Hail in Nebraska, April 16, 2002

Name: Hail in Nebraska, April 16, 2002
Start: 2002-04-16T20:44
End: 2002-04-16T20:44
Location: Nebraska

April 16, 2002 · NWS OAX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 hail, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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 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 Omaha, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 16, 2:05 PM CST, 6 hours 39 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 16, 2:05 PM CST, 6 hours 39 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE
305 PM CDT TUE APR 16 2002

MAIN PROBLEM IS SEVERE POTENTIAL BEFORE 06Z TNGT.  LATEST SURFACE
ANALYSIS EARLY THIS AFTN SHOWED CDFNT AND DRYLINE ADVANCING EWD.
HIGH BASED CONVECTION IN SWLY FLOW ALOFT DID CAUSE SOME SPRINKLES
AND A FEW LTG STRIKES...BUT SO FAR WAS INSIGNIFICANT.  MAIN ACTION
STARTING TO DEVELOP ALONG CDFNT.  PARAMETERS LOCALLY DO NOT APPEAR
TO BE JUXTAPOSITIONED FOR WIDESPREAD SEVERE...BUT THE 12Z MODELS
STILL INDICATED POTENTIAL FOR A SQUALL LINE IN NERN NE.  THE
QUESTION IS...WILL STORMS CONT TO DEVELOP ALONG THE FNT.  DECIDED
TO LOWER POPS JUST A BIT IN SWRN IA...FROM THE LATE MORNING ZFP
UPDATE.   THE CHANCE OF PCPN SHOULD DECREASE AFTER MIDNIGHT.  HIGH
PRES SHOULD BUILD OVER THE AREA LATE TNGT WITH WINDS BECOMING
VARIABLE LESS THAN 10 MPH.  WILL KEEP WIND ADVISORY GOING ERN
ZONES THIS EVENING.

RETURN FLOW STRENGTHENS DURING THE DAY WED...WITH A WARM FRONT
LIFTING BACK TO THE N.  HAVE INCLUDED A SLGT CHANCE OF LATE DAY
TSTMS IN SWRN IA...THEN CONT THAT CHANCE WED NGT MOST AREAS.
SOUTH WINDS SHOULD HELP KEEP TEMPS UP INTO THE 50S.  ON THU...
FNT WILL ADVANCE INTO OUR AREA.  NERN NE WILL SEE THE BULK OF
THE COOLING WITH THIS FNT ON THU...BUT SERN HALF OF THE AREA
SHOULD STILL REACH NEAR 80.  WEATHER LATER IN THE WEEK WILL BE
QUITE A BIT COOLER THAN THE LAST FEW DAYS.  HAVE GONE WITH A
CHANCE OF SHOWERS FRI...THEN AGAIN ON SUN AND MON.

MILLER
...

1040 AM CDT TUE APR 16 2002

UPDATED ZFP TO ADD WIND ADVISORY MOST AREAS.  WIND ALREADY THERE AND
MESOETA SHOWS BOUNDARY LAYER WINDS CRANKING UP TO 35-40 KTS THIS
AFTN.  LIGHT PCPN OVER KS THAT DEVELOPED ABOVE THE CAP WILL CONT TO
LIFT NEWD AND MAY THROW A WRENCH INTO LATEST THINKING.  OTHERWISE
MODELS CONT TO KEY ON CDFNT AND SEVERE POTENTIAL IN CENTRAL AND
NERN NE LATER TODAY.  MORE DISCUSSION LATER.

MILLER
...

205 AM CDT TUE APR 16 2002

FORECAST CHALLENGES -- SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL THIS
AFTERNOON/EVENING.

SYNOPSIS -- EARLY MORNING MOISTURE CHANNEL IMAGERY SHOWED A BROAD
MID LEVEL TROUGH OVER THE WRN U.S. WITH A WEAK SHORTWAVE CURRENTLY
TRANSLATING ACROSS WRN NEB.  AT THE SURFACE, A LOW WAS CENTERED OVER
THE NEB PNHDL AS OF 06Z WITH A WARM FRONT EXTENDING NEWD INTO CNTRL
SD, AND AN ATTENDANT DRYLINE FROM THE LOW SWD INTO THE ERN TX
PNHDL.  INSPECTION OF 00Z/16 PLAINS SOUNDINGS INDICATED THAT
SUFFICIENTLY DEEP LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE HAD MADE IT AS FAR N AS TOP.
CURRENT PLAN VIEW PROFILER DATA IS SHOWING A LOW-LEVEL JET OF 50-70
KTS OVER THE CNTRL PLAINS, SO BELIEVE THAT THE 60 DEGREE SURFACE
DEWPOINTS/DEVELOPING STRATUS PROBABLY MARK THE NRN EXTENT OF THIS
DEEPER MOISTURE.

