Strong northwest winds spread from the Nebraska Panhandle into portions of western Nebraska during the afternoon hours of May 4, 2010. Northwest winds were sustained at 40 mph or greater for at least a few hours during the afternoon with gusts of 55 to 60 mph across Sheridan, Garden, and Deuel Counties and then spread into Grant and Arthur Counties.
Every event with a place to put it; 5 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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 LBF wrote it up.
Strong northwest winds spread from the Nebraska Panhandle into portions of western Nebraska during the afternoon hours of May 4, 2010. Northwest winds were sustained at 40 mph or greater for at least a few hours during the afternoon with gusts of 55 to 60 mph across Sheridan, Garden, and Deuel Counties and then spread into Grant and Arthur Counties.
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 North Platte, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 4, 12:41 PM MST, 19 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE 241 PM CDT TUE MAY 4 2010 .DISCUSSION... VERY DRY AIR IS SURGING EAST OUT OF WYOMING THIS AFTN. AS THIS DRY AIR MOVES EAST DEEP VERTICAL MIXING IS OCCURRING PRODUCING HIGH WIND GUSTS. THE DRY AIR SHOULD SURGE EAST THROUGH PANHANDLE AND THEN DIP SOUTHEAST THROUGH NORTH CENTRAL AND SWRN NEB BY 00Z. NO CHANGES ARE PLANNED FOR THE HIGH WIND WARNING. THE WIND ADVISORY MAY NEED TO BE EXTENDED SOUTH THROUGH SWRN NEB. THE COLD FRONT WHICH PASSED THROUGH THIS MORNING IS FCST TO DROP INTO NCNTL TEXAS WEDNESDAY. THIS FRONT WILL DRAW MOISTURE NORTHWARD THROUGH WRN HIGH PLAINS WEDNESDAY WITH RAIN AND SNOW DEVELOPING ACROSS THE NRN PLAINS THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. THE PROCESS OF UNWINDING RAIN CHANCES HAS BEGUN ACROSS THE FCST AREA. HPC...THE NAM AND GFS ARE NEARLY DRY AT KLBF AND THE MEDIAN QPF AT KLBF FOR ALL MODELS IS .05 INCHES WHICH IS BASICALLY DRY. THE H7 LOW WILL BE TRACKING THROUGH SOUTH DAKOTA THURSDAY WELL NORTH OF THE FCST AREA. WIND ADVISORY CONDITIONS COULD DEVELOP FRIDAY AS THE STORM WINDS UP ACROSS THE UPPER MIDWEST. WITH THE STORM TRACKING WELL NORTH OF THE FCST AREA TEMPERATURES THURSDAY COULD ACTUALLY RISE INTO THE 60S SOUTH WITH 40S IN THE NORTHWEST. HIGHS FRIDAY STILL LOOK LIKE 40S AND 50S AS ANOTHER BATCH OF CANADIAN HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS THROUGH THE NRN AND CNTL PLAINS. THIS HIGH SHOULD BE CENTERED OVER NEBRASKA SATURDAY MORNING WITH LOWS IN THE 20S ACROSS WRN NEBRASKA. THE HIGH THEN CONTINUES TO BUILD THROUGH THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY SUNDAY AND MONDAY AND SETS UP A STRONG SLY RETURN FLOW MONDAY AND TUESDAY. THE ECMWF CONTINUES TO ADVERTISE A DEVELOPING WARM FRONT SATURDAY NIGHT WITH ROUND AFTER ROUND OF CONVECTION FIRING ALONG THE FRONT DRAPED ACROSS CNTL NEB. SIGNIFICANT RAIN COULD FALL MONDAY AND TUESDAY AS A LEAD SHORT WAVE OPERATES ON THE FRONT. TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN ON THE COOL SIDE WITH HIGHS IN THE UPPER 50S AND 60S SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. && .AVIATION... STRONG GUSTY W TO NW SFC WINDS TO 45 KTS WILL BE THE MAIN CONCERN EARLY THIS EVENING ACROSS WESTERN NEB...INCLUDING BOTH THE KVTN AND KLBF TAF SITES. WINDS SHOULD RAPIDLY DIMINISH TO W TO NW AT 10 KTS BY 06Z WEDNESDAY. VFR CONDITIONS SHOULD BE THE RULE THROUGH WEDNESDAY...WITH SCT TO BKN CLOUDS ABOVE 10000 AGL. && .LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 7 PM CDT /6 PM MDT/ THIS EVENING FOR NEZ204-206-208-210-219. WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 9 PM CDT /8 PM MDT/ THIS EVENING FOR NEZ005- 006-008-024>026-036-037-058-059. HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 8 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR NEZ004-022-023- 035-056-057-094. && SHORT TERM/EXTENDED...CDC AVIATION...TAYLOR
