Daytime heating combined with moderate amounts of moisture and relatively cool air aloft near a northwest moving weak upper level low helped kick off afternoon thunderstorms across southeast Nebraska. One storm produced a brief downburst causing damage near Auburn.
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The episode as NWS OAX wrote it up.
Daytime heating combined with moderate amounts of moisture and relatively cool air aloft near a northwest moving weak upper level low helped kick off afternoon thunderstorms across southeast Nebraska. One storm produced a brief downburst causing damage near Auburn.
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 24, 1:55 PM CST, 5 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE 255 PM CDT SUN MAY 24 2009 .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY WEDNESDAY. TWO FEATURES OF IMPORTANCE WERE NOTED ON THE RECENT WATER VAPOR IMAGERY. THE FIRST WAS THE TROPICAL PLUME OF MOISTURE AND ASSOCIATED LOW PRESSURE CENTER ACROSS THE MID MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY MOVING NORTHWEST TOWARDS OUR AREA. THE SECOND WAS A WEAK TROUGH MOVING THROUGH THE NORTHERN ROCKIES...WHICH WILL EVENTUALLY DRIVE A COLD FRONT INTO THE AREA AS WELL. THE TWO SYSTEMS ARE FORECAST TO TRY TO MERGE/INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER BEGINNING MONDAY...BRINGING INCREASING CHANCES FOR RAIN THROUGH ABOUT WEDNESDAY. IN THE MEANTIME...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS HAD DEVELOPED SOUTH OF I80 THIS AFTERNOON WHERE SUFFICIENT MIXING HAD BOOSTED TEMPS TO THE CONVECTIVE TEMPS...AND WOULD EXPECT THIS TYPE OF ACTIVITY TO CONTINUE THROUGH EARLY EVENING. WIND SHEAR HOWEVER IS QUITE MARGINAL...AND WOULD BE HARD PRESSED TO SEE ANY REAL THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER...EXCEPT FOR LOCALLY HEAVY DOWNPOURS AND SOME VERY SMALL HAIL PERHAPS. OTHERWISE FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE NIGHT AFTER MIDNIGHT...HAVE OPTED FOR DRY CONDITIONS AS WE REMAIN IN BETWEEN THE TWO AFOREMENTIONED SYSTEMS. BY DAYBREAK MONDAY...MOISTURE FROM THE SOUTHEASTERN SYSTEM WILL BEGIN MOVING INTO THE SOUTHEASTERN HALF OF THE CWFA...RESULTING IN SOME SPOTTY SHOWERS DEVELOPING THERE THROUGH THE MORNING...WHILE NORTHWESTERN CWFA REMAINS DRY IN ADVANCE OF THE COLD FRONT...WHICH MAY BEGIN TO AFFECT OUR FAR NORTHWESTERN CWFA BY LATE IN THE AFTERNOON. THIS MAKES THE TEMPERATURE FORECAST TRICKY ON MONDAY... WITH NEAR 80 EXPECTED IN NORTHEAST NEBRASKA WHERE THEY SHOULD SEE SUNSHINE THROUGH THE DAY...BUT TEMPS ONLY IN THE LOWER/MID 70S SOUTHEASTERN HALF WHERE SCATTERED SHOWERS SHOULD DEVELOP ALONG WITH QUITE A BIT OF CLOUD COVER. MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY ARE WHEN THE TWO SYSTEMS TRY TO COALESCE. THIS SHOULD RESULT IN SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS THROUGH THE DAY...AND CANNOT RULE OUT A RUMBLE OR TWO OF THUNDER MAINLY ACROSS THE SOUTHEASTERN CWFA AS OVERALL INSTABILITY REMAINS QUITE LOW. TEMPS TUESDAY WILL ALSO BE QUITE TRICKY...WITH READINGS LUCKY TO REACH THE LOWER 60S IN NORTHEASTERN NEBRASKA IN LIEU OF CONTINUED COLD AIR ADVECTION...AND OTHER AREAS STRUGGLING TO REACH 70 IN LIEU OF RAIN AND CLOUDS THROUGH THE DAY. WILL MAINTAIN A CHANCE OF SHOWERS TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY...BUT ENDING FROM NORTH TO SOUTH THROUGH THAT PERIOD. WITH SUN POKING BACK OUT ACROSS NORTHEAST NEBRASKA TUESDAY AFTERNOON...HAVE HIGHER TEMPS THERE IN THE MID 70S...BUT STILL JUST NEAR 70 ALONG/SOUTH OF I80 WHERE CLOUDS/SHOWERS WILL LINGER MUCH OF THE