An area of thunderstorms, a few of which produced large hail, developed along and north of a warm front over southeast Nebraska during the early morning hours of May 13th. A strong upper level disturbance that lifted across the Dakotas pushed a cold front through the area later that morning, quickly shoving most of the activity east of 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.
An area of thunderstorms, a few of which produced large hail, developed along and north of a warm front over southeast Nebraska during the early morning hours of May 13th. A strong upper level disturbance that lifted across the Dakotas pushed a cold front through the area later that morning, quickly shoving most of the activity east of 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 May 13, 1:58 AM CST, 1 hour 24 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE 258 AM CDT WED MAY 13 2009 .DISCUSSION... CONVECTION...TEMPERATURES AND WINDS ARE THE MAIN FORECAST CONCERNS TODAY. UPPER AIR CHARTS FROM LAST EVENING SHOWED THE FOLLOWING. AT 850 MB AN AXIS OF MOISTURE EXTENDED NORTH FROM THE SRN PLAINS INTO ERN SD...WITH DEWPOINTS OF 10 DEGREES C. AT 500 MB A TROUGH WAS MOVING EWD FROM THE NRN ROCKIES...WITH 12 HOUR HEIGHT FALLS FROM 50 TO 80 METERS. JET MAX AROUND 120 KNOTS AT 300 MB WAS PUNCHING EWD FROM OR AND ID. COLD FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH EWD TODAY AS HEIGHT FALLS MOVE ACROSS THE DKTS AND INTO MN. MODELS SHOW LOW LVL MOISTURE DROPPING DRAMATICALLY THIS AFTN...WITH FAIRLY STRONG W/NW WINDS DEVELOPING. WILL GO WITH AREAL COVERAGE WORDING FOR STORMS THIS MORNING...AND KEPT SOME LOW POPS THIS AFTN OVER PARTS OF SWRN IA AND SERN NE. WENT WITH DAYTIME HIGHS RANGING FROM UPPER 60S IN NWRN CWA TO NEAR 80 IN FAR SERN NE. WINDS MAY GET CLOSE TO WIND ADVY NUMBERS THIS AFTN...MAINLY IN NERN NE...BUT NO HIGHLIGHTS AT THIS TIME. COOL AND DRY AIR SHOULD CONTINUE TO MOVE INTO THE AREA TONIGHT AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN AT THE SURFACE. WENT AT OR BELOW MOS LOWS FOR TNGT...PARTS OF NERN NE COULD DROP INTO THE UPPER 30S. RIGHT NOW IT APPEAR THERE MIGHT BE TOO MUCH WIND FOR FROST...BUT THE DAY SHIFT WILL HAVE TO WATCH THAT. THURSDAY SHOULD BE DRY WITH HIGH PRESSURE SHIFTING EWD DURING THE DAY...BUT RETURN FLOW STARTS. IT APPEARS ENOUGH MOISTURE WILL RETURN THURSDAY NIGHT WITH ISENTROPIC LIFT IN 300-310 K LAYER FOR SHOWERS AND TSTMS. GENERALLY INCREASED POPS FOR THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY. COLD FRONT SHOULD PUSH ACROSS THE AREA FRIDAY...WHICH SHOULD DRY THINGS OUT FOR THE WEEKEND. AT LEAST IT LOOKS THAT WAY NOW. RETURN FLOW STRENGTHENS ON SUNDAY... BUT INFLUX OF DEEPER MOISTURE SHOULD BE DELAYED. INTERESTINGLY... THE 00Z ECMWF DID DEVELOP SOME WARM ADVECTION PCPN SUNDAY...BUT MAINLY FROM ERN SD INTO SRN MN AND NRN IA. MODELS START TO DIVERGE ON PATTERN BY TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. LOW POPS SEEM WARRANTED BY TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY...ESPECIALLY IF 00Z GFS SOLUTION VERIFIES. && .AVIATION... FOR TAF SITES KOFK/KOMA/KLNK FORECAST VALID THROUGH 14/06Z. MESSY FORECAST EARLY IN THE TAF CYCLE AT ALL SITES. IFR TO LIFR CIGS WILL LINGER UNTIL MID-MRNG /ALONG WITH REDUCED VIS/...BUT WILL LIFT TO VFR AS COLD FRONT PASSES THROUGH. AHEAD OF THE FRONT TNGT...-RA IS EXPECTED AT ALL SITES...ALONG WITH A PERIOD OF -TS LIKELY AT EACH SITE. ATTEMPTED TO TIME IN THE TSRA AT EACH SITE IN A 1-HR WINDOW...AS CONVECTION WILL NOT LIKELY LAST MUCH LONGER THAN THAT AT ANY SITE...BUT WILL KEEP AN EYE ON NEED TO AMEND THOSE TIMES. WINDS WILL SHIFT TO NWLY THIS MRNG BEHIND COLD FRONT... BECOMING GUSTY AT ALL SITES BUT ESPECIALLY KOFK BEFORE DIMINISHING TO AT OR BELOW 10KT THIS EVNG. && .OAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NE...NONE. IA...NONE. && DISCUSSION...MILLER AVIATION...MAYES
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE 405 AM CDT WED MAY 13 2009 IAZ043-055-056-069-079-080-090-091-NEZ011-012-015>018-030>034- 042>045-050>053-065>068-078-088>093-132300- 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- 405 AM CDT WED MAY 13 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MOST OF EASTERN NEBRASKA AND PARTS OF SOUTHWEST IOWA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA THIS MORNING. THE STRONGEST STORMS WILL PRODUCE HAIL AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN. MOST OF THE HAIL SHOULD BE AROUND THE SIZE OF QUARTERS OR SMALLER. STRONG WINDS WILL SPREAD ACROSS THE AREA TODAY AS A FRONT PUSHES THROUGH THE REGION. WINDS COULD GUST TO OVER 40 MPH THIS AFTERNOON... MAINLY IN PARTS OF NORTHEAST NEBRASKA. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS FROM LATE THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY AFTERNOON. THE CHANCE FOR SEVERE STORMS APPEARS LOW AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY OR TONIGHT...BUT PLEASE PASS ALONG ANY REPORTS OF HAIL. MILLER
The Omaha radar (KOAX), 58 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 09:22 UTC.
2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail the size of quarters was reported near 27th and Superior Streets in north Lincoln.
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, May 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: 159623, 159624.