Hail, Monona
- When
- May 19, 6:05 PM CST
- Where
- Monona County, 0.51 mi E of Onawa
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
- Coordinates
- 42.030, -96.090
Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, May 19, 2012
Thunderstorms developed along and behind a cold front in eastern Nebraska during the afternoon and evening of May 19th. The storms produced areas of damaging winds and large hail as they tracked from eastern Nebraska into western Iowa.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 6
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.
What happened
The episode as NWS OAX wrote it up.
Thunderstorms developed along and behind a cold front in eastern Nebraska during the afternoon and evening of May 19th. The storms produced areas of damaging winds and large hail as they tracked from eastern Nebraska into western Iowa.
What forecasters said that day
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 19, 2:12 PM CST, 3 hours 53 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 19, 2:12 PM CST, 3 hours 53 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE 312 PM CDT SAT MAY 19 2012 .DISCUSSION... A COLD FRONT WAS LOCATED OVER PARTS OF NORTHEAST INTO SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AT 19Z. THE FRONT WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE AREA TONIGHT WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH MIDNIGHT. THE FRONT AND ASSOCIATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE EAST OF THE AREA ON SUNDAY WITH COOLER TEMPERATURES EXPECTED AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS INTO THE REGION THROUGH MONDAY. INCREASING SOUTHERLY FLOW THEN RETURNS MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY IN ADVANCE OF ANOTHER COLD FRONT MOVING INTO THE WESTERN HIGH PLAINS. THIS SECOND COLD FRONT IS EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO THE AREA ON WEDNESDAY THEN STALL OUT OVER SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA WEDNESDAY NIGHT. EXTENDED MODELS THEN DIFFER ON THE SOLUTION FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK AS THE GFS KEEPS THE STALLED BOUNDARY NEAR THE KANSAS BORDER WITH THE CHANCE OF MORE THUNDERSTORMS FOR THE AREA. THE ECMWF MEANWHILE LIFTS IT NORTH AS A WARM FRONT BY FRIDAY WITH SIGNIFICANTLY WARMER TEMPERATURES INDICATED FOR THE WEEKEND. AS A RESULT LOW CONFIDENCE AT THIS TIME FOR THIS PORTION OF THE EXTENDED PERIOD. && .AVIATION... 18Z TAFS FOR KOMA...KLNK...AND KOFK. MAIN AVIATION CONCERN WILL BE STRONG THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP AFTER 22Z AND PERSIST INTO THE EVENING. LARGE HAIL AND SEVERE DOWNBURST WINDS WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH A FEW OF THESE STORMS. STORMS SHOULD WEAKEN AFTER 03Z...AND MAY DIMINISH TO SHOWERS OR WEAK CONVECTION BY 06Z THEN END SHORTLY AFTER 06Z. A WELL-DEFINED COLD FRONT EXTENDED FROM AROUND KOFK TO KGRI AT 17Z AND THIS FRONT WILL SLOWLY MOVE THROUGH EASTERN NEBRASKA TODAY AND TONIGHT...SWITCHING THE WINDS FROM SOUTH TO NORTHWEST. AHEAD OF THE FRONT DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS...KOMA AND KLNK WILL HAVE SOUTH WINDS GUSTING OVER 20 KNOTS...BUT THESE SHOULD WEAKEN BY SUNSET AS THE FRONT APPROACHES. AFTER THE STORMS AND SHOWERS MOVE OUT LATE TONIGHT...VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED FROM THE EARLY MORNING HOURS SUNDAY THROUGH THE END OF THE TAF PERIOD. && .OAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NE...NONE. IA...NONE. && FOBERT/NIETFELD
Hazardous weather outlook, May 19, 3:13 PM CST, 2 hours 52 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE 413 PM CDT SAT MAY 19 2012 IAZ043-055-056-069-079-090-NEZ015-032>034-042>045-050>053-065>068- 078-088>092-201115- MONONA-HARRISON-SHELBY-POTTAWATTAMIE-MILLS-FREMONT-THURSTON- STANTON-CUMING-BURT-PLATTE-COLFAX-DODGE-WASHINGTON-BUTLER- SAUNDERS-DOUGLAS-SARPY-SEWARD-LANCASTER-CASS-OTOE-SALINE- JEFFERSON-GAGE-JOHNSON-NEMAHA-PAWNEE- 413 PM CDT SAT MAY 19 2012 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 SUNDAY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE EVENING. SOME OF THE STORMS COULD BE SEVERE. THE MAIN HAZARDS ARE EXPECTED TO BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN WILL ALSO POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY THE NEXT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE ON WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY... AND CHANCES MAY CONTINUE INTO FRIDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED THROUGH THIS EVENING. NEZ011-012-016>018-030-031-201115- KNOX-CEDAR-ANTELOPE-PIERCE-WAYNE-BOONE-MADISON- 413 PM CDT SAT MAY 19 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST NEBRASKA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT AND SUNDAY ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE EARLY THIS EVENING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY THE NEXT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE ON WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY... AND CHANCES MAY CONTINUE INTO FRIDAY. LATER OUTLOOKS WILL ADDRESS THE CHANCE OF SEVERE STORMS IN THOSE PERIODS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED TONIGHT OR SUNDAY. IAZ080-091-NEZ093-201115- MONTGOMERY-PAGE-RICHARDSON- 413 PM CDT SAT MAY 19 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST IOWA AND SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT AND SUNDAY THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS THIS EVENING. LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN WILL BE POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY THE NEXT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IS ON WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY...AND CHANCES MAY CONTINUE INTO FRIDAY. LATER OUTLOOKS WILL ADDRESS THE CHANCE OF SEVERE STORMS IN THOSE PERIODS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME TONIGHT AND SUNDAY. FOBERT
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 19, 4:19 PM CST, 1 hour 46 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA
519 PM CDT SAT MAY 19 2012
NEZ042-043-192245-
COLFAX NE-PLATTE NE-
519 PM CDT SAT MAY 19 2012
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR COLFAX AND PLATTE COUNTIES
UNTIL 545 PM CDT...
