Hail, Platte
- When
- May 4, 1:26 PM CST to 1:40 PM CST
- Where
- Platte County, 9 mi N of Columbus
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 41.567, -97.367
Hail up to nickel size fell for close to 15 minutes north of Columbus.
Hail in Nebraska, May 4, 2003
1 hail, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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 Omaha, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 4, 1:05 AM CST, 12 hours 21 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 4, 1:05 AM CST, 12 hours 21 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE 205 AM CDT SUN MAY 4 2003 DISCUSSION SHORT BECAUSE OF ONGOING STORMS THIS MORNING. SITUATION SETUP FOR A SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK ACROSS THE CENTRAL U.S. TODAY. STORMS THIS MORNING MAINLY ELEVATED...BUT THE LARGE BOW ECHO THAT FORMED EARLY THIS MORNING FARTHER TO THE WEST IS A HYBRID. THIS WAS ORIGINALLY SFC BASED....BUT HAS MODIFIED AS IT MOVED EWD. HIGH HELICITY...NEAR 400 M2/S2 THIS MORNING OVER SERN NE WITH 50-60 KT LOW LEVEL JET. UPPER LEVEL JET STREAK OF OVER 120 KTS WILL BE TRANSLATING NEWD TODAY PUTTING SERN NE AND SWRN IA IN LEFT FRONT QUADRANT...WITH STRONG UPPER LEVEL DIVERGENCE. SFC LOW SHOULD TRACK ENE FROM NWRN KS THIS MORNING AND ACROSS SERN NE THIS AFTN ACCORDING TO 00Z MESOETA. THIS SEEMS REASONABLE. SO FAR SERN NE WILL GET INTO THE WARM SECTOR...AND HIGHS MAY REACH 75-80. FARTHER N... EXPECT MAINLY 60S FOR NERN NE. SO THERE WILL BE A RATHER SHARP TEMPERATURE GRADIENT THRU CNTRL ZONES TODAY. STORMS LIKELY TO REINTENSITY THIS AFTN AND MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER IN SPC DAY 1 OTLK LOOKS ON TARGET...AND WILL WORD THE HWO ACCORDINGLY. TORNADO THREAT SHOULD MAINLY BE CONFINED TO SERN NE AND SWRN IA FROM 1 PM TO 6 PM...IN VICINITY OF SFC LOW. DEWPOINTS SHOULD REACH THE MID TO UPPER 60S FROM ERN KS AND MO NWD INTO SERN PART OF FCST AREA...WITH AFTN CAPE VALUES 2500-4000 J/KG IN AREA WITH HIGHEST SFC DEWPOINTS. ACTION EXPECTED TO SHIFT OUT OF THE AREA EARLY IN THE EVENING... BUT MAY HAVE SOME LINGERING NON SEVERE PCPN FOR A WHILE. MAY HAVE SOME INSTABILITY SHOWERS MON AFTN...THEN DRY WEATHER FOR TUE. THE 00Z GFS BRINGS A DECENT SHORTWAVE TROF NEWD THRU THE CNTRL PLAINS WED AND WED NGT...SOME INTRODUCED CHANCE OF TSTMS. THEN WENT DRY ON THU. GFS TEMPS IN THE 4-7 DAY PERIOD GENLY ACCEPTED. .OMA...NONE. MILLER
Hazardous weather outlook, May 4, 11:30 AM CST, 1 hour 56 minutes before
IAZ043-055-056-069-079-080-090-091-NEZ011-012-015>018-030>034- 042>045-050>053-065>068-078-088>093-042315- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE 1230 PM CDT SUN MAY 4 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PARTS OF EASTERN NEBRASKA AND SOUTHWEST IOWA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A POTENT SEVERE WEATHER SITUATION IS DEVELOPING ACROSS THE AREA TODAY WITH THE LIKELIHOOD OF TORNADOES AND WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER ACTIVITY. A TORNADO WATCH HAS ALREADY BEEN ISSUED FOR PARTS OF SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA. AN INTENSE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS WILL MOVE NORTHEAST ACROSS SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. ABUNDANT LOW LEVEL MOISTURE...STRONG VERTICAL WIND SHEAR...AND INSTABILITY WILL ALLOW FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUPERCELL STORMS. THE GREATEST THREAT FOR TORNADOES IS EXPECTED TO BE SOUTH OF A COLUMBUS TO WAHOO TO BELLEVUE. THIS IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGING TORNADOES IN THIS AREA. NORTHWEST OF THIS LINE...SOME SEVER THUNDERSTORMS WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS ARE POSSIBLE. THE SEVERE WEATHER ACTIVITY WILL BEGIN TO SUBSIDE AFTER 8 OR 9 PM TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SUNDAY ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS COULD MOVE BACK INTO WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...AND THEN AGAIN SATURDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... STORM SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS LIKELY TODAY...SPOTTERS SHOULD BE READY TO DEPLOY THIS AFTERNOON DUE TO THE POTENT NATURE OF THIS SEVERE WEATHER SITUATION. SMITH
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 4, 8:41 AM CST, 4 hours 45 minutes before
IAZ055-056-069-079-080-090-091-041500- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA NE 941 AM CDT SUN MAY 4 2003 SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH #230 THAT WAS IN EFFECT FOR...FREMONT... PAGE...MONTGOMERY...MILLS...HARRISON...SHELBY AND POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTIES...HAS BEEN CANCELLED. SMITH
Local storm report, May 4, 9:48 AM CST, 3 hours 38 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE
1048 AM CDT SUN MAY 04 2003
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
1035 AM PLATTE CENTER NE .88 INCH HAIL
05/04/03 PLATTE REPORTED BY STORM
SPOTTER.Local storm report, May 4, 11:55 AM CST, 1 hour 31 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE
1255 PM CDT SUN MAY 04 2003
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
1225 PM 9 SE STANTON NE .88 INCH HAIL
05/04/03 STANTON REPORTED BY EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT.Local storm report, May 4, 12:50 PM CST, 36 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE
150 PM CDT SUN MAY 04 2003
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0121 PM PLATTE CENTER NE .75 INCH HAIL
05/04/03 PLATTE REPORTED BY EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT.Local storm report, May 4, 1:04 PM CST, 22 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE
204 PM CDT SUN MAY 04 2003
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0200 PM LEIGH NE .75 INCH HAIL
05/04/03 COLFAX REPORTED BY STORM
SPOTTER.Local storm report, May 4, 1:16 PM CST, 10 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE
216 PM CDT SUN MAY 04 2003
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0205 PM 2 W DUNCAN NE .75 INCH HAIL
05/04/03 PLATTE REPORTED BY EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT.The radar
The Omaha radar (KOAX), 88 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:26 UTC.
Event by event
1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Tennessee, May 4 to 5, 2003
- Tornado in Missouri, May 4, 2003
- Tornado in Missouri, May 4, 2003
- Tornado in Missouri, May 4, 2003
- Tornado in Kansas, May 4, 2003
- Tornadoes and Hail in Kansas, May 4, 2003
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Tennessee, May 4 to 7, 2003
- Tornado in Kansas, May 4, 2003
- Tornado in Missouri, May 4, 2003
- Tornadoes in Missouri, May 4, 2003
- Tornadoes and Hail in Missouri, May 4, 2003
- Tornado in Missouri, May 4, 2003
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: 5357012.