Thunderstorms developed over western Nebraska in the late morning and early afternoon hours on Tuesday, August 9th on the north side of a stationary surface front. Several storms became severe and produced very large hail up to baseball size as they moved southeast across southwest Nebraska.
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 LBF wrote it up.
Thunderstorms developed over western Nebraska in the late morning and early afternoon hours on Tuesday, August 9th on the north side of a stationary surface front. Several storms became severe and produced very large hail up to baseball size as they moved southeast across southwest Nebraska. One of these storms produced several funnel clouds over Keith and Lincoln counties. More storms developed into the overnight hours which brought more large hail and damaging winds to the southern Nebraska panhandle and far southwest Nebraska.
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 Aug 9, 9:14 AM MST, 2 hours 43 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE 1114 AM CDT TUE AUG 9 2011 .DISCUSSION... AN AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS HAS FORMED NORTHWEST OF OGALLALA ALREADY IN RESPONSE TO LOW- AND MID-LEVEL WARM AIR ADVECTION AHEAD OF A WEAK SHORT WAVE MOVING INTO SOUTHWESTERN SD. ANOTHER LINE OF STORMS IS ON ITS WAY INTO NORTHWESTERN NEB JUST AHEAD OF THE WAVE. THIS ACTIVITY IS PROPAGATING THROUGH AN ENVIRONMENT CHARACTERIZED BY MUCAPE OF 500 TO 1000 J/KG AND EFFECTIVE SHEAR OF 35-45 KTS...SO SOME SEVERE HAIL IS POSSIBLE. A MORE SIGNIFICANT SEVERE THREAT IS STILL EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING AS SURFACE-BASED INSTABILITY INCREASES AND THE STRONGER SHORT WAVE AND JET STREAK ACROSS THE CENTRAL ROCKIES MOVES INTO THE AREA. HOWEVER...THE ONGOING CONVECTION RAISES SOME QUESTION AS TO WHERE THE GREATER RISK WILL BE LOCATED. IT/S VERY POSSIBLE THE SURFACE-BASED STORMS WILL FOCUS SOUTH OF A LINE FROM ABOUT ALLIANCE TO NORTH PLATTE...OR SOUTH OF AN EFFECTIVE FRONT OR OUTFLOW BOUNDARY SET UP IN PART BY THE EARLY-DAY STORMS. THE 12 UTC NAM SUPPORTS THIS IDEA. THE AIR MASS WILL BE CHARACTERIZED BY MID 80S F TEMPS...60-65 F DEWPOINTS...AND MLCAPE OF 1500 TO 2000 J/KG. THE 0-6 KM BULK SHEAR WILL BE SUBSTANTIAL...ON THE ORDER OF 55-65 KTS...SO SUPERCELLS WILL BE LIKELY AT LEAST INITIALLY. HOWEVER...THE DEGREE OF BUOYANCY COULD ACTUALLY BE A BIT LOW FOR THIS MAGNITUDE OF SHEAR...SO IT/S POSSIBLE THAT IT MAY TAKE SOME TIME FOR UPDRAFTS TO GAIN SUFFICIENT DEPTH TO ROTATE AND BECOME SEVERE. NOTE THAT THERE IS A NON-ZERO TORNADO RISK IF DISCRETE STORMS PERSIST TOWARD 00 UTC...WHEN 0-1 KM BULK SHEAR IS FORECAST TO INCREASE TO 15-20 KTS IN SOUTHWESTERN NEB. WE HAVE INCREASED POPS CLOSE TO 50 PERCENT OVER MUCH OF WESTERN NEB 18-00 UTC...AND ADDED MENTION OF SEVERE WEATHER...TO COVER BOTH THE RISK OF ELEVATED HAIL NORTH AND LATER SURFACE-BASED ACTIVITY SOUTH. && .AVIATION... SHORT RANGE FORECASTS INDICATE SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING IN WESTERN NEBRASKA. WE HAVE MODERATE TO HIGH CONFIDENCE THAT THEY WILL BE SOUTH AND WEST OF A VTN-BBW LINE WHICH INCLUDES THE TERMINAL FORECAST AT KLBF AND AIRPORTS AT MHN...TIF... OGA AND IML. IN THAT AREA...HAIL AND WIND GUSTS 50KT OR HIGHER ARE POSSIBLE. IN CENTRAL AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA...INCLUDING ANW... ONL AND BBW...THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE...BUT THE PROBABILITY IS LESS THAN 40 PERCENT. OUTSIDE OF THUNDERSTORMS...CRITICAL FLIGHT CONDITIONS ARE NOT EXPECTED. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 315 AM CDT TUE AUG 9 2011/ SYNOPSIS... RIDGING ACROSS THE ROCKIES IS ALREADY UNDERWAY AS SEEN ON SATELLITE WATER VAPOR LOOP AND IN PLOTS AND MODEL INITIALIZATIONS. THIS RIDGING WILL STEER ENERGY OVER THE CWA FOR THE NEXT 48 HOURS AND BRING A GOOD CHANCE FOR WIDESPREAD RAINFALL OF 1-2 INCHES WITH HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE. QPFERD EXCESSIVE RAINFALL DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA FOR 2 INCH AMOUNTS WITH SPOTTY 3-4 POSSIBLE. HEIGHTS AND HEAT CONTINUE TO INCREASE ACROSS THE ROCKIES FRIDAY AND INTO THE WEEKEND WITH TROUGH STRENGTHEN ACROSS THE EASTERN US. WESTERN NEBRASKA WILL BE COOLER AND THOUGH IN THE SHADOW OF THE RIDGE THERE WILL STILL BE MINOR THUNDERSTORM CHANCES INTO THE EXTENDED PERIODS. SHORT TERM... NAM AND GFS SOLUTIONS DIFFER IN THE SHORT TERM INCLUDING TEMPERATURES TODAY BUT THEY ALL AGREE ON THE ONSET OF THUNDERSTORMS TODAY. THE NAM HAS VERIFIED WELL THE PAST 24 HOURS AND WILL CONTINUE TO FOLLOW ITS NOW SLIGHTLY SLOWER SOLUTION. TODAY...A FEW SHOWERS AND A THUNDERSTORM OR TWO WILL BE ONGOING EARLY THIS MORNING WITH ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING THIS AFTERNOON IN THE NORTHERN PANHANDLE. THESE STORMS WILL ENCOUNTER AN UNSTABLE BUT HIGHLY SHEARED ENVIRONMENT THIS AFTERNOON IN THE OUTLOOK AREA. NAM MODEL SOUNDINGS SHOW A DRY ADIABATIC ENVIRONMENT DEVELOPING AFTER 21Z. WE ARE UNDER A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH AS MUCH AS 1400 J/KG CAPE IN THE NAM AND BELOW 1000 J/KG IN THE GFS. RELATIVELY LOW CAPE WITH HIGH SHEAR MAY LIMIT SEVERE POTENTIAL THIS AFTERNOON. 50 KNOT WEST WINDS AT 500 MB ARE FORECAST WITH A FREEZING LEVEL OF 15.4 KFT SO BELIEVE THE PRIMARY SEVERE THREAT WILL BE FROM THUNDERSTORM WINDS GENERALLY WEST OF A LINE FROM BROKEN BOW TO PINE RIDGE....MODEL SOUNDINGS TO THE EAST OF THIS LINE DO NOT DISPLAY THE CLASSIC DEEP INVERTED V SOUNDING. TONIGHT...DEEP LOW LEVEL EASTERLY UPSLOPE FLOW WILL CONTINUE TO FEED THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT. RAINFALL AMOUNTS AND COVERAGE WILL INCREASE AND BECOME GREATEST BETWEEN 6Z AND 12Z ACROSS ALL OF WESTERN NEBRASKA WITH A WIDESPREAD SWATH AROUND AN INCH POSSIBLE. WEDNESDAY...THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE ONGOING AND PRODUCING WIDESPREAD HEAVY RAIN. OUTSIDE THE STORMS...LIGHT WINDS AND ABUNDANT MOISTURE WILL BRING FOG AND STRATUS MAY FILL IN ACROSS THE SOUTHERN CWA. 850 MB MOISTURE CONVERGENCE WILL BE FOCUSED OVER THE CWA AND UNDER 300 MB DIVERGENCE CENTER. THE UPPER LEVEL DIVERGENCE MOVES ON DURING THE DAY AND THE MODELS SHOW VARIOUS WAYS OF THE PRECIPITATION ENDING BUT THEY ALL END DURING THE DAY (NAM) OR AFTERNOON (GFS) WITH NO MORE THAN AN ADDITIONAL INCH OF PRECIPITATION. THURSDAY...A SHORT WAVE TROUGH APPROACHES AND BRINGS THE THREAT OF SMALL POPS...THE BIGGEST CONCERN IS THAT THE NAM IS SLOW ENOUGH THAT IT MAY BE TRENDING TO SHIFT POPS INTO FRIDAY WHICH IS CURRENTLY A DRY FORECAST. AS SKY COVER MAY DEPART EARLY IN THE EVENING THERE WILL BE THE THREAT OF FOG DEVELOPMENT AS THOSE AREAS WHERE SKIES CLEAR. EXTENDED PERIOD... RIDGING WEST AND TROUGH EAST AND IN BETWEEN WE EXPECT SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES WITH MINOR THUNDERSTORM CHANCES. THIS TREND WELL HANDLED IN CURRENT FORECAST AND NO CHANGES MADE THIS UPDATE. && .LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && UPDATE...SCHULTZ AVIATION...SPRINGER PREV DISCUSSION...HIRSCH
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE 1145 AM CDT TUE AUG 9 2011 NEZ004>010-022>029-035>038-056>059-069>071-094-101645- 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- 1145 AM CDT TUE AUG 9 2011 /1045 AM MDT TUE AUG 9 2011/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS OVER WESTERN NEBRASKA THIS AFTERNOON WILL BE GROWING INTO A MORE WIDESPREAD AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS IN SOUTHWESTERN NEBRASKA BY EVENING. ISOLATED SEVERE STORMS ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH MID AFTERNOON. DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING...A GREATER RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL EXIST...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PANHANDLE AND SOUTHWESTERN NEBRASKA. LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE ALL POSSIBLE IN THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. AS A STATIONARY FRONT CONTINUES ON THE HIGH PLAINS...THERE IS A CHANCE OF AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS AGAIN WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. && THIS PRODUCT IS NOW AVAILABLE...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER... HYDROLOGICAL AND CLIMATOLOGICAL INFORMATION...AT HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/NORTHPLATTE CJS
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE 1056 AM CDT TUE AUG 9 2011 NEZ022-035-057-091645- ARTHUR NE-GARDEN NE-KEITH NE- 956 AM MDT TUE AUG 9 2011 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SOUTHERN ARTHUR...NORTHERN KEITH AND EASTERN GARDEN COUNTIES UNTIL 1045 AM MDT... AT 954 AM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 7 MILES EAST OF BLUEWATER BATTLEFIELD STATE HISTORICAL PARK...OR 15 MILES EAST OF OSHKOSH...MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH. HAIL UP TO ONE-HALF INCH IN DIAMETER AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM...ALONG WITH DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE... OTTER CREEK CAMPGROUND... LEMOYNE... KEYSTONE... HIGHWAY 61 MILE MARKER 110... HIGHWAY 61 MILE MARKER 100... KINGSLEY DAM... STOPPKOTTE
The North Platte radar (KLNX), 106 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:55 UTC.
23 hail, 2 funnel cloud, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Crop damage occurred from large hail over southern Arthur County. This loss caused a varied decrease in yields for the corn crop that the hail affected.
Tennis ball size hail fell four miles north of Paxton, while half dollar size hail was reported in the city of Paxton. Also, heavy crop damage occurred from this large hail with total loss for approximately 1000 acres.
Hail up to the size of quarters covered the ground and was six inches in depth in some locations. This caused the Nebraska Department of Roads to plow the hail off of the roads north of Lake McConaughy. This hail also heavily impacted the corn crop in the area, with total crop loss being common to approximately 1000 acres of crops.
A wall cloud produced several brief funnel clouds approximately 10 miles west of Sutherland.
Golf ball size hail covered the ground near the Sutherland Power Plant and broke windows out of homes in the city of Sutherland.
Golf ball size hail broke out windows in a home.
A wall cloud produced several small funnel clouds near Wallace.
Twenty-four windows were broken out of a local business building, with many other reports of windows broken out of homes and vehicles in the city of Wallace.
Baseball size hail fell 10 miles north-northeast of Hayes Center, while golf ball size hail fell seven miles north of Hayes Center. Many cornfields were stripped with crop damage varying from minor to total loss.
Ping pong and golf ball size hail fell in Venango, while quarter size hail fell 10 miles east of Venango.
Half dollar size hail fell in Grant, while quarter size hail fell six miles west-northwest of Grant.
Golf ball size hail covered the ground.
Golf ball size hail fell five miles northeast of Imperial and half dollar size hail fell 10 miles north of Imperial.
Thunderstorm winds were estimated at 60 m.p.h. in Chappell.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nebraska in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Nebraska, August 2011
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: 333435, 333400, 333436, 333386, 333404, 333405, 333388, 333407, 333410, 333408, 333447, 333448, 333414, 333449, 333417, 333419, 333420, 333421, 333422, 333424, 333425, 333426, 333427, 333438, 333437, 333452.