Nebraska, 2002Flash Flooding in Nebraska, July 6, 2002
July 6, 2002 · NWS LBF · 4 events in 2 counties and zones
4 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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- Tropical storms and surge
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- Wind
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Open the live radar over this ground
- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $820,000
- Crop damage
- $50,000
- Events
- 4
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 North Platte, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 5, 11:10 PM MST, 7 hours 50 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 5, 11:10 PM MST, 7 hours 50 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE
110 AM CDT SAT JUL 06 2002
...PRECIP AMOUNTS AND TEMPERATURES MAIN CHALLENGE THIS FORECAST....
MODEL OF CHOICE IS ETA...SEEMED TO INITIALIZE WELL WITH WARM CORE
SYSTEM OVER SOUTHEAST COLORADO...MODELS MAY NOT BE HANDLING QPFS
VERY WELL WITH THIS TYPE OF SYSTEM.
AVN IS PROBABLY OVERDONE WITH PRECIP AMOUNTS..ETA SEEMS TO BE CLOSER
WITH WHAT HAS BEEN OCCURING THIS AM. KIML REPORTING AROUND HALF AN
INCH IN THE LAST COUPLE OF HOURS. PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES WELL
ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH THE PERIOD. WILL CARRY POPS AS HIGH AS 50 WEST
AND 30 NORTHEAST SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT. WILL GO BELOW GUIDANCE
WITH HIGHS SATURDAY RANGING FROM THE UPPER 70S WEST IN AREA OF MORE
SHOWERS AND CLOUD COVER TO THE LOWER 90S NORTHEAST. CLOUD COVER
REMAINS OVER MUCH OF CWA THROUGH SUN AFT...WILL CUT TEMPERATURES
BACK FROM GUIDANCE.
GRADUALLY WEAK UPPER LOW FILLS AS RIDGE BUILDS IN SUNDAY THROUGH
TUESDAY. ARRIVAL OF COOL FRONT WILL BE MAIN FOCUS FOR NEXT CHANCE
FOR PRECIP MONDAY AFTN AND EVENING MAINLY OVER NORTHEAST CWA.
NO CHANGE TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY.
.LBF...NONE.
POWER
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Jul 6, 4:03 AM MST, 2 hours 57 minutes before
NEZ004>010-022>029-035>038-056>059-069>071-094-061630-
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE
603 AM CDT SAT JUL 6 2002
...NO SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED TODAY OR TONIGHT ACROSS WESTERN AND
NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA...
AN UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM SLIDING ACROSS WESTERN NEBRASKA
WILL COMBINE WITH ABUNDANT LOW LEVEL MOISTURE TO PRODUCE SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA TODAY AND
INTO TONIGHT. HOWEVER...THESE ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN BELOW SEVERE
LEVELS.
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA WILL SPREAD ACROSS
THE WESTERN PORTIONS OF THE OUTLOOK AREA TODAY AND THEN INTO NORTH
CENTRAL NEBRASKA THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. PERSISTENT CLOUD COVER
AND SHOWERS WILL KEEP TEMPERATURES COOL AT THE GROUND WHILE
TEMPERATURES AT THE MID LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE WILL BE RATHER
WARM...ALLOWING ONLY MARGINAL INSTABILITY OVER THE AREA. LOCALLY
HEAVY RAIN WILL BE THE MAIN THREAT WITH THE SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS AS ABUNDANT MOISTURE IS AVAILABLE.
Flash Flood, Perkins
- When
- July 6, 7:00 AM MST to 10:00 AM MST
- Where
- Perkins County, North Portion
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Crop damage
- $30,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 40.851, -101.650 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A tropical-like system moved into Southwest Nebraska late Friday night and then became stationary through Saturday morning. Heavy rainfall continued over many hours with storm total rainfall from 5 to 8 inches. Large areas of corn fields and pastures were under water from the Keith/Perkins County line to near Grant. Flood water was over roads in many locations.
Flash Flood, Keith
- When
- July 6, 7:00 AM MST to 10:00 AM MST
- Where
- Keith County, South Portion
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $800,000
- Crop damage
- $20,000
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 41.199, -101.661 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A tropical-like system moved into Southwest Nebraska Friday night and Saturday. Thunderstorms formed along a stationary front and persisted over the same area . Total rainfall was from 8 to 11 inches. Flood waters began to inundate hotels and businesses along Interstate 80 in Ogallala at 7 AM MST. One bridge and numerous roads were damaged or washed out. One person was killed 4 miles west of Ogallala at 759 AM MST as a bridge approach collapsed on Interstate 80. There were 64 homes with water damage. Forty of the homes sustained minor damage while the remaining 24 were total losses or sustained major damage.
Flash Flood, Perkins
- When
- July 6, 6:56 PM MST to 7:56 PM MST
- Where
- Perkins County, 8 mi N of Grant
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 40.851, -101.650 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Highway 61 was closed due to water over the road. Water runoff occurred quickly as heavy rain from thunderstorms fell on already saturated ground from flash flooding early that morning.
Flash Flood, Keith
- When
- July 6, 7:25 PM MST to 8:25 PM MST
- Where
- Keith County, 4 mi S of Ogallala
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 41.199, -101.661 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Highway 61 was closed due to water over the road. Water runoff occurred quickly as heavy rain from thunderstorms fell on already saturated ground from flash flooding early that morning.
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
- Heat in Missouri, July 6 to 9, 20025 deaths · 1 event
- Flash Flooding in Texas, July 6 to 8, 2002$60 million · 9 events
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strikes in Oklahoma, July 6, 20021 death · 1 injured · $20,000 · 61 kt wind · 3 events
- Flash Flood in Texas, July 6, 20022 injured · $100,000 · 1 event
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, July 6, 2002$76,000 · 1.75 in hail · 18 events
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, July 6, 2002$72,000 · 1 in hail · 5 events
- Damaging Wind in Georgia, July 6, 2002$80,000 · 1 event
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in Georgia, July 6 to 7, 2002$48,000 · 9 events
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Wind in Texas, July 6, 2002$52,000 · 52 kt wind · 4 events
- Damaging Winds in Missouri, July 6, 2002$50,000 · 55 kt wind · 2 events
- Flash Flood in Texas, July 6, 2002$45,000 · 1 event
- Lightning Strike in North Carolina, July 6, 20023 injured · 1 event
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: 5303909, 5303910, 5303911, 5303912.