9 hail, 3 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
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 24, 11:20 AM MST, 2 hours 8 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE 120 PM CDT SAT AUG 24 2002 CLOUDS HAVE DISSIPATED OVER ALL BU THE SOUTHEAST PART OF THE FORECAST AREA. WILL UPDATE THE FORECAST TO REFLECT FEWER CLOUDS AND WARMER TEMPERATURES. THIS WILL ALSO AFFECT CONVECTION THIS EVENING, BUT THAT WILL BE COVERED BY THE NEW FORECAST CYCLE. SPRINGER AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION 255 AM CDT SAT AUG 24 2002 ...FORECAST CHALLENGE WILL BE THUNDERSTORM CHANCES THROUGH THE WEEKEND AND TEMPS THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD... U/A ANALYSIS AND SAT IMAGERY SHOWING H5 LOW SPINNING OVER EASTERN OREGON...LEAVING HIGH PLAINS WITH H5 RIDGE OVER SOUTHERN PORTION OF DESERT SW. WEAK WAVES IN FLOW WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE TOWARD CWA KEEPING THE THREAT OF TSRA IN FORECAST THROUGH WEEKEND. LATEST WAVE AT 04Z MOVING INTO EASTERN CO...KICKING OFF CONVECTION OVER EASTERN CO AND MAY LEAD TO DEVELOPMENT ACROSS CWA THIS MORNING. MCS OVER NORTH CENTRAL CWA MOVING SE AS PER CORFIDI VECTORS. LEFT EXIT REGION OF SUBTROPICAL JET ALSO AIDING IN ASCENT WHICH IS NOSED INTO THE ROCKIES OF COLORADO. SFC MAP NOT SO WELL DEFINED WITH CONVECTION ONGOING...BUT MAIN FEATUES SEEM TO BE SFC LOW OF SE COLORADO WITH FRONT EXTENDING EASTWARD NEAR THE KS/OK BORDER. INVERTED SFC TROF ALONG LEE OF ROCKIES INTO SE WYOMING...WITH NUMEROUS OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES APPARENT ON 8BIT REF...ALSO COULD BE FOCUS POINTS FOR CONVECTION TODAY. WILL PROBABLY BE DEALING WITH CONVECTION THROUGHOUT THE CWA THROUGH THE NEXT 48 HOURS. AS H25 JET AXIS SLOWLY MIGRATES NORTH...RIDGE IN SW IS ALLOWED TO EXPAND NORTHWARD PUTTING CWA IN NW FLOW AND ALLOWING ENERGY TO CONTINUE TO ROTATE AROUND RIDGE ONTO THE PLAINS. LOOKS LIKE BEST CHANCES WILL BE IN THE WEST AND SW THROUGH TONIGHT...SHIFTING TO NORTHERN AND EASTERN SECTIONS SUNDAY INTO MONDAY. TODAY...WAVE MOVING OUT THE HIGH PLAINS THIS MORNING AND FAVORED JET REGION SHOULD HELP CONVECTION CONTINUE ACROSS WESTERN CWA THIS MORNING...SHIFTING INTO EASTERN SECTIONS THIS AFTERNOON. NO SIGNIFICANT SFC BOUNDARY TO SPEAK OF BUT THERE WILL BE OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES TO CONTEND WITH. LOW LEVEL EAST/SOUTHEAST FLOW WILL KEEP THETA-E RIDGE OVER WESTERN PORTIONS OF CWA...ALSO AIDING IN GOOD VEERING PROFILES/WAA. TEMPS TODAY WILL BE TRICKY WITH CONVECTION AND ASSOC CLOUDINESS. WILL START OUT WITH NEAR 80/80 TO 85 DEGREE RANGE MOST PLACES WHICH IS NEAR GUIDANCE NUMBERS AND PREVIOUS FORECAST. TONIGHT BEST CHANCES SEEM TO BE ASSOC WITH UPSLOPE FLOW INTO HIGH PLAINS ALONG WITH THE THETA-E AXIS AND AREA OF STRONGEST 0-6KM SHEAR. STORMS SHOULD FIRE ACROSS EASTERN CO AND WY AND WITH WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT/CORFIDI VECTORS WILL ACCOUNT FOR A FEW STORMS MAKING IT INTO WESTERN CWA THORUGH THE EVENING HOURS. SHOULD DIE OUT AFTER SUNSET AS MODELS NOT INDICATING A STRONG LOW LVL JET AND LACK OF SFC BOUNDARY. SUNDAY WILL COOL TEMPS SLIGHTLY AS MODELS NOT REALLY SHOWING CYCLOGENESIS ACROSS SOUTH DAKOTA...BUT RATHER JUST A LEE SIDE TROF/DRY LINE. THIS FEATURE WILL MOVE EASTWARD OVER CWA LATE SUNDAY PROVIDING FOCUS FOR