Hail, Mitchell
- When
- May 19, 3:58 PM CST
- Where
- Mitchell County, 9.9 mi SSW of Beloit
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- CoCoRaHS
- Coordinates
- 39.338, -98.191
Hail in Kansas, May 19, 2012
This six-county portion of North Central Kansas found itself just outside two concentrated zones of severe weather on this Saturday afternoon and evening, with one area focused just to the north in southern Nebraska and the other just to the south in central and south central Kansas. However, for a short time during the late afternoon, a few semi-discrete severe storms tracked from…
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
- $75,000
- Crop damage
- $250,000
- Events
- 3
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 GID wrote it up.
This six-county portion of North Central Kansas found itself just outside two concentrated zones of severe weather on this Saturday afternoon and evening, with one area focused just to the north in southern Nebraska and the other just to the south in central and south central Kansas. However, for a short time during the late afternoon, a few semi-discrete severe storms tracked from southwest-to-northeast across portions of Mitchell and Jewell Counties, resulting in a few reports of nickel to ping pong ball size hail. The first severe storm entered southern Mitchell County from Lincoln County around 430 PM CDT, while the last severe storm of the day within the local area exited northeast Jewell County around 6 PM CDT. Although significant wind damage occurred just north of the state line near Hardy, Nebraska, no reports of severe weather were received on the Jewell County side of the border. On the synoptic scale this was a rather strongly forced regional severe weather event, as a vigorous shortwave trough migrated from eastern Colorado across the Kansas and Nebraska border area, while at the surface, a sharp north-south oriented cold front reached a position near the Highway 281 corridor by mid-afternoon. Mesoscale severe weather parameters around the time of the ping pong ball size hail in Jewell included 40-50 knots of 0-6 kilometer vertical wind shear and 1500-2000 J/kg mixed layer CAPE. A potential tornado threat was likely mitigated by somewhat meager boundary layer moisture with surface dewpoints only around 60F, resulting in higher cloud bases and enhanced outflow.
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 Hastings, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 19, 1:26 PM CST, 2 hours 32 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 19, 1:26 PM CST, 2 hours 32 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE 226 PM CDT SAT MAY 19 2012 .SHORT TERM...REST OF TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY. PRIMARY FORECAST CONCERN LIES WITH THUNDERSTORM CHANCES THROUGH THIS EVENING. UPPER LEVEL PROFILER AND SATELLITE DATA NOT SHOWING ANY SURPRISES EARLY THIS AFTERNOON...WITH THE SYSTEM OF INTEREST STARTING TO PUSH OUT OF CO AND ONTO THE PLAINS...AND ACTIVITY IS ALREADY ONGOING ACROSS PORTIONS OF SWRN NEB/WRN KS AND MOVING TOWARD THE WRN EDGE OF THE CWA. AT THE SFC...MAIN FRONT MADE PRETTY GOOD EASTWARD PROGRESS THIS MORNING...MAKING IT ABOUT HALFWAY THROUGH THE CWA...WHERE IT HAS SINCE SLOWED/STALLED OUT. WARMER MID LEVEL TEMPS HAVE KEPT THE AREA IN THE PROXIMITY OF THE FRONT CAPPED OFF SO FAR...BUT THAT ISNT EXPECTED TO LAST TOO MUCH LONGER AS THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH APPROACHES. EVEN WITH PLENTY OF CLOUD COVER IN PLACE...TEMPS CLIMBING WELL INTO THE 70S AND LOWER 80S ALONG WITH DEWPOINTS APPROACHING/AT 60 DEGREES HAS RESULTED IN INSTABILITY VALUES NEAR/+ 2000 J/KG ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE FRONT WITH WEAKER SHEAR...WITH LESS INSTABILITY BUT BETTER SHEAR SET UP BEHIