Supercell Thunderstorms developed in a short line from southeast Nebraska into southwest Iowa during the late evening of June 19th. The storms formed near a weak warm front that separated dew point temperatures in the lower 70s south of the boundary with slightly drier conditions to the north.
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.
Supercell Thunderstorms developed in a short line from southeast Nebraska into southwest Iowa during the late evening of June 19th. The storms formed near a weak warm front that separated dew point temperatures in the lower 70s south of the boundary with slightly drier conditions to the north. The storms produced mainly large hail and at least one tornado on the Iowa and Missouri Border north of Tarkio Missouri. A little later that night another line formed along and a little south of Highway 30 from around Columbus into western Iowa. These storms produced strong winds, a few large hail reports and a band of heavy rain of 2 to 3 inches.
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 Jun 19, 2:00 PM CST, 6 hours 38 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE 300 PM CDT SUN JUN 19 2011 .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY. SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE LIKELY TONIGHT AS A WARM FRONT THAT CURRENTLY EXTENDS FROM NORTHWEST KANSAS THROUGH WEST CENTRAL MISSOURI MOVES NORTHWARD THIS EVENING...WHICH WILL BE AN INCREASING TRIGGER FOR THUNDERSTORMS...ESPECIALLY AS LOW LEVEL JET STRENGTHENS LATER THIS EVENING. EXTREME INSTABILITY HAS DEVELOPED ALONG THE BOUNDARY WITH 40 TO 50KTS OF BULK SHEAR...BUT VERY STRONG 0-1KM SHEAR... THUS THERE WILL BE A TORNADO THREAT WITH ANY STORMS THAT DEVELOP ALONG/NORTH OF THE BOUNDARY THIS EVENING. MEANWHILE...CONVECTION DEVELOPING ACROSS THE HIGH PLAINS WILL LIKELY MOVE EASTWARD AS A FORWARD PROPAGATING MCS LATER THIS EVENING BUT ESPECIALLY OVERNIGHT WITH A WIND AND HAIL THREAT ACROSS NORTHEASTERN NEBRASKA LATER TONIGHT. SEVERE WEATHER CONFERENCE CALL AT 2 PM ADDRESSED MOST CONCERNS...AND HAVE NO DOUBT THAT MUCH OF THE CWFA WILL EVENTUALLY BE IN A TORNADO WATCH LATER THIS EVENING. SURFACE LOW MOVES TO CENTRAL KANSAS BY DAYBREAK MONDAY WITH THE WARM FRONT MAKING NORTHWARD PROGRESS TO NORTHEAST NEBRASKA. COULD STILL BE AN ONGOING MCS ACROSS NORTHEAST NEBRASKA EARLY MONDAY...BUT THEN THE REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST AREA BECOMES CAPPED ONCE AGAIN AND POTENTIALLY HOT IN THE LOWER 90S...BUT SURFACE LOW MOVES INTO SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA THROUGH THE AFTERNOON...WITH DRY LINE ADVANCING EASTWARD...WHICH SETS THE STAGE FOR ANOTHER ROUND OF SEVERE STORMS LATE MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING WITH ANOTHER TORNADIC THREAT...WITH VERY STRONG 0-1KM SHEAR...BUT ALSO BECAUSE OF BACKED SURFACE WINDS...SUBSTANTIAL DIRECTIONAL SHEAR EXISTS. SURFACE LOW MOVES TO NEAR KSUX BY DAYBREAK TUESDAY THEN TO CENTRAL MINNESOTA THROUGH THE DAY. THIS WILL RESULT IN NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUING ON TUESDAY. SURFACE LOW THEN ROTATES AROUND ITSELF THROUGH WEDNESDAY...WHICH BRINGS ADDITIONAL RAIN INTO THE AREA...ALONG WITH NORTHWEST WINDS AT 15 TO 25 MPH AND COOL TEMPERATURES. .LONG TERM...WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY. SURFACE LOW PULLS AWAY EARLY IN THE PERIOD...BUT A NEW FRONT DEVELOPS ACROSS THE AREA THAT COULD BRING MORE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY...BUT THEN ALSO THROUGH THE WEEKEND AS ZONAL FLOW REMAINS ACROSS THE PLAINS AND ADDITIONAL SUBTLE WAVES MOVE THROUGH ON A WESTERLY FLOW. DEWALD && .AVIATION... TAF SITES KOFK/KOMA/KLNK 18Z TAFS VFR WITH OCCASIONAL MVFR IS EXPECTED THROUGH THE TAF PD. FORECAST BECOMES QUITE COMPLICATED WITH THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY FORECAST TO DEVELOP AND MOVE THRU TAF SITES AFTER 00Z. SCATTERED TSTMS COULD AFFECT TAF SITES THRU 12Z. KERN && .HYDROLOGY... LEVEE OVERTOPPING OR FAILING BETWEEN HAMBURG AND BROWNVILLE ALLOWED THE POOLED WATER IN THE EXTREME TIP OR NORTHWESTERN MISSOURI TO RUSH BACK INTO THE MISSOURI RIVER. THIS RESULTED IN A 1.9 FOOT RISE AT BROWNVILLE FROM 230 AM THROUGH NOON...WHICH ALLOWED THE STAGE TO EXCEED THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 44.2 FEET SET BACK IN 1993. THIS RESULTED IN OVERTOPPING OF FEDERAL LEVEE 550 IN NORTHWESTERN MISSOURI. ALSO...ANOTHER LEVEE BREECH VERY EARLY THIS MORNING HAS AFFECTED THE STAGE AT RULO WITH A SIGNIFICANT DROP. FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR THE MISSOURI SIDE OF RIVER. DEWALD && .OAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NE...NONE. IA...