Hail and Damaging Winds in Nebraska, August 16 to 17, 2002

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in Nebraska, August 16 to 17, 2002
Start: 2002-08-16T20:32
End: 2002-08-17T00:30
Location: Nebraska

August 16 to 17, 2002 · NWS LBF · 17 events in 10 counties and zones

A powerful cold front moved through North Central Nebraska.

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: $21,000
Crop damage: $19,000
Events: 17

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 LBF wrote it up.

A powerful cold front moved through North Central Nebraska. Strong northerly winds moved into the area behind the front with winds gusting to 52kts

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 North Platte, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 16, 2:02 PM CST, 6 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 16, 2:02 PM CST, 6 hours 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE
302 PM CDT FRI AUG 16 2002

...HIGH WIND WARNING TONIGHT...SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER ERN HALF
OF FCST AREA THIS EVENING...

ALL INDICATIONS ARE HIGH WINDS WILL BUFFET FCST AREA TONIGHT.
IMPRESSIVE 12MB 3HR PRESSURE RISE OVER NCNTL MT AT 19Z WILL SWEEP
THRU FCST TONIGHT.  QUICK LOOK AT 18Z ETA SHOWS NO SIGNIFICANT
WEAKENING TREND IN WIND FIELDS...THERMAL ADVECTION...3HR PRESSURE
CHANGES OR 850 MB WINDS.  HIGH WIND WATCH WILL BE UPGRADED TO HIGH
WIND WARNING WITH 345 PM ZONE FCST.  EXPECT 60 MPH GUSTS WITH 1 TO 3
HR PERIOD OF SUSTAINED 40 MPH WINDS.  AN ISOLD 65 MPH GUST SEEMS
LIKELY ACROSS WRN AND NWRN ZONES.

THIS AFTN...ATMOSPHERE IS BEGINNING TO BOIL OVER WITH ACCAS BEGINNING
TO DEVELOP.  LIS RUNNING -11 IN A VOLATILE HYBRID ATMOSPHERE...FAST
WESTERLIES BUT TROPICAL MOISTURE AND TEMPERATURES.  AREA OF
GREATEST CONCERN IS KANW-KONL WHERE DRYLINE BULGES INTO DEEPEST
MOISTURE. SIGNIFICANT SUPERCELL POTENTIAL 21Z-00Z THIS AFTN.

THEREAFTER...PER AVN SLIGHT CHC TSRA MONDAY AS MOISTURE RETURNS TO
FCST AREA BENEATH FAST WESTERLIES.

TUES AND BEYOND...D4 DROUGHT CONTINUES.

.LBF...HIGH WIND WARNING TONIGHT ALL OF WRN AND NCNTL NEB.

CDC

The radar

The North Platte radar (KLNX), 79 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 04:03 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

High Wind, Western Cherry

When: August 16, 8:32 PM CST to 9:30 PM CST
Where: Western Cherry forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 42.545, -101.119 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Eastern Cherry

When: August 16, 8:32 PM CST to 9:30 PM CST
Where: Eastern Cherry forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $1,000
Crop damage: $1,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 42.545, -101.119 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Blaine

When: August 16, 10:03 PM CST
Where: Blaine County, Brewster
Measured: 1 in hail
Property damage: $2,000
Crop damage: $1,000
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 41.933, -99.867

Thunderstorm Wind, Holt

When: August 16, 10:28 PM CST
Where: Holt County, 3 mi NW of Amelia
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $1,000
Crop damage: $1,000
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 42.267, -98.933

Five inch diameter limbs were broken off of trees.

Hail, Holt

When: August 16, 10:28 PM CST
Where: Holt County, 3 mi NW of Amelia
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 42.267, -98.933

Hail, Loup

When: August 16, 10:30 PM CST
Where: Loup County, 13 mi NNE of Taylor
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 41.933, -99.283

Hail, Garfield

When: August 16, 10:30 PM CST
Where: Garfield County, 1 mi S of Burwell
Measured: 1.25 in hail
Property damage: $3,000
Crop damage: $10,000
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 41.767, -99.133

Hail, Garfield

When: August 16, 10:48 PM CST
Where: Garfield County, 10 mi N of Burwell
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $10,000
Crop damage: $3,000
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 41.933, -99.133

Hail, Garfield

When: August 16, 10:50 PM CST
Where: Garfield County, 7 mi ESE of Burwell
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 41.750, -99.000

Thunderstorm Wind, Custer

When: August 16, 10:50 PM CST
Where: Custer County, 3 mi SE of Arnold
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $1,000
Crop damage: $1,000
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 41.400, -100.167

Five inch diameter limbs were broken off of trees.

Hail, Wheeler

When: August 16, 11:00 PM CST
Where: Wheeler County, 3 mi W of Ericson
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 41.783, -98.733

Hail, Holt

When: August 16, 11:05 PM CST
Where: Holt County, 2 mi SE of Chambers
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 42.183, -98.717

Hail, Custer

When: August 16, 11:30 PM CST
Where: Custer County, 3 mi W of Broken Bow
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 41.400, -99.700

Hail, Custer

When: August 16, 11:40 PM CST
Where: Custer County, 9 mi S of Broken Bow
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 41.267, -99.650

Thunderstorm Wind, Lincoln

When: August 17, 12:00 AM CST
Where: Lincoln County, 23 mi SSE of Brady
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $1,000
Crop damage: $1,000
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 40.733, -100.200

Three to four inch diameter tree limbs were broken off.

Thunderstorm Wind, Frontier

When: August 17, 12:22 AM CST
Where: Frontier County, 5 mi SW of Eustis
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $2,000
Crop damage: $1,000
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 40.617, -100.100

Six inch diameter trees were uprooted.

Hail, Frontier

When: August 17, 12:30 AM CST
Where: Frontier County, Eustis
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 40.667, -100.033

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 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Nebraska, August 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: 5313804, 5315278, 5313796, 5313791, 5313805, 5313792, 5313793, 5313794, 5313795, 5313797, 5313798, 5313799, 5313800, 5313801, 5313802, 5313803, 5313806.