FORECAST --  THE LATEST RUNS OF BOTH THE ETA AND AVN HAVE TRENDED TO
A SLIGHTLY MORE PROGRESSIVE AND MORE AMPLIFIED SOLUTION WITH RESPECT
TO THE SHORTWAVE THAT WILL EJECT ACROSS THE NRN/CNTRL PLAINS THIS
AFTERNOON.  OVERALL PATTERN RECOGNITION INDICATES A FAVORABLE SEVERE
WEATHER SETUP, BUT INCREASING CIRRUS FROM THE S AND WEAK MID-LEVEL
WIND FIELDS CURRENTLY OVER THE PLAINS (REF. 500 MB PROFILER WINDS)
MUDDY THE WATERS.  BY THIS AFTERNOON, SURFACE DEWPOINTS IN THE LOWER
TO MID 60S OVER ERN NEB LOOK REASONABLE, AND THIS SHOULD YIELD CAPES
OF 2000-3000 J/KG.  ETA PROGGED KINEMATIC AND THERMODYNAMIC DATA
SUGGEST THAT THE BEST COMBINATION OF INSTABILITY AND DEEP-LAYERED
SHEAR WILL RESIDE OVER NERN NEB THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING,  WHICH
IS CONSISTENT WITH THE LATEST SPC DAY 1 CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK.
ALTHOUGH ETA FORECAST SOUNDINGS SUGGEST RELATIVELY HIGH LCL HEIGHTS
IN THE WARM SECTOR AND SLIGHTLY VEERED NEAR-SURFACE WINDS, A
LOCATION TO WATCH WILL BE TO THE IMMEDIATE N AND NE OF A SECONDARY
LOW THAT IS FORECAST TO MOVE FROM CNTRL INTO NERN NEB BY 00Z.  LOCAL
HODOGRAPHS SHOULD IMPROVE IN THIS AREA OWING TO THE BACKED SURFACE
WINDS.

FARTHER S, WEAKER SYNOPTIC ASCENT AND ITS AFFECTS ON THE CONVECTIVE
INHIBITION MAKE CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT MUCH MORE CONDITIONAL.
BELIEVE THINGS MAY NOT GET GOING UNTIL WE SEE THE COLD FRONT/DRYLINE
OCCLUSION AFTER 00Z.

THE COLD FRONT PUSHES THROUGH THE AREA TONIGHT, WITH A WEAK
ANTICYCLONE PROGRESSING TO THE E ON WEDNESDAY.  BY WEDNESDAY
AFTERNOON, CYCLOGENESIS IS ALREADY FORECAST TO OCCUR OVER SERN WY
WITH A WARM FRONT DEVELOPING ACROSS NRN KS.  THIS WARM FRONT WILL
RAPIDLY MOVE NWD WEDNESDAY EVENING AS THE ASSOCIATED SURFACE LOW
MOVES INTO SD.  THE ETA AND AVN SHOW DIFFERENCES ON THE TIMING AND
LOCATION OF THIS LOW AND THE ASSOCIATED MID LEVEL SHORTWAVE.
NONETHELESS, WARM ADVECTION (SEEN IN THE 850-700MB Q-VECTOR FIELDS)
INCREASES SIGNIFICANTLY ACROSS OUR NRN ZONES, ALONG WITH A RAPID
MOISTURE RETURN.  WE WILL CARRY A CHANCE OF THUNDER ACROSS THE FAR N
AND KEEP THE REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST DRY.

WE WILL SEE ANOTHER FRONTAL PASSAGE ON THURSDAY AND AT THIS TIME, IT
APPEARS THAT DEVELOPING SWLY SURFACE WINDS AHEAD OF THE FRONT MAY
SWEEP THE MOISTURE OUT PRIOR TO FROPA.  THUS, WE WILL TRIM BACK ON
THE POPS AND ONLY CARRY A CHANCE OF AFTERNOON THUNDER ACROSS THE S.

