Tornadoes and Hail in Nebraska, June 10, 2002

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in Nebraska, June 10, 2002
Start: 2002-06-10T18:29
End: 2002-06-10T23:50
Location: Nebraska

June 10, 2002 · NWS GID · 13 events in 7 counties and zones

Scattered severe thunderstorms developed during the evening hours across portions of south-central Nebraska. The storms started out just south of Grand Island and spread east.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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: $375,000
Crop damage: $500,000
Events: 13

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.

Scattered severe thunderstorms developed during the evening hours across portions of south-central Nebraska. The storms started out just south of Grand Island and spread east. Two tornadoes were observed from these storms. The first was in northern Clay county and was reported by a storm chaser to have set down for about a mile. The second was observed by an off duty NWS meteorologist and was only one the ground for a brief time. No damage occurred from either tornado. Very heavy rains were reported across Hamilton county were some flooding occurred. Numerous hail reports from the area indicated that stones ranged from the size of nickels to golf balls.

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 Jun 10, 1:12 PM CST, 5 hours 17 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 10, 1:12 PM CST, 5 hours 17 minutes before

SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
212 PM CDT MON JUN 10 2002

FRONTAL MOVEMENT AND ASSOCIATED WEATHER MAIN CONCERN TODAY.

18Z SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWS FRONT HAS ENTERED THE NW CWFA. KUEX SHOWS
IT BETWEEN KLXN AND KEAR.  KUEX ALSO SHOWS A CONVERGENT AREA JUST
WEST OF THE RADAR IN FRANKLIN COUNTY.  EXPECT STORMS TO FIRE ON THE
FRONT OR AS THESE BOUNDARIES MERGE 20Z-21Z. BY THAT TIME CONVECTIVE
TEMPS SHOULD BE REACHED.

GID CWFA IS IN BETWEEN VERY CAPPED OFF SOUNDING AT KLBF THIS MORNING
AND NO CAP AT KOMA.  SHOULD BE SUFFICENT TO HOLD STORMS OFF UNTIL
EXPLOSIVE DEVELOPMENT CAN TRANSPIRE.

PRESSURE RISES BEHIND THE FRONT DECREASING A BIT AND WINDS BECOMING
MORE NNE VS NW SUGGESTING WESTERN SIDE OF FRONT SLOWING DOWN.  THIS
IS CONSISTENT WITH PROGS SHOWING FRONT HANGING UP JUST SOUTH OF CWFA
TONIGHT AS LOW PRESSURE DEVELOPS IN KS.  THIS SHOULD LEAD TO BETTER
LOW LEVEL SHEAR WHICH WILL ENHANCE TORNADO THREAT ALREADY IN EXISTENCE
ALONG ALL BOUNDARIES TODAY DUE TO AMOUNT OF INSTABILITY
PRESENT...WHICH SHOULD TOP OUT BETWEEN 3 AND 4 KJ/KG.

STORMS SHOULD SUSTAIN OVERNIGHT WITH DIFLUENT UPPER FLOW AND FORCING
NEAR BOUNDARY.  AMOUNT OF MOISTURE WILL BE CONDUCIVE TO VERY HEAVY
RAINFALL AND SOME TRAINING POSSIBLE LATER TONIGHT IN DIFLUENT
THICKNESS AREA AS FRONT LAYS OUT EAST/WEST.  WILL NOT ISSUE FFA
TONIGHT AS ANTECEDENT CONDITIONS FAIRLY DRY. EXCEPTION WOULD BE
PARTS OF MITCHELL COUNTY WHICH RECEIVED 1-2 INCHES OF RAIN THIS
MORNING.

LIFT AND THUS THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD PERSIST INTO TUES MORNING.
BOUNDARY MAY STILL BE HUNG UP IN SE CWFA OR MOVE BACK NORTH IN THE
AFTERNOON.  EITHER WAY IT APPEARS THAT STORMS COULD FIRE UP AGAIN IN
THE AFTERNOON THERE AND EXPAND NORTHWARD OVERNIGHT AS LLJ THROWS
MOISTURE BACK NORTH OF FRONT.  FLASH FLOOD WATCH MAY BE NEEDED TUES
NIGHT IF RAINS PAN OUT TONIGHT AND HVY QPF PROGS OF ETA STILL HAVE A
CHANCE TO MATERIALIZE TUES NIGHT.  AGAIN...STORMS COULD PERSIST INTO
WED MORNING.

TEMPS WILL BE TRICKY WITH BOUNDARY AND ROUNDS OF CONVECTION. HAVE
TRENDED A BIT TOWARD HIGHER ETA DEW POINTS AND THUS WARMER LOW
TEMPERATURES.  ALSO HAVE WENT A BIT WARMER IN THE DAYTIME WITH A
SLIGHTLY FARTHER NORTHWARD FRONTAL POSITION.