AT 515 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS
TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR BELLWOOD...OR 5 MILES EAST OF
COLUMBUS...MOVING NORTH AT 25 MPH.
ANOTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORM ABOUT 10 MILES SOUTHWEST OF COLUMBUS IS
ALSO MOVING NORTH AT 25 MPH.
HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF NICKELS AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH WILL BE
POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS.
LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
COLUMBUS...CLARKSON...LEIGH...DUNCAN...PLATTE CENTER...CRESTON...
HUMPHREY...RICHLAND AND TARNOV.
THIS INCLUDES HIGHWAY 81 BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 110 AND 133.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
THIS STORM MAY INTENSIFY...SO BE CERTAIN TO MONITOR LOCAL RADIO
AND TV STATIONS...AS WELL AS LOCAL CABLE TV OUTLETS...FOR
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS FROM THE NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE.
&&
LAT...LON 4174 9754 4174 9723 4172 9701 4143 9710
4138 9719 4139 9721 4138 9730 4139 9736
4138 9741 4140 9760
TIME...MOT...LOC 2215Z 189DEG 24KT 4141 9726
NIETFELDLocal storm report, May 19, 5:26 PM CST, 39 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA
626 PM CDT SAT MAY 19 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0622 PM HAIL 1 S SCHUYLER 41.43N 97.06W
05/19/2012 M1.00 INCH COLFAX NE EMERGENCY MNGR
&&
LANDSVORKLocal storm report, May 19, 5:31 PM CST, 34 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA
631 PM CDT SAT MAY 19 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0628 PM TSTM WND GST SCHUYLER 41.45N 97.06W
05/19/2012 E60 MPH COLFAX NE TRAINED SPOTTER
QUARTER AND GOLFBALL HAIL.
&&
LANDSVORKLocal storm report, May 19, 5:37 PM CST, 28 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA
637 PM CDT SAT MAY 19 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0635 PM HAIL 1 E SCHUYLER 41.45N 97.04W
05/19/2012 E1.75 INCH COLFAX NE TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
DEELocal storm report, May 19, 5:41 PM CST, 24 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA
641 PM CDT SAT MAY 19 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0628 PM HAIL 6 N MALCOLM 41.00N 96.87W
05/19/2012 M1.00 INCH LANCASTER NE PUBLIC
&&
LANDSVORKLocal storm report, May 19, 6:01 PM CST, 4 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA
701 PM CDT SAT MAY 19 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0655 PM HAIL 3 SE BRAINARD 41.15N 96.96W
05/19/2012 M1.00 INCH BUTLER NE PUBLIC
&&
LANDSVORKThe radar
The Omaha radar (KOAX), 82 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:04 UTC.
Event by event
3 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Monona
- When
- May 19, 6:25 PM CST
- Where
- Monona County, 0.86 mi NE of Onawa
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- Law Enforcement
- Coordinates
- 42.040, -96.090
Thunderstorm Wind, Harrison
- When
- May 19, 7:15 PM CST
- Where
- Harrison County, 0.52 mi E of Modale
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
- Reported by
- COOP Observer
- Coordinates
- 41.620, -96.010
Some tree limbs and a power pole were downed in the Modale area by thunderstorms winds estimated at around 60 mph. The time was estimated by radar.
Thunderstorm Wind, Harrison
- When
- May 19, 7:15 PM CST
- Where
- Harrison County, 2 mi S of Pisgah
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
- Reported by
- COOP Observer
- Coordinates
- 41.801, -95.930
Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at around 60 mph downed 2 trees that were 20 to 30 feet tall with trunks nearly 10 inches in diameter. The time was estimated from radar.
Thunderstorm Wind, Pottawattamie
- When
- May 19, 7:20 PM CST
- Where
- Pottawattamie County, 1.48 mi NNW of Lake Manawa
- Measured
- 60 kt (69 mph) estimated gust
- Reported by
- Amateur Radio
- Coordinates
- 41.240, -95.860
Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at close to 70 mph blew some gas station signs down.
Hail, Harrison
- When
- May 19, 7:21 PM CST
- Where
- Harrison County, 0.69 mi S of Missouri Vly
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
- Coordinates
- 41.560, -95.900
The hail was accompanied by wind gusts estimated at around 45 mph which downed a few small tree limbs.
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heat in Arizona, May 19 to 21, 2012
- Tornadoes and Hail in Kansas, May 19, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Nebraska, May 19 to 20, 2012
- Hail in Kansas, May 19, 2012
- Damaging Winds in Iowa, May 19, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, May 19, 2012
- Damaging Wind in Florida, May 19, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Minnesota, May 19, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, May 19 to 20, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Tennessee, May 19, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Nebraska, May 19, 2012
- Hail in Kansas, May 19, 2012
More
Every storm in Iowa in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, May 2012
Sources
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: 371915, 371917, 371927, 371930, 371924, 371920.