN THE SOUTH.  MADE ONLY SLIGHT DOWNWARD ADJUSTMENTS TO
TEMPS FOR THE END OF THE WEEK AS UPPER TROUGH MOVES IN. BEST CHANCE
FOR RAIN LOOKS LIKE SUNDAY.

.GID...NONE.

DROZD

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Apr 16, 10:37 AM CST, 4 hours 38 minutes before
KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087-162130-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
1137 AM CDT TUE APR 16 2002

...SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED IN PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTH
CENTRAL NEBRASKA LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING...

STRONG DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL APPEAR TO BE THE MAIN THREAT
WITH DEVELOPING STORMS LATER THIS EVENING...MAINLY EAST OF A LINE
FROM HIGHWAY 281 AND NORTH OF INTERSTATE 80.

A VIGOROUS UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL EXIT THE CENTRAL ROCKIES
LATER TODAY...AND INTERACT WITH INCREASING INSTABILITY AND AN
ADVANCING DRY LINE...FOLLOWED BY A COLD FRONT CROSSING THROUGH
NEBRASKA THIS EVENING. THESE BOUNDARIES WILL BE THE TRIGGER FOR
THUNDERSTORM FORMATION OVER NEBRASKA AND POSSIBLY PARTS OF KANSAS.

THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP IN AREAS GENERALLY TO THE
NORTH AND EAST OF THE TRI CITIES LATE THIS AFTERNOON. FURTHER TO THE
SOUTH AND WEST...ACTIVITY OF A MORE ISOLATED NATURE WILL BE POSSIBLE.

AS THE COLD FRONT AND DRY LINE RACE EASTWARD ACROSS NEBRASKA LATE
THIS EVENING...THE THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL SUBSIDE.

SPOTTER GROUPS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL SHOULD CLOSELY
MONITOR THE WEATHER SITUATION THROUGHOUT THE DAY. AN UPDATED
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK WILL BE ISSUED AS CONDITIONS WARRANT.

The radar

The Omaha radar (KOAX), 98 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:14 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

24 high wind, 5 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, York

When
April 16, 3:15 PM CST
Where
York County, 3 mi NE of Waco
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
40.933, -97.417

Hail, York

When
April 16, 3:38 PM CST
Where
York County, 1 mi W of Mc Cool Jct
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.750, -97.600

Thunderstorm Wind, Polk

When
April 16, 4:15 PM CST
Where
Polk County, 3 mi NE of Shelby
Measured
57 kt (66 mph)
Property damage
$250,000
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
41.233, -97.400

High Wind, Adams

When
April 16, 4:15 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where
Adams forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.525, -98.501 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Buffalo

When
April 16, 4:15 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where
Buffalo forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.855, -99.075 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Clay

When
April 16, 4:15 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where
Clay forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.524, -98.051 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Dawson

When
April 16, 4:15 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where
Dawson forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.870, -99.820 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Fillmore

When
April 16, 4:15 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where
Fillmore forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.525, -97.596 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Franklin

When
April 16, 4:15 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where
Franklin forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.176, -98.953 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Furnas

When
April 16, 4:15 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where
Furnas forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.177, -99.912 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Gosper

When
April 16, 4:15 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where
Gosper forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.515, -99.831 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Greeley

When
April 16, 4:15 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where
Greeley forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
41.567, -98.521 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Hall

When
April 16, 4:15 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where
Hall forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.873, -98.502 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Hamilton

When
April 16, 4:15 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where
Hamilton forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.874, -98.023 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Harlan

When
April 16, 4:15 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where
Harlan forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.177, -99.405 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Howard

When
April 16, 4:15 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where
Howard forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
41.220, -98.517 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Kearney

When
April 16, 4:15 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where
Kearney forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.507, -98.948 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Merrick

When
April 16, 4:15 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where
Merrick forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
41.170, -98.038 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Nance

When
April 16, 4:15 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where
Nance forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
41.397, -97.992 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Nuckolls

When
April 16, 4:15 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where
Nuckolls forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.176, -98.047 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Phelps

When
April 16, 4:15 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where
Phelps forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.511, -99.414 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Polk

When
April 16, 4:15 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where
Polk forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
41.187, -97.568 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Sherman

When
April 16, 4:15 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where
Sherman forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
41.221, -98.976 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Thayer

When
April 16, 4:15 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where
Thayer forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.176, -97.595 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Valley

When
April 16, 4:15 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where
Valley forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
41.567, -98.982 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Webster

When
April 16, 4:15 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where
Webster forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.176, -98.500 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, York

When
April 16, 4:15 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where
York forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.873, -97.597 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Clay

When
April 16, 7:05 PM CST
Where
Clay County, Edgar
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.367, -97.967

Hail, Nuckolls

When
April 16, 7:20 PM CST
Where
Nuckolls County, Oak
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.233, -97.850

Hail, Fillmore

When
April 16, 7:24 PM CST
Where
Fillmore County, Shickley
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.417, -97.717

Hail, Thayer

When
April 16, 7:25 PM CST
Where
Thayer County, Davenport
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.317, -97.800

What these are

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.
Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Nebraska in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Nebraska, April 2002

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: 5280720, 5280721, 5280722, 5280849, 5280850, 5280851, 5280852, 5280853, 5280854, 5280855, 5280856, 5280857, 5280858, 5280859, 5280860, 5280861, 5280862, 5280863, 5280864, 5280865, 5280866, 5280867, 5280868, 5280869, 5280870, 5280871, 5280872, 5280873, 5280874, 5280875, 5280876.