A BROAD AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE ESTABLISHES ITSELF OVER THE NRN PLAINS
THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE WORKWEEK AS THE MODELS DIVERGE ON THE
TIMING OF THE NEXT SIGNIFICANT SHORTWAVE INTO THE PLAINS.  WE WILL
LOOK AT THE NEW MRF WHEN IT ARRIVES AND MAKE CHANGES TO THE EXTENDED
IF NECESSARY.

MEAD

IF YOU HAVE COMMENTS ON THE NEW FORECAST DISCUSSION FORMAT...PLEASE
E-MAIL THEM TO W-OAX.WEBMASTER@NOAA.GOV OR CALL DAVE THEOPHILUS AT
402 359-5166.

.OMA...NONE.

MILLER

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 16, 7:12 PM CST, 1 hour 32 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE
812 PM CDT TUE APR 16 2002

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0736 PM    NORFOLK                   NE   .75 INCH HAIL
04/16/02   MADISON                        REPORTED BY STORM
                                          SPOTTER.

0755 PM    TEKAMAH                   NE   .88 INCH HAIL
04/16/02   BURT                           REPORTED BY STORM
                                          SPOTTER.

Local storm report, Apr 16, 7:42 PM CST, 1 hour 2 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE
842 PM CDT TUE APR 16 2002

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0800 PM    5 SW BLENCOE              IA   1 INCH HAIL
04/16/02   MONONA                         REPORTED BY PUBLIC.
                                          HAIL SMALLER THAN PING
                                          PONG BALL SIZE.

0810 PM    PLATTE CENTER             NE   .75 INCH HAIL
04/16/02   PLATTE                         REPORTED BY STORM
                                          SPOTTER.

0830 PM    PENDER                    NE   65 MPH TSTM GUST
04/16/02   THURSTON                       18TH AND X ST. REPORTED
                                          BY HAM RADIO OPERATOR.

Local storm report, Apr 16, 8:02 PM CST, 42 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE
902 PM CDT TUE APR 16 2002

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0520 PM    8 NNE STANTON             NE   .75 INCH HAIL
04/16/02   STANTON                        REPORTED BY PUBLIC.

0849 PM    SNYDER                    NE   60 MPH TSTM GUST
04/16/02   DODGE                          REPORTED BY EMERGENCY
                                          MANAGEMENT.

0852 PM    FRIEND                    NE   .75 INCH HAIL
04/16/02   SALINE                         REPORTED BY EMERGENCY
                                          MANAGEMENT.

Special weather statement, Apr 16, 8:20 PM CST, 24 minutes before

NEZ012-017-018-031-032-042-043-170300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE
920 PM CDT TUE APR 16 2002

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 100 HAS BEEN CANCELED FOR
THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN NORTHEAST NEBRASKA...

CEDAR...PIERCE...WAYNE...MADISON...STANTON...PLATTE AND COLFAX.

THE THREAT OF THUNDERSTORMS HAVE SHIFTED EAST AND SOUTHEAST OF THE
REGION.

GW

Local storm report, Apr 16, 8:26 PM CST, 18 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE
926 PM CDT TUE APR 16 2002

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0600 PM    SURPRISE                  NE   .75 INCH HAIL
04/16/02   BUTLER                         REPORTED BY COOPERATIVE
                                          OBSERVER.

0902 PM    1 S HOOPER                NE   60 MPH TSTM GUST
04/16/02   DODGE                          REPORTED BY HAM RADIO
                                          OPERATOR.

0910 PM    WINSLOW                   NE   67 MPH TSTM GUST
04/16/02   DODGE                          REPORTED BY FIRE AND
                                          RESCUE. WIND DAMAGE TO
                                          BUILDINGS AND POWER
                                          LINES DOWN.

0911 PM    CERESCO                   NE   .75 INCH HAIL
04/16/02   SAUNDERS                       REPORTED BY HAM RADIO
                                          OPERATOR.

Local storm report, Apr 16, 8:36 PM CST, 8 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE
936 PM CDT TUE APR 16 2002

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0920 PM    ITHACA                    NE   .75 INCH HAIL
04/16/02   SAUNDERS                       REPORTED BY COOPERATIVE
                                          OBSERVER.

The radar

The Omaha radar (KOAX), 6 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:45 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Douglas

When: April 16, 8:44 PM CST
Where: Douglas County, 20 mi W of Omaha
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.267, -96.383

Reported by law enforcement at the intersection of highways 92 and 275.

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 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5291990.