Drought in Nebraska, December 1 to 31, 2002

Name: Drought in Nebraska, December 1 to 31, 2002
Start: 2002-12-01T00:00
End: 2002-12-31T23:59
Location: Nebraska

December 1 to 31, 2002 · NWS GID · 24 events in 24 counties and zones

The prolonged drought across central and south-central Nebraska occasionally was classified into the extreme to exceptional category this summer and fall. Most dry land crops were near a total loss and there was some decreased yield with irrigated crops.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: $480 million
Events: 24

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.

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 Nov 30, 1:59 PM CST, 10 hours 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 30, 1:59 PM CST, 10 hours 1 minute before

SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
159 PM CST SAT NOV 30 2002

UPPER AIR DATA SUITE AND WATER VAPOR IMAGERY PORTRAYING A RATHER
STAGNANT LARGE SCALE FLOW REGIME ACROSS NORTH AMERICA...AS A REX
BLOCK DOMINATES THE EASTERN PACIFIC/WESTERN NOAM...WHILE LARGE
SCALE TROUGH -- WITH VORTEX CENTERED NEAR HUDSON BAY -- PREVAILS
OVER THE EASTERN PART OF NOAM.

LATEST SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWING AXIS OF HIGH PRESSURE MEANDERING
THROUGH THE CENTRAL ROCKIES INTO WESTERN KANSAS. RATHER NON-DESCRIPT
SURFACE PATTERN OTHERWISE...WITH W/NW LOW LEVEL FLOW THROUGH THE
CENTRAL PLAINS...AS DOWNSLOPE COMPONENT/INSOLATION COUNTERACTING BOUT
OF CAA.

MAIN FOCUS OF THIS FORECAST PACKAGE IS DAY-TO-DAY TEMPERATURES...
WHILE ALSO EVALUATING SEEMINGLY MINOR PROSPECTS FOR PRECIPITATION
MONDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY.

NEGLIGIBLE OVERALL DIFFERENCES IN THE 12Z ETA/GFS THROUGH TUESDAY...
AS REX BLOCK GRADUALLY WEAKENS WITH UPPER LOW TRANSITIONING THROUGH
THE SOUTHWEST CONUS...ALL WHILE LARGE SCALE TROUGH REMAINS OVER
EASTERN NOAM WITH VORTEX CURRENTLY OVER HUDSON BAY PIVOTING TOWARD
THE NEW ENGLAND STATES. SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE REMAINS THE DOMINANT
FEATURE THROUGH SUNDAY OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS...UNTIL YET ANOTHER
MID LEVEL TROUGH/COLD FRONT SKIRTS THROUGH THE AREA SUNDAY NIGHT/
EARLY MONDAY MORNING...WITH SOME COOLER AIR FILTERING IN ON MONDAY.
TEMPERATURES TONIGHT SIMILAR TO LAST NIGHTS...WITH A LITTLE BOOST TO
HIGH TEMPS SUNDAY GIVEN WAA...FULL LATE NOVEMBER INSOLATION...AND
DOWNSLOPE TRAJECTORIES OVER DRY GROUND. MONDAY HIGH TEMPS A LITTLE
TRICKY GIVEN ARRIVAL OF COOLER AIR/CLOUD COVER...BUT WILL GENERALLY
SPLIT THE DIFFERENCE ON NUMERICAL GUIDANCE WITH TEMPS RANGING
THROUGH THE 40S FROM NE TO SW ACROSS THE CWA.

FRONTOGENESIS/BAROCLINIC ZONE ENHANCEMENT MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY
OVER THE CENTRAL ROCKIES/PLAINS AS UPPER LOW SPINS THROUGH THE FOUR
CORNERS AREA AND NORTHERN STREAM SHEARED UPPER TROUGH AXIS SLIDES
SOUTHWARD THROUGH THE NORTHER TIER OF STATES. WILL KEEP OVERALL
PRECIPITATION CHANCES MINIMAL MONDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY...WITH BEST
PROSPECTS -- IN A RELATIVE SENSE -- CONFINED TO THE WESTERN PORTIONS
OF THE CWA THROUGH THAT PERIOD GIVEN PROXIMITY TO BEST UPSLOPE
COMPONENT.