DAY. .LONG TERM...THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. OVERALL...THE PERIOD WILL BE DOMINATED BY NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT...WITH A RIDGE BUILDING FROM THE ROCKIES EASTWARD. THERE ARE SOME MODEL DISCREPANCIES...MOST NOTABLY WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANOTHER TROUGH ACROSS THE NORTHERN CONUS BY DAY 7. THE GFS/ENSEMBLE ALLOWS THE RIDGE TO FLATTEN ACROSS THE PLAINS WHICH DRIVES A COLD FRONT INTO THE LOCAL VICINITY BY LATE DAY SUNDAY. THE ECMWF HOWEVER MAINTAINS THE STRENGTH OF THE RIDGE...BUT DOES SUGGEST THE PRESENCE OF A POSSIBLE FRONT MOVING INTO THE AREA ALSO. HOWEVER...GIVEN THAT THIS IS STILL 7 DAYS OUT...WILL KEEP SUNDAY DRY AT THIS TIME. ANOTHER NOTABLE DIFFERENCE IS FRIDAY NIGHT/SATURDAY AS THE ECMWF ALLOWS A SUBTLE WAVE TO MOVE THROUGH THE REGION IN NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT. WE ALREADY HAD SOME SMALL TSTORM POPS GOING DURING THIS TIME...AND GIVEN CONSISTENCY OF THE ECMWF REGARDING THIS FEATURE...OPTED TO LEAVE THE MENTION IN FOR NOW. OTHERWISE...NO REMARKABLE SWINGS IN TEMPS EITHER WAY DURING THE PERIOD. A FRONTAL BOUNDARY APPEARS TO SLIDE THROUGH THE AREA EARLY FRIDAY...BUT MOISTURE IS LACKING...THUS IT SHOULD JUST PRODUCE A WIND SHIFT AND SLIGHTLY COOLER TEMPS FRIDAY...BUT THEN RETURN FLOW DEVELOPS THROUGH THE WEEKEND ALLOWING TEMPS TO RECOVER TO THE LOWER/MID 80S BY SUNDAY. && .AVIATION... FOR TAF SITES KOFK/KOMA/KLNK. 18Z TAFS. EAST OR SOUTHEAST SURFACE WINDS SHOULD CONTINUE THROUGH THE PERIOD AS HIGH PRESSURE CENTERED OVER MINNESOTA MOVES EASTWARD. WIDELY SCATTERED AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING TSTMS SHOULD DECREASE IN COVERAGE AS THE EVENING PROGRESSES. TOUGH TO PINPOINT TIMING OF TSTMS AT TAF SITES...SO WILL AMEND AS NEEDED. BOUNDARY LAYER WILL REMAIN FAIRLY MOIST. EXPECT LOW CLOUDS AND SOME FOG WILL DEVELOP DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. && .OAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NE...NONE. IA...NONE. && DEWALD/MILLER
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE 1130 AM CDT SUN MAY 24 2009 IAZ043-055-056-069-079-080-090-091-NEZ011-012-015>018-030>034- 042>045-050>053-065>068-078-088>093-250000- 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- 1130 AM CDT SUN MAY 24 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MOST OF EASTERN NEBRASKA AND PARTS OF SOUTHWEST IOWA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER MUCH OF THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. ALTHOUGH SMALL HAIL IS POSSIBLE WITH THE STRONGEST STORMS...WEAK WINDS ALOFT SHOULD KEEP MOST IF NOT ALL OF THE STORMS BELOW SEVERE LIMITS. LOCALLY HEAVY DOWNPOURS MAY OCCUR. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY THUNDERSTORM CHANCES SHOULD INCREASE AGAIN LATE MONDAY INTO TUESDAY AS A COLD FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE NORTHWEST AND AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE APPROACHES FROM THE SOUTHEAST. NORTHWEST. AT THIS TIME... INSTABILITY AND WIND SHEAR FORECAST OVER THE REGION DO NOT SUPPORT ORGANIZED SEVERE WEATHER. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION SHOULD NOT BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON OR TONIGHT. MILLER
The Omaha radar (KOAX), 115 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:01 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A thunderstorm downburst tore the roof off of a barn southeast of Auburn. The winds were estimated at over 60 mph.
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: 163610.