TSRA LATE SUNDAY AFTERNOON INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. STRONGER ENERGY ASSOC WITH UPPER LOW OVER NORTHERN PLAINS...WILL HELP PUSH TROF EASTWARD THROUGH CWA SUNDAY NITE. LIFT FROM SHORTWAVE...CONVERGENCE ALONG TROF AND LEFT EXIT QUAD OF UPPER JET WILL KEEP SLGHT POPS SUNDAY NITE. WARM-UP MONDAY INTO TUESDAY AS WEST COAST TROUGH DIGS AND RIDGE BUILDS OVER PLAINS...HOWEVER MODELS DIFFERING ON STRENGTH OF BOTH OF THESE FEATURES WITH AVN STRONGER ON BOTH ACCOUNTS. AS A RESULT WILL NOT MAKE ANY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO PREVIOUS FORECAST THROUGH THE EXTENDED. WILL KEEP SLIGHT CHANCES OF TSRA BOTH MONDAY/TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. .LBF...NONE. DP
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE, NE
1026 AM CDT SAT AUG 24 2002
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0850 PM 4 ENE GORDON NE 1.00 INCH HAIL
08/23/02 SHERIDAN
TRMNEZ004>010-022>029-035>038-056>059-069>071-094-242045- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE 1110 AM CDT SAT AUG 24 2002 ...STORM SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED TODAY AND TONIGHT ACROSS PORTIONS OF WESTERN NEBRASKA... CLEARING SKIES OVER PORTIONS OF THE NEBRASKA PANHANDLE AND SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA WILL ENABLE AN ALREADY UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE TO DESTABILIZE EVEN FURTHER THIS AFTERNOON. ABUNDANT MOISTURE REMAINS IN PLACE OVER THE OUTLOOK AREA. A SERIES OF UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE ACROSS AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT HELPING TO IGNITE ANOTHER ROUND OF THUNDERSTORMS. THE OUTLOOK AREA IS TO THE WEST OF A LINE FROM MERRIMAN...IN NORTHWEST CHERRY COUNTY...TO NORTH PLATTE. THE PRIMARY THREAT WITH THUNDERSTORMS THAT DO DEVELOP WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE, NE
1125 AM CDT SAT AUG 24 2002
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
1130 PM BROWNLEE NE WIND DAMAGE
08/23/02 EASTERN CHERRY MANY TREE LIMBS DOWN UP TO
6 INCHES IN DIAMETER.
TRMPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE, NE
1239 PM CDT SAT AUG 24 2002
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0050 AM MILLS NE WIND DAMAGE
08/23/02 KEYA PAHA SEVERE TREE DAMAGE FROM
MILLS TO NIOBRARA RIVER...
NUMEROUS LARGE LIMBS
DOWN...MATURE TREES BROKEN
OR BLOWN DOWN...SOME ROADS
BLOCKED DUE TO FALLEN
TREES.
JRSThe North Platte radar (KLNX), 183 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:28 UTC.
9 hail, 3 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail broke several windows at two farmsteads.
The tornado made a brief touchdown which damaged some out buildings and overturned a center pivot irrigation system.
Hail had to be removed by snow plows on Interstate 80 at mile marker 100 and on Highway 30 between Road 182 and 189.
The tornado touched down only briefly in open rangeland.
The tornado touched down only briefly in open rangeland.
Hail covered the ground.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nebraska in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Nebraska, 2002Warnings in Nebraska, August 2002
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: 5313915, 5313916, 5313917, 5313918, 5313919, 5313920, 5313922, 5313923, 5313921, 5313924, 5314004, 5314005, 5314006.