IN THE EXTENDED...LITTLE CHANGES TO THE LARGE SCALE PATTERN NEXT WEEK
AS SUGGESTED BY OPERATIONAL GFS/EUROPEAN AND MEDIUM RANGE ENSEMBLE
ASSORTMENT. SPLIT FLOW/MEAN UPPER RIDGING PERSISTS FROM THE EAST
PACIFIC INTO THE WESTERN CONUS...WHILE LARGE SCALE TROUGH REMAINS
DOMINANT FEATURE THROUGH EASTERN CANADA AND THE NORTHEAST CONUS.

OUTER PERIOD PRECIPITATION CHANCES APPEAR VERY SLIM AND WOULD BE
HIGHLY DEPENDENT UPON POTENTIAL/TIMING OF EMBEDDED SHORTWAVE TROUGHS/
FRONTS TRANSLATING ALONG PERIPHERY OF STAGNANT EASTERN NOAM LARGE
SCALE TROUGH. DRY FORECAST CONTINUES ACCORDINGLY MIDWEEK ONWARD. AS
THE CWA REMAINS ON PERIPHERY OF THE MEAN TROUGH...THIS WILL ALLOW FOR
SOME UPWARD TEMPERATURE MODIFICATION AFTER MIDWEEK...WHILE ANOTHER
PASSING BOUT OF COLD AIR MAY KNOCK TEMPERATURES BACK SOMETIME
IN/AROUND THE WEEKEND. IN ALL...WILL KEEP TEMPS CLOSE TO SEASONAL
NORMS IN ACCORDANCE WITH ENSEMBLE CONSENSUS/EUROPEAN GUIDANCE AND
ABOVE PERPETUALLY COOL GFS NUMBERS.

.GID...NONE.

GUYER

Hazardous weather outlook, Nov 30, 4:38 AM CST, 19 hours 22 minutes before

KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087-011200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
438 AM CST SAT NOV 30 2002

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND
PARTS OF NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS.

.DAY ONE...

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED TODAY OR TONIGHT.

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED THROUGH FRIDAY.

09

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

24 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Adams

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Adams forecast zone
Crop damage: $20 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.525, -98.501 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Buffalo

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Buffalo forecast zone
Crop damage: $20 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.855, -99.075 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Clay

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Clay forecast zone
Crop damage: $20 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.524, -98.051 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Dawson

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Dawson forecast zone
Crop damage: $20 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.870, -99.820 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Fillmore

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Fillmore forecast zone
Crop damage: $20 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.525, -97.596 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Franklin

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Franklin forecast zone
Crop damage: $20 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.176, -98.953 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Furnas

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Furnas forecast zone
Crop damage: $20 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.177, -99.912 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Gosper

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Gosper forecast zone
Crop damage: $20 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.515, -99.831 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Greeley

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Greeley forecast zone
Crop damage: $20 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.567, -98.521 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Hall

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Hall forecast zone
Crop damage: $20 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.873, -98.502 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Hamilton

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Hamilton forecast zone
Crop damage: $20 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.874, -98.023 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Harlan

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Harlan forecast zone
Crop damage: $20 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.177, -99.405 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Howard

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Howard forecast zone
Crop damage: $20 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.220, -98.517 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Kearney

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Kearney forecast zone
Crop damage: $20 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.507, -98.948 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Merrick

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Merrick forecast zone
Crop damage: $20 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.170, -98.038 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Nance

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Nance forecast zone
Crop damage: $20 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.397, -97.992 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Nuckolls

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Nuckolls forecast zone
Crop damage: $20 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.176, -98.047 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Phelps

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Phelps forecast zone
Crop damage: $20 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.511, -99.414 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Polk

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Polk forecast zone
Crop damage: $20 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.187, -97.568 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Sherman

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Sherman forecast zone
Crop damage: $20 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.221, -98.976 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Thayer

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Thayer forecast zone
Crop damage: $20 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.176, -97.595 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Valley

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Valley forecast zone
Crop damage: $20 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.567, -98.982 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Webster

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Webster forecast zone
Crop damage: $20 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.176, -98.500 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, York

When: December 1, 12:00 AM CST to December 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where: York forecast zone
Crop damage: $20 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.873, -97.597 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Drought: A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.

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, December 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: 5321478, 5321479, 5321480, 5321481, 5321482, 5321483, 5321484, 5321485, 5321486, 5321487, 5321488, 5321489, 5321490, 5321491, 5321492, 5321493, 5321494, 5321495, 5321496, 5321497, 5321498, 5321499, 5321500, 5321501.