Early morning high-based thunderstorms moved across southeast Nebraska. One storm produced a lightning strike which caused damage to electrical equipment at the Johnson county Sheriff's office.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
Early morning high-based thunderstorms moved across southeast Nebraska. One storm produced a lightning strike which caused damage to electrical equipment at the Johnson county Sheriff's office.
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 Aug 18, 2:01 PM CST, 12 hours 29 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE 301 PM CDT TUE AUG 18 2009 .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT. MAIN CONCERN TONIGHT IS THE CHANCE FOR PCPN. LATEST WATER VAPOR AND IR SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWED TO SHORTWAVE TROUGHS THAT COULD AFFECT THE AREA OVERNIGHT. FIRST WAS MOVING ESE FROM THE WRN DAKOTAS. THIS WILL MOVE TOWARD THE NRN PARTS OF NERN NE. SECOND SHORTWAVE WAS OVER CO...AND THERE WAS ALREADY DECENT CONVECTION ASSOCIATED WITH THAT. THE CO SHORTWAVE ENERGY IS EXPECTED TO MOVE EWD...MAINLY ACROSS KS... BUT POSSIBLY SERN NE. 12Z NAM SHOWED A DECENT AMOUNT OF SEPARATION OF LIFT ASSOCIATED WITH THE TWO WAVES. THE 12Z GFS WAS A LOT MORE GENEROUS WITH MID LEVEL LIFT AND 850 MB MOISTURE 06Z TO 12Z...SO IT IS NOT A SURPRISE IT IS GENERATING MORE QPF THAN THE NAM. GENERALLY LEFT POPS FOR THE OVERNIGHT HOURS IN THE CHANCE CATEGORY. SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE NIGHT AND CLOUD COVER IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE. COMBINATION OF MORE WIND TONIGHT AND ALSO MORE CLOUD COVER SHOULD KEEP LOWS IN THE LOWER AND MID 60S TONIGHT. .LONG TERM...WEDNESDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. MAIN FORECAST CONCERNS REMAINS TIED TO CONVECTIVE POTENTIAL WED AFTN/EVNG...BEFORE PATTERN CHANGE BRINGS QUIETER WEATHER TO THE AREA. UPPER WAVE CURRENTLY IN NRN AB IS PROGGED TO DIVE OUT OF CANADA INTO THE NRN PLAINS AND WRN GT LAKES...DEEPENING AS IT PROGRESSES SEWD. LOW WILL PROVIDE STRONG SYNOPTIC SUPPORT FOR PRECIP WED...WITH STRONG UPPER JET PUNCHING SEWD BEHIND THE LOW...AS WELL AS SFC LOW REFLECTION AND ATTENDANT COLD FRONT SLIDING THROUGH THE PLAINS. MOISTURE/TEMP GRADIENT IS PROGGED TO BE SHARP ACROSS THE FRONT...WITH MUCH DRIER/COOLER AIRMASS BEHIND AND MODESTLY WARM/MOIST AIRMASS AHEAD. GFS/NAM HAVE INDICATED RATHER CONSISTENTLY THAT AN MCS WILL BE ONGOING ON WED MRNG...MOST LIKELY IN KS INTO MO/IA BUT POTENTIALLY AFFECTING THE SRNMOST CWA. CONVECTION MAY ALSO BE ONGOING IN NERN NEB WITH WARM AIR ADVECTION INTO THE AREA. HAVE HELD ONTO CHC TO LIKELY POPS S AND CHC POPS N ON WED MRNG...WITH SCHC IN BETWEEN WHERE PART OF THE CWA MAY BE REMOVED FROM PRECIP. CONVECTIVE EVOLUTION TOMORROW IS TRICKY AND DEPENDS VERY STRONGLY ON FEATURES SUCH AS MCS LOCATION...CLOUD/ONGOING PRECIP...AND OUTFLOW OR OTHER MESOSCALE BOUNDARIES. COULD SEE STABILIZED LOWER LEVELS IN WAKE OF ANY ONGOING MRNG CONVECTION. HOWEVER...AREAS THAT CAN SEE SOME LATE MRNG/AFTERNOON CLEARING AHEAD OF THE FRONT SHOULD BE ABLE TO DESTABILIZE WELL WITH WARM AIR ADVECTION AHEAD OF THE FRONT. STRONG UPPER LOW WILL PROVIDE 40KT+ 0-6KM BULK SHEAR...AND MID- LEVEL COLD AIR ADVECTION SHOULD HELP LAPSE RATES INCRASE THROUGH THE DAY. ANY STORMS THAT CAN DEVELOP ALONG/AHEAD OF THE FRONT ON WED WOULD HAVE SEVERE POTENTIAL...WITH HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND THREAT. FRONTAL FORCING AND FAVORABLE LARGE-SCALE SYNOPTIC PATTERN WOULD SUGGEST QUICK GROWTH INTO A LINEAR MODE...THOUGH INITIAL STORMS COULD BE SUPERCELLS GIVEN ABUNDANT SHEAR. THINK TOR POTENTIAL IS SOMEWHAT LIMITED BY VEERED SFC WINDS AND LIKELIHOOD FOR STORMS NEAR THE FRONT TO QUICKLY DEVELOP COLD STABLE OUTFLOW. OVERALL...SEVERE THREAT WED AFTN/EVNG IS CONDITIONAL ON DESTABILIZATION. COLD FRONT IS PROGGED TO SWEEP THROUGH RATHER QUICKLY ON WED EVNG/NT. EXPECT ANY SHRA/TSRA TO DEVELOP INTO A LINE ALONG THE FRONT..AND LIKEWISE TO SWEEP THROUGH QUICKLY...WITH ALL BUT SRN/SERNMOST CWA LIKELY DRY AFTER MIDNIGHT AND FRONTAL