HAVE INSERTED A CHANCE FOR TSTMS NW CWFA WED EVENING AS MID LEVEL
SHORT WAVE INDUCED SURFACE TROUGH ACROSS NW NEBR ENHANCES MOISTURE
CONVERGENCE UNDER COOL TEMPS ALOFT.   HAVE ALSO INTRODUCED A CHANCE
FOR STORMS SUNDAY NIGHT IN RETURN FLOW AFTER A FEW DAYS OF HIGH
PRESSURE AND LOWER HUMIDITIES.

.GID...NONE.

DROZD

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jun 10, 3:22 PM CST, 3 hours 7 minutes before

KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087-111200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
422 PM CDT MON JUN 10 2002

...SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE NEEDED THIS EVENING ACROSS NORTH
CENTRAL KANSAS AND PARTS OF SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA...

THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP ALONG A SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT ACROSS
SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS THIS EVENING.
STORMS ARE EXPECTED ALONG AND EAST OF A LINE FROM ST PAUL NEBRASKA
TO PHILLIPSBURG KANSAS.  THE STORMS WILL QUICKLY BECOME SEVERE WITH
THE PRIMARY THREAT BEING LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE
WINDS...HOWEVER THE THREAT OF TORNADOS EXISTS AS WELL.

INDIVIDUAL STORM MOVEMENT WILL BE NORTHEAST AT 20 TO 25 MPH...WHILE
THE ENTIRE STORM AREA GRADUALLY SHIFTS SOUTHEAST THROUGH SOUTH
CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS AS THE EVENING PROGRESSES.
HEAVY RAIN WILL ALSO ACCOMPANY THE STORMS THROUGH TONIGHT...AND SOME
LOCALIZED FLOODING WILL BE POSSIBLE.

AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVING INTO THE AREA TONIGHT WILL BRING
THE CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TO ALL OF SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND
NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS.

EMERGENCY MANAGERS AND STORM SPOTTERS SHOULD BE READY FOR ACTIVATION
THIS EVENING.

FAY

The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 50 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:27 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 hail, 2 tornado, 1 heavy rain, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Hall

When: June 10, 6:29 PM CST
Where: Hall County, Doniphan
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 40.767, -98.367

Hail, Hall

When: June 10, 6:55 PM CST
Where: Hall County, Doniphan
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
Coordinates: 40.767, -98.367

Heavy Rain, Hamilton

When: June 10, 7:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Hamilton County, Countywide
Property damage: $100,000
Crop damage: $500,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.874, -98.023 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Hamilton

When: June 10, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Hamilton County, Murphy
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 40.883, -98.117

Tornado, Clay

When: June 10, 7:23 PM CST to 7:26 PM CST
Where: Clay County, 5 mi NE of Inland
Rating: F0
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 20 yd
Reported by: STORM CHASER
Coordinates: 40.650, -98.150

Brief tornado touch down in northern Clay county.

Thunderstorm Wind, York

When: June 10, 7:30 PM CST
Where: York County, Henderson
Measured: 62 kt (71 mph)
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.783, -97.800

Tornado, Hamilton

When: June 10, 7:35 PM CST
Where: Hamilton County, 4 mi W of Stockham
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.2 mi
Path width: 20 yd
Reported by: NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
Coordinates: 40.717, -98.050

A brief touch down along the flanking line of the thunderstorm as reported by an off duty NWS meteorologist.

Hail, Hamilton

When: June 10, 7:40 PM CST
Where: Hamilton County, Aurora
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $75,000
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 40.867, -98.000

Hail, Hamilton

When: June 10, 7:45 PM CST
Where: Hamilton County, Giltner
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 40.783, -98.150

Hail, Merrick

When: June 10, 9:15 PM CST
Where: Merrick County, Clarks
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.200, -97.850

Hail, Nance

When: June 10, 9:55 PM CST
Where: Nance County, 3 mi S of Fullerton
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.317, -97.983

Hail, Howard

When: June 10, 10:00 PM CST
Where: Howard County, 10 mi NE of St Paul
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.317, -98.333

Hail, Nance

When: June 10, 11:50 PM CST
Where: Nance County, 6 mi NE of Fullerton
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.433, -97.900

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Heavy Rain: Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
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 The tornado archive for Nebraska, 2002 Warnings in Nebraska, June 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: 5306139, 5306140, 5306141, 5306142, 5306143, 5306144, 5306145, 5306239, 5306240, 5306241, 5306242, 5306243, 5306244.