Nebraska, 2003

Hail and Damaging Winds in Nebraska, May 13, 2003

May 13, 2003 · NWS GID · 24 events in 11 counties and zones

Severe thunderstorms formed northwest of Grand Island and rolled southeast across areas east of U. S.

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
$125,000
Crop damage
None recorded
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.

Severe thunderstorms formed northwest of Grand Island and rolled southeast across areas east of U. S. Highway 281 during the afternoon and evening hours. The most significant damage occurred in the Grand Island area where a sign was destroyed, minor tree damage was reported, and some small sheds were damaged. Funnel clouds were reported in the Grand Island area, but no tornado was confirmed. Earlier, golf ball size hail was reported near Dannebrog. To the east, a variety of hail reports generally ranged from penny to quarter size.

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 May 13, 1:07 PM CST, 13 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 13, 1:07 PM CST, 13 minutes before
SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
207 PM CDT TUE MAY 13 2003

MAIN CONCERN IS TSTMS THRU THE EVE AND THEN AGAIN LATE THURS

WATER VAPOR IMAGERY INDICATES UPPER TROF PROGRESSING INTO THE
WESTERN DAKOTAS WHILE AT THE SFC...THE PRE FRONTAL TROF WAS LOCATED
FROM WEST CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA THROUGH SW NEB...AND COLD FRONT
EXTENDING THRU NEB PANHANDLE.  LATEST LAPS DATA INDICATES CAPE
VALUES AROUND 1500J/KG WITH WEAKENING CAP.  TSTMS ALREADY FIRING
ALONG BOUNDARY FM NR VTN TO BBW AND SATELLITE SHOWS CU FIELD
EXTENDING SOUTH TOWARD MCCOOK.  SVR WATCH JUST ISSUED FOR CWA AS
LINE OF STORMS DEVELOP...AND PRIMARY HAZARD IS HAIL/WIND.

THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE EAST ACROSS CWA REMAINDER OF AFTN/EVE THEN
STORMS TO END BY MIDNIGHT AS FRONT MOVES EAST INTO EASTERN NEB/KS.
CLOSED UPPER LOW WILL PROGRESSING SOUTHEAST THRU SOUTH DAKOTA WILL
REACH NORTHERN IOWA ON WED.  ANY ADDITIONAL PCPN SHLD REMAIN EAST OF
CWA...WITH TEMPS COOLING BACK TO NEAR NORMAL...ALTHOUGH WILL SEE
BREEZY/WINDY CONDITIONS.

ANOTHER SYSTEM WILL TRACK ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PLAINS AND APPROACH
THE CWA LATE THURS INTO FRIDAY.  MODELS ARE TRENDING FURTHER SOUTH
WITH THIS SYSTEM...AND HAVE LIMITED POPS TO THE SOUTHERN 2/3RDS OF
THE CWA.  GFS IS MORE AGGRESSIVE WITH NORTHWARD EXTENT OF LEAD WAVE
WITH SYSTEM THAN ETA...SO TRACK WILL STILL NEED TO BE MONITORED.

DRY WEATHER FORECAST THRU THE WEEKEND...THEN TSTM CHCS RETURN
MON/TUE AS NEXT BOUNDARY AND UPPER TROF APPROACH.

.GID...NONE.

FAY
Hazardous weather outlook, May 13, 12:45 PM CST, 35 minutes before
KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087-141200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
145 PM CDT TUE MAY 13 2003

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 700 PM FOR PORTIONS
OF CENTRAL AND SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE
DEVELOPING THIS AFTERNOON OVER THE SANDHILL REGION OF NEBRASKA.
THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD SOUTH AND EAST THIS AFTERNOON
AND INTO THE EARLY EVENING...WITH THE CHANCE FOR SOME STORMS OF
BECOMING SEVERE...ESPECIALLY EAST OF HIGHWAY 183. THE MAIN HAZARDS
WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.

A FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL MOVE WEST TO EAST ACROSS NEBRASKA AND KANSAS
THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...IN RESPONSE TO AN UPPER LEVEL
DISTURBANCE PUSHING EAST OF THE CENTRAL AND NORTHERN ROCKIES.
DAYTIME HEATING AND SOUTHERLY MOIST FLOW RETURNING TO THE REGION
AHEAD OF THE FRONT...WILL FURTHER DESTABILIZE AN ALREADY UNSTABLE
ATMOSPHERE...AFFORDING THE OPPORTUNITY FOR THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS ANTICIPATED FROM LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH
THE EVENING HOURS ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND NORTH CENTRAL
KANSAS.

10

The radar

The North Platte radar (KLNX), 126 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:17 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

20 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind, 2 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Valley

When
May 13, 1:20 PM CST
Where
Valley County, 10 mi W of Ord
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
41.600, -99.133

Hail, Howard

When
May 13, 4:46 PM CST
Where
Howard County, Dannebrog
Measured
1.75 in hail
Property damage
$25,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.117, -98.550

Thunderstorm Wind, Hall

When
May 13, 4:47 PM CST
Where
Hall County, 2 mi N of Cairo
Measured
52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.033, -98.600

Funnel Cloud, Hall

When
May 13, 4:48 PM CST
Where
Hall County, 4 mi N of Grand Is
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.873, -98.502 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Howard

When
May 13, 4:50 PM CST
Where
Howard County, 2 mi S of St Libory
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.050, -98.367

Hail, Nance

When
May 13, 4:51 PM CST
Where
Nance County, Genoa
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
41.450, -97.733

Hail, Merrick

When
May 13, 4:52 PM CST
Where
Merrick County, Palmer
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
41.217, -98.250

Thunderstorm Wind, Hall

When
May 13, 5:00 PM CST
Where
Hall County, Grand Is
Measured
56 kt (64 mph) estimated gust
Property damage
$100,000
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
40.917, -98.350

Funnel Cloud, Hall

When
May 13, 5:00 PM CST
Where
Hall County, Grand Is
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.873, -98.502 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Merrick

When
May 13, 5:14 PM CST
Where
Merrick County, Chapman
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.017, -98.167

Hail, Hamilton

When
May 13, 5:26 PM CST
Where
Hamilton County, 1 mi W of Aurora
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.867, -98.017

Hail, York

When
May 13, 5:40 PM CST
Where
York County, 3 mi SW of Henderson
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.750, -97.833

Hail, York

When
May 13, 5:55 PM CST
Where
York County, Bradshaw
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.883, -97.733

Hail, Clay

When
May 13, 6:03 PM CST
Where
Clay County, Sutton
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.600, -97.850

Hail, Fillmore

When
May 13, 6:09 PM CST
Where
Fillmore County, Grafton
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.633, -97.700

Hail, Clay

When
May 13, 6:09 PM CST
Where
Clay County, 6 mi SE of Clay Center
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
40.467, -97.967

Hail, York

When
May 13, 6:10 PM CST
Where
York County, Mc Cool Jct
Measured
1.25 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.750, -97.583

Hail, Clay

When
May 13, 6:25 PM CST
Where
Clay County, 4 mi SE of Deweese
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
40.317, -98.083

Hail, Nuckolls

When
May 13, 6:35 PM CST
Where
Nuckolls County, Nelson
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.200, -98.067

Hail, Thayer

When
May 13, 6:37 PM CST
Where
Thayer County, Carleton
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
40.300, -97.667

Hail, Nuckolls

When
May 13, 6:45 PM CST
Where
Nuckolls County, 3 mi NW of Bostwick
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.083, -98.217

Hail, Nuckolls

When
May 13, 6:55 PM CST
Where
Nuckolls County, 4 mi E of Superior
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.033, -97.983

Hail, Thayer

When
May 13, 7:05 PM CST
Where
Thayer County, 3 mi NW of Gilead
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.167, -97.500

Hail, Thayer

When
May 13, 7:07 PM CST
Where
Thayer County, 2 mi W of Chester
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
40.017, -97.650

What these are

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.
Funnel Cloud
A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Nebraska in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Nebraska, May 2003

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: 5364977, 5364978, 5364979, 5364980, 5364981, 5364982, 5364983, 5364984, 5364985, 5364986, 5364987, 5364988, 5364989, 5364991, 5364992, 5364993, 5364990, 5364994, 5364995, 5364996, 5364997, 5364998, 5364999, 5365000.