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE 540 PM CDT SUN JUN 19 2011 IAZ043-055-056-069-079-080-090-091-NEZ011-012-015>018-030>034- 042>045-050>053-065>068-078-088>093-201100- 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- 540 PM CDT SUN JUN 19 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MOST OF EASTERN NEBRASKA AND PARTS OF SOUTHWEST IOWA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT AND MONDAY THERE IS A MODERATE RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS MOST OF THE AREA. THE MAIN THREAT FROM THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE ALSO POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY FOR PARTS OF SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA PRIOR TO 11 PM. THE SEVERE WEATHER RISK WILL CONTINUE OVERNIGHT. A MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS HA LIFTED NORTHWARD INTO SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA LATE SUNDAY...NORTH OF A WARM FRONT. STORMS MAY DEVELOP NEAR THE WARM FRONT THIS EVENING...BUT THERE IS A STRONG CAP WHICH WILL TEND TO INHIBIT DEVELOPMENT. IF STORMS CAN BREAK THE CAP... THEY WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING PRODUCING VERY LARGE HAIL AND POSSIBLY TORNADOES. OTHER THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS PARTS OF WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA WILL DEVELOP EASTWARD TONIGHT. THESE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO EASTERN NEBRASKA LATER THIS EVENING AND THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. THESE STORMS ARE ALSO LIKELY TO BE SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT SHOULD GENERALLY END LATE TONIGHT AS THE STORMS MOVE OUT OF THE AREA. A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE STORMS WILL CONTINUE ON MONDAY AS A COMPLEX LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM AND UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVE OUT INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS. SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER APPEARS POSSIBLE WITH THIS SYSTEM. MODERATE TO MAJOR FLOODING WILL CONTINUE ALONG THE MISSOURI RIVER RESULTING IN NUMEROUS ROADS REMAINING CLOSED NEAR THE RIVER. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY SEVERE STORMS COULD LINGER INTO MONDAY NIGHT. THERE IS ALSO A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TUESDAY BUT THESE ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE. THE NEXT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IS FROM THURSDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY. MODERATE TO MAJOR FLOODING WILL CONTINUE ALONG THE MISSOURI RIVER THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE SUMMER. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS EVENING ACROSS PARTS OF THE AREA...MAINLY SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA. SPOTTERS MAY BE NEEDED ON MONDAY AS WELL...IN THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA
938 PM CDT SUN JUN 19 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0935 PM HAIL NEBRASKA CITY 40.68N 95.86W
06/19/2011 E0.50 INCH OTOE NE TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
VDEWALDThe Omaha radar (KOAX), 83 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:38 UTC.
8 hail, 6 thunderstorm wind, 1 heavy rain, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
From the first of at least 2 supercell thunderstorms that tracked across the town this night.
Hail up to 2.5 inches in diameter fell for about 15 minutes from the second supercell thunderstorm that moved across the Nebraska City area this night.
From the second or possibly third supercell thunderstorm that moved across the Nebraska City area this night.
Hail up to 2 inches fell in the Ithaca area with some reports of sky lights broken because of the hail.
Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 60 mph downed at least one tree onto power lines. Six center pivots were flipped over in the region as well.
Thunderstorm winds estimated at over 60 mph downed tree limbs several inches in diameter south of Cedar Bluffs and destroyed a large metal building west of town. Two center pivots in the area were also flipped.
Around a mile northwest of Boystown.
Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at around 60 mph blew down 2 large trees in the Lyons city park.
Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated at around 60 mph in the Bellwood area.
Hail up to golf ball-size was accompanied by thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 mph.
A decaying thunderstorm or outflow from a storm northwest of the region caused some tree damage in the Seward area including knocking down 4 large trees on the Concordia University campus.
Rainfall of a little over 3 inches was reported in the Scribner area. The rain fell in a several hour period and produced flooding along sections of Maple Creek later that day.
A decaying thunderstorm produced a 63 mph wind gust at the Lincoln airport.
A line of heavy rain producing thunderstorms dropped 2 to 3 inches of rain across the Maple Creek basing during the early morning hours of 6/20. The heavy rain caused Maple Creek to flood farm fields and a few county roads later that day, especially near and west of Nickerson where the creek climbed about a foot above its 10 foot flood stage.
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, June 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: 301693, 301695, 301696, 301697, 301698, 301699, 301702, 301703, 301704, 301707, 301708, 301709, 333676, 301712, 301720, 301718.