A broken line of thunderstorms developed along a slow moving cold front that was pressing southeast across the region. Temperatures ahead of the front climbed to around 90 with dew point temperatures in the lower 70s.
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.
A broken line of thunderstorms developed along a slow moving cold front that was pressing southeast across the region. Temperatures ahead of the front climbed to around 90 with dew point temperatures in the lower 70s. This created very unstable conditions and allowed a few super cell thunderstorms to develop in the broken line. The stronger of there storms produced damaging winds and a few hail reports.
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 Jul 5, 1:51 PM CST, 2 hours 34 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE 251 PM CDT TUE JUL 5 2011 .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY. WEAK FRONT MOVING SOUTHWARD THROUGH THE AREA...BEING PUSHED BY A WEAK WAVE MOVING THROUGH THE NORTHERN PLAINS WILL BE A TRIGGER FOR SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS THIS EVENING...SOME OF WHICH COULD BE STRONG TO SEVERE GIVEN 40 KTS OF BULK SHEAR AND 3000 TO 4000 J/KG OF CAPE...WITH A CAP THAT APPEARS TO HAVE SUFFICIENTLY ERODED. FREEZING LEVEL WAS FAIRLY HIGH AROUND 14250 AGL...THUS IT WOULD LIKELY TAKE A HEALTHY 50DBZ CORE UP TO ABOUT 39000 FEET TO GENERATE ANY SEVERE HAIL. DRY AIR IN THE MID LEVELS ALONG WITH DOWNDRAFT CAPES 1200-1400 COULD LEAD TO SOME WIND GUSTS AS WELL. MEANWHILE...CONVECTION DEVELOPING ALONG THE FRONT RANGE COULD ALSO CONGEAL AND MOVE EASTWARD...OR CONVECTION MAY CONTINUE ALONG THE SOUTHWARD MOVING FRONT OVERNIGHT...AFFECTING MAINLY EASTERN NEBRASKA AFTER MIDNIGHT. THIS WOLD ALSO BE A FACTOR FOR CONTINUED CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS ON WEDNESDAY ESPECIALLY ACROSS SOUTHERN HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA. ANY CONVECTION COULD BE LIKELY STILL ONGOING WEDNESDAY EVENING/NIGHT SOUTH OF I80...AND COULD VERY WELL END UP ACROSS KANSAS/MISSOURI BY DAYBREAK THURSDAY BEFORE A RIDGE BEGINS TO BUILD BACK ACROSS THE AREA BY FRIDAY. WITH THE FRONT SETTLING AND REMAINING SOUTH OF THE REGION...EASTERLY WINDS WILL PREVAIL THE NEXT FEW DAYS. TEMPS IN THE LOWER 80S TOMORROW...BUT EVENTUALLY WARMING BACK TO THE MID 80S BY FRIDAY. CLOUD COVER AND RAIN COULD HOLD TEMPS BACK JUST A BIT SOUTHERN FORECAST AREA WEDNESDAY AS WELL. .LONG TERM...SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. A FLAT RIDGE WILL REMAIN IN PLACE ACROSS THE PLAINS EARLY IN THE PERIOD. A COUPLE OF WEATHER DISTURBANCES MOVING THROUGH THE NORTHERN PLAINS COULD BRUSH THE FAR NORTHERN FORECAST AREA THROUGH THE WEEKEND AS STRONG CAP CONTINUES TO BUILD FURTHER SOUTH. TEMPS SHOULD ALSO WARM FROM THE UPPER 80S TO LOWER 90S ON SATURDAY...INTO THE MID 90S ON SUNDAY AS A WARM BUBBLE BUILDS UNDERNEATH THE RIDGE. A COLD FRONT IS FORECAST TO MOVE INTO THE AREA BY LATE SUNDAY THOUGH...THEN STALL IN TYPICAL FASHION ACROSS KANSAS AND MISSOURI. THIS...COMBINED WITH WEAKNESS ALOFT WILL PROVIDE THUNDERSTORM CHANCES FROM SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...AND ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE NORTHERN PORTION OF THE FORECAST AREA. DEWALD && .AVIATION... TAF SITES KOFK/KOMA/KLNK 18Z TAFS VFR CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. SOME MVFR CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE IN SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WHERE SOME CEILINGS MAY GO BELOW 3000 FEET IN SOME OF THE CELLS. SHOWERS AND STORMS WILL CONTINUE TO FORM ALONG A COLD FRONT MOVING SOUTH ACROSS THE AREA TODAY AND TONIGHT. THE FRONT THEN STALLS OUT OUT ACROSS SOUTHERN NEBRASKA AND NORTHERN KANSAS ON WEDNESDAY. SOME VISIBILITIES MAY BE 3-5 MILES WITH FOG AT KOMA TONIGHT AFTER 09Z. SMITH && .OAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NE...NONE. IA...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE 412 PM CDT TUE JUL 5 2011 IAZ043-055-056-069-079-080-090-091-NEZ011-012-015>018-030>034- 042>045-050>053-065>068-078-088>093-061115- 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- 412 PM CDT TUE JUL 5 2011 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 SEVERE STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE THIS EVENING WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS EXPECTED...ALONG WITH LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. THE THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER WOULD BE ALONG AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM ALBION TO TEKAMAH TO HARLAN. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS MAY ALSO CONTINUE OVERNIGHT...MAINLY ACROSS EASTERN NEBRASKA. WIDESPREAD FLOODING WILL CONTINUE ALONG THE MISSOURI RIVER. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY THERE IS A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS PARTS OF THE AREA THROUGH THURSDAY...THEN AGAIN FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY. THE PROBABILITY FOR SEVERE STORMS APPEARS GENERALLY LOW. MODERATE TO MAJOR FLOODING WILL CONTINUE ALONG THE MISSOURI RIVER FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL WEEKS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... STORM SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS EVENING IN SOME AREAS.