PRECIP COMPLETELY THROUGH THE CWA BY 12Z. KEPT SMALL SCHC POP IN THE NERN CWA THURS FOR SHRA EMBEDDED IN CYCLONIC FLOW AROUND THE DEEPENING UPPER LOW...BUT WOULD EXPECT THOSE SHRA TO BE LIGHT AND ISOLATED IN NATURE. HAVE DROPPED MAX TEMPS THURS A FEW DEGREES TO BETTER AGREE WITH GUIDANCE...AS STRONG UPPER LOW WILL BRING STRONG COLD AIR ADVECTION DURING THE DAY. REST OF THE WEEK AND WEEKEND CONTINUE TO LOOK QUIET...WITH INITIALLY COOL TEMPS INTO FRI BEFORE TEMPS MODERATE OVER THE WEEKEND. HAVE BUMPED UP TEMPS QUITE A BIT ON SUN/MON AS MODELS ARE NOW SLOWER WITH COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE EARLY NEXT WEEK...WITH SFC TO MID-LEVEL WARM AIR ADVECTION ON THOSE DAYS. WITH SUCH A COLD/DRY AIR DUMP INTO THE PLAINS...FOLLOWED BY A SLOW-MOVING SURFACE HIGH AND NRLY FLOW INTO THE PLAINS AS UPPER HIGH CENTERS NEAR CO/NM...SEE LITTLE OPPORTUNITY FOR MOISTURE RETURN INTO THE PLAINS BEFORE AT LEAST SUN. AS A RESULT...THINK FRONTAL PASSAGE SOMETIME AROUND EARLY TUES MAY STRUGGLE WITH MOISTURE AVAILABILITY. GIVEN UNCERTAINTIES WITH TIMING AND MOISTURE...KEPT LATE EXTENDED PERIODS DRY DESPITE FRONTAL PASSAGE...THOUGH DID COOL TEMPS ON TUES. && .AVIATION... TAF SITES KOFK/KOMA/KLNK 18Z TAF ISSUANCE... MAIN CONCERN IS POTENTIAL FOR MVFR OR LOWER CEILINGS AND VSBYS LATE TONIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY MORNING. FELT IT WAS TOO FAR OUT TO MENTION TSTMS WITH 18Z TAFS BUT DID START SOME PROB30 GROUPS FOR SHOWERS AFTER 06Z TONIGHT. MOST LIKELY TIMES FOR LESS THAN VFR CONDITIONS SEEM TO BE FROM ABOUT 09Z TO 17Z. WILL MAKE CHANGES TO TAFS AS NEEDED AS POSSIBLE PCPN EVENT LATER TONIGHT APPROACHES. && .OAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NE...NONE. IA...NONE. && SHORT TERM/AVIATION...MILLER LONG TERM...MAYES
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE 431 PM CDT TUE AUG 18 2009 IAZ043-055-056-069-079-080-090-091-NEZ011-012-015>018-030>034- 042>045-050>053-065>068-078-088>093-191145- MONONA-HARRISON-SHELBY-POTTAWATTAMIE-MILLS-MONTGOMERY-FREMONT- PAGE-KNOX-CEDAR-THURSTON-ANTELOPE-PIERCE-WAYNE-BOONE-MADISON- STANTON-CUMING-BURT-PLATTE-COLFAX-DODGE-WASHINGTON-BUTLER- SAUNDERS-DOUGLAS-SARPY-SEWARD-LANCASTER-CASS-OTOE-SALINE- JEFFERSON-GAGE-JOHNSON-NEMAHA-PAWNEE-RICHARDSON- 431 PM CDT TUE AUG 18 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST IOWA...WEST CENTRAL IOWA...EAST CENTRAL NEBRASKA...NORTHEAST NEBRASKA AND SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS MAY MOVE INTO THE AREA AFTER MIDNIGHT. THE BEST CHANCE IS IN SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA. SOME STORMS COULD BE STRONG... BUT SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT LIKELY. SOME SEVERE STORMS MAY OCCUR ON WEDNESDAY...MAINLY IN THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING...AS A STRONG UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM AND A COLD FRONT PUSH THROUGH THE REGION. THE COMBINATION OF WIND SHEAR AND INSTABILITY SUGGEST POTENTIAL FOR SOME SUPERCELL STORMS. DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL ARE EXPECTED TO BE THE PRIMARY HAZARDS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY THE CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT... MAINLY ACROSS SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA AND SOUTHWEST IOWA UNTIL THE COLD FRONT MOVES SOUTH OF THE AREA. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... STORM SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TONIGHT BUT MAY BE NEEDED WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. FOBERT
The Omaha radar (KOAX), 107 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 08:31 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
A lightning strike caused around $25,000 worth of damage to computers, radio and dispatch equipment and the phone system at the Sheriff's office in Tecumseh.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nebraska in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Nebraska, August 2009
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: 190559.