Very moist and unstable air was situated over eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa on July 6th. The unstable conditions combined with a weak, nearly stationary front over the area and a weak upper level disturbance, caused a few severe thunderstorms to develop over the region.
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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.
The episode as NWS OAX wrote it up.
Very moist and unstable air was situated over eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa on July 6th. The unstable conditions combined with a weak, nearly stationary front over the area and a weak upper level disturbance, caused a few severe thunderstorms to develop over the region.
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 Jul 6, 2:06 PM CST, 1 hour 24 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE 306 PM CDT SUN JUL 6 2008 .DISCUSSION... TIMING AND LOCATION OF CONVECTION WILL BE THE PRIMARY CONCERNS OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS. WATER VAPOR LOOP EARLY THIS AFTERNOON SHOWED A DECENT SHORTWAVE TROUGH MOVING ENEWD FROM THE WRN HIGH PLAINS. HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WAS CENTERED OVER WRN OK. STRONGEST MID TROPOSPHERIC FLOW WAS OVER THE FAR NRN U.S. AND SRN CANADA...BUT THERE WAS A DECENT FEED OF MOISTURE COMING UP FROM THE SWRN U.S. INTO THE CNTRL PLAINS. SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWED A FRONTAL BOUNDARY EXTENDING FROM WRN WI THROUGH OUR AREA INTO WRN KS. ALTHOUGH THERE IS POTENTIAL FOR SOME STORMS IN THE SRN PART OF THE FORECAST AREA TONIGHT...EXPECT NRN ZONES TO HAVE THE MOST COVERAGE AND HEAVIEST QPF. FRONT WILL PROBABLY STALL OVER US TONIGHT...WITH LOW LEVEL JET DEVELOPING AND MOST LIKELY CAUSING BEST LIFT TO OCCUR NORTH OF THE SURFACE FRONT AND NORTH OF THE FRONT ALOFT. COVERAGE SHOULD DECREASE VERY LATE TONIGHT AS THE LOW LEVEL JET VEERS AND ACTIVITY SHIFTS MORE TOWARD NRN AND CNTRL IA. EXPECT LOWS IN THE UPPER 60S NORTH AND LOWER 70S SOUTH. ON MONDAY...COLD FRONT WILL PUSH INTO THE AREA FROM THE NW DURING THE DAY. KEPT LIKELY POPS GOING FOR MOST OF NERN NE. THE STRONGEST ACTIVITY SHOULD BE ALONG OR BEHIND THE FRONT. THIS WILL PROBABLY STAY JUST WEST OF OMAHA AND LINCOLN UNTIL EVENING...BUT KEPT POPS IN THE CHANCE RANGE FOR THE AFTERNOON. EXPECT THAT THE BOUNDARY WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH SEWD MONDAY NIGHT...WITH POPS DECREASING FROM NW TO SE DURING THE NIGHT. KEPT A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR TSTMS IN THE SRN ZONES ON TUESDAY. HIGHS MONDAY SHOULD BE AROUND 90 TO 95 AHEAD OF THE FRONT...BUT PROBABLY MID AND UPPER 80S IN NERN NE... DUE TO MORE CLOUDS AND PCPN. EXPECT LOWS MONDAY NIGHT TO RANGE FROM MID 60S IN NERN NE TO AROUND 70 IN SERN NE AND SWRN IA. DID NOT MENTION ANY PCPN TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY...BUT THAT WILL LIKELY NEED ADJUSTMENT LATER. MODELS SHOW 500 MB FLOW FROM THE W/NW AT MID WEEK BECOMING ZONAL BY THURSDAY. 12Z GFS AND 00Z ECMWF WERE NOT IN VERY GOOD AGREEMENT LATER IN THE WEEK. 12Z GFS BROUGHT A CLOSED LOW QUICKLY EWD ACROSS SRN CANADA. 00Z ECMWF HAD THE SAME FEATURE...BUT WAS SLIGHTLY SLOWER AND ALSO DEVELOPED A CLOSED LOW OVER THE PACIFIC NW. 12Z ECMWF DID NOT HAVE THE CLOSED LOW OVER THE PACIFIC NW...BUT IT DID HAVE A TROUGH FROM WRN CANADA INTO NRN CA AND NV. AT SOME POINT NEXT WEEKEND...IT SEEMS THERE WILL BE A DECENT SHOT FOR TSTMS. FOR NOW...JUST WENT WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE IN THE NORTH SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY. WILL WAIT FOR MORE MODEL CONSISTENCY BEFORE GOING ANYTHING HIGHER THAN A SLIGHT CHANCE. && .AVIATION... FOR TAF SITES KOMA/KLNK/KOFK. A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE TAF SITES LATER THIS EVNG/TNGT...BRINGING POTENTIAL FOR TSRA AS WELL AS TRICKY WIND SHIFT ISSUES. HAVE INCLUDED TEMPO THIS EVNG AT ALL SITES FOR TSRA...BUT POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE TSRA IS THERE...WITH HIGH WINDS A PRIMARY THREAT. FOR NOW...DROPPED CONDITIONS TO MVFR AT WORST...THOUGH SOME PERIOD OF IFR CONDITIONS IS NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION. KEPT MENTION OF TSRA OUT OF TNGT AFTER ACTIVITY PASSES THIS EVNG...WITH CB MENTIONED...DUE TO UNCERTAINTY IN ANY GIVEN LOCATION. DID HOLD ONTO SHRA AT KOFK THROUGH THE NT WHERE RAIN/TSRA IS EXPECTED TO LINGER LONGEST...BUT FOR NOW...ENDED KOMA/KLNK SHRA MUCH EARLIER. && .OAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NE...NONE. IA...NONE. && DISCUSSION...MILLER AVIATION...MAYES
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE 407 PM CDT SUN JUL 6 2008 IAZ043-055-056-069-079-080-090-091-NEZ011-012-015>018-030>034- 042>045-050>053-065>068-078-088>093-071100- ANTELOPE-BOONE-BURT-BUTLER-CASS-CEDAR-COLFAX-CUMING-DODGE-DOUGLAS- FREMONT IA-GAGE-HARRISON IA-JEFFERSON-JOHNSON-KNOX-LANCASTER-MADISON- MILLS IA-MONONA IA-MONTGOMERY IA-NEMAHA-OTOE-PAGE IA-PAWNEE-PIERCE- PLATTE-POTTAWATTAMIE IA-RICHARDSON-SALINE-SARPY-SAUNDERS-SEWARD- SHELBY IA-STANTON-THURSTON-WASHINGTON-WAYNE- 407 PM CDT SUN JUL 6 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MOST OF EASTERN NEBRASKA AND PARTS OF SOUTHWEST IOWA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT AND MONDAY A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF EASTERN NEBRASKA AND SOUTHWEST IOWA THIS EVENING...MAINLY ALONG AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM NORFOLK TO TEKAMAH. SOME STORMS COULD PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS...HAIL AND VERY HEAVY RAIN THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS. SOME STORMS ARE LIKELY OVERNIGHT. A FEW STORMS COULD BE SEVERE...BUT THE MAIN THREAT APPEARS TO BE THIS EVENING. SEVERE STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE AGAIN MONDAY...ESPECIALLY IN THE AFTERNOON. A FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL PUSH INTO THE AREA...LIFTING A WARM AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS. SOME STORMS WILL LIKELY BE SEVERE... WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY STORMS COULD LINGER INTO MONDAY NIGHT...WITH THE ACTIVITY TENDING TO MOVE OUT OF NORTHEAST NEBRASKA BY LATE EVENING...BUT CONTINUING ACROSS SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA AND SOUTHWEST IOWA INTO TUESDAY MORNING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... STORM SPOTTERS SHOULD PASS ALONG ANY REPORTS OF SEVERE WEATHER OR FLOODING THROUGH THE EVENING AND NIGHTTIME HOURS. MILLER
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA
413 PM CDT SUN JUL 06 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0310 PM HAIL PILGER 42.01N 97.05W
07/06/2008 E1.00 INCH STANTON NE PUBLIC
&&
DEWALDPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA
424 PM CDT SUN JUL 06 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0330 PM HAIL 2 S MACY 42.08N 96.36W
07/06/2008 E0.88 INCH THURSTON NE PUBLIC
ALSO 50 MPH WINDS...POSSIBLY STRONGER.
&&
DEWALDThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at over 60 mph blew some trees down on top of campers at the Lewis and Clark State Park, causing 2 minor injuries. Some campers in the area were also rolled due to the winds.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Iowa in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, July 2008
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: 100349.