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE 529 AM CDT TUE MAY 4 2010 NEZ004>010-022>029-035>038-056>059-069>071-094-051030- SHERIDAN-EASTERN CHERRY-KEYA PAHA-BOYD-BROWN-ROCK-HOLT-GARDEN- GRANT-HOOKER-THOMAS-BLAINE-LOUP-GARFIELD-WHEELER-ARTHUR-MCPHERSON- LOGAN-CUSTER-DEUEL-KEITH-PERKINS-LINCOLN-CHASE-HAYES-FRONTIER- WESTERN CHERRY- 529 AM CDT TUE MAY 4 2010 /429 AM MDT TUE MAY 4 2010/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. A PREFRONTAL TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE AND AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT...WILL SPREAD STRONG WINDS ACROSS A LARGE PORTION OF WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA TODAY AND THIS EVENING. A HIGH WIND WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED...MAINLY FOR LOCATIONS WEST OF HIGHWAY 61 FROM MERRIMAN TO OGALLALA WHERE WIND GUSTS UP TO 60 MPH ARE LIKELY. FURTHER EAST...WIND GUSTS UP TO 45 MPH ARE LIKELY AND A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT. WINDS WILL DIMINISH LATER TONIGHT AFTER SUNSET. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. MUCH COLDER TEMPERATURES WILL ARRIVE ON THURSDAY. BY THURSDAY NIGHT...LIGHT SNOW IS POSSIBLE WEST OF A LINE FROM KILGORE TO OGALLALA. NO SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE FORECAST. THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY. AT THIS TIME...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED THROUGH TONIGHT. && THIS PRODUCT IS NOW AVAILABLE...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER... HYDROLOGICAL AND CLIMATOLOGICAL INFORMATION...AT HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/NORTHPLATTE CLB
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Wind damage to an outbuilding occurred 8 miles northwest of Oshkosh, where wind gusts were estimated to be 60 mph. Northwest winds also were sustained at 40 mph or greater from 1 pm to 4 pm MST.
Northwest winds were estimated to be sustained at 40 mph with occasional gusts to 60 mph across portions of Sheridan County between 130 pm and 330 pm MST. The nearby Chadron ASOS reported occasional wind gusts of 60 mph or greater during this time.
The cooperative weather observer estimated sustained winds of 40 mph throughout most of the afternoon. Damage to trees was reported. In Arthur, a greenhouse was destroyed and a flag was torn from a flagpole at the county offices. Northwest winds were estimated to be sustained at 40 mph or greater from 1 pm to 4 pm MST.
Northwest winds were estimated to be sustained at 40 mph and occasionally gusted to 60 mph across portions of Grant County between 130 pm and 330 pm MST. The nearby Alliance ASOS reported occasional wind gusts of 60 mph or greater during this time.
Northwest winds were estimated to be sustained at 40 mph with occasional gusts to 60 mph across portions of Deuel County between 130 pm and 330 pm MST. The nearby Sidney ASOS reported sustained winds of 40 mph and occasional gusts of 60 mph or greater during this time. Blowing dust was also reported by the Sidney ASOS with the lowest visibility of one and a half miles.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nebraska in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Nebraska, May 2010
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: 218764, 218765, 218766, 218769, 218771.