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA 328 PM CDT TUE JUL 5 2011 NEZ045-052-052100- DOUGLAS NE-WASHINGTON NE- 328 PM CDT TUE JUL 5 2011 ...SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT FOR WASHINGTON AND DOUGLAS COUNTIES UNTIL 400 PM CDT... AT 326 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS WERE TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 6 MILES NORTHEAST OF NICKERSON...OR 29 MILES NORTHWEST OF OMAHA...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 35 MPH. HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF NICKELS MAY OCCUR WITH THIS STORM. LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE... OMAHA... ARLINGTON... BLAIR... KENNARD... FORT CALHOUN... WASHINGTON... BENNINGTON... THIS STORM MAY INTENSIFY. MONITOR LOCAL RADIO AND TV STATIONS...AS WELL AS LOCAL CABLE TV OUTLETS...FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. MILLER
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA 358 PM CDT TUE JUL 5 2011 IAZ069-NEZ045-052-052130- DOUGLAS NE-POTTAWATTAMIE IA-WASHINGTON NE- 358 PM CDT TUE JUL 5 2011 ...SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT FOR SOUTHEASTERN WASHINGTON...DOUGLAS AND SOUTHWESTERN POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTIES UNTIL 430 PM CDT... AT 355 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS WERE TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR KENNARD...OR 15 MILES NORTHWEST OF OMAHA...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 35 MPH. HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF NICKELS AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH MAY OCCUR WITH THIS STORM. LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE... OMAHA... FORT CALHOUN... RALSTON... COUNCIL BLUFFS... BENNINGTON... BOYS TOWN... CARTER LAKE... LAKE MANAWA STATE PARK... MILLER
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA 426 PM CDT TUE JUL 5 2011 NEZ032-043-052200- COLFAX NE-STANTON NE- 426 PM CDT TUE JUL 5 2011 ...SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT FOR SOUTHWESTERN STANTON AND COLFAX COUNTIES UNTIL 500 PM CDT... AT 423 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS WERE TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR LEIGH...OR 22 MILES SOUTH OF NORFOLK... MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH. HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF NICKELS AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH MAY OCCUR WITH THIS STORM. LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE... LEIGH... CLARKSON... 9 MILES NORTH OF SCHUYLER... MILLER
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA 509 PM CDT TUE JUL 5 2011 NEZ050>053-052300- BUTLER NE-DOUGLAS NE-SARPY NE-SAUNDERS NE- 509 PM CDT TUE JUL 5 2011 ...SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT FOR SAUNDERS...SARPY...DOUGLAS AND EASTERN BUTLER COUNTIES UNTIL 600 PM CDT... AT 506 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS WERE TRACKING STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 8 MILES NORTHWEST OF OMAHA TO 6 MILES NORTH OF MEAD TO 9 MILES NORTHEAST OF DAVID CITY... AND MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH. WIND GUSTS UP TO 55 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS...ALONG WITH HEAVY RAIN. LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THESE STORMS INCLUDE... OMAHA... WATERLOO... ELKHORN... YUTAN... MEAD... WAHOO... WESTON... MILLARD... RALSTON... LA VISTA... COUNCIL BLUFFS... GRETNA... PAPILLION... BELLEVUE... OFFUTT AFB... SPRINGFIELD... BRUNO... MALMO... BOYS TOWN... TWO RIVERS STATE RECREATION AREA... TORRENTIAL RAIN...WHICH MAY FLOOD LOW LYING AREAS SUCH AS DITCHES AND UNDERPASSES...IS ALSO LIKELY. DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE ON A FLOODED ROADWAY. DEWALD
The Omaha radar (KOAX), 96 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:25 UTC.
8 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
The public estimated that 60 mph winds accompanied half inch hail a little south of Utica.
Home weather equipment measured a thunderstorm wind gust of 65 mph. The report was relayed by emergency management.
Thunderstorm winds were estimated at around 60 mph near Western.
Thunderstorm winds reached around 60 mph a little northeast of Hallam.
A spotter measured a thunderstorm wind gust of 67 mph on home weather equipment near Plymouth.
The Awos at Beatrice measured a thunderstorm wind gust of 64 mph at 655 pm CDT. These winds downed at least 1 tree blocking a road in Beatrice a few minutes later and also caused a large tree limb to fall onto a house west of town.
Heavy rain in a short time period brought areas of street flooding in the Beatrice area.
Thunderstorm winds estimated at over 60 mph downed trees and power lines in the Wymore area causing power outages.
Law enforcement estimated thunderstorm wind gusts reached 70 mph south of Burchard.
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, July 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: 308083, 308084, 308085, 308086, 308087, 308088, 308089, 333871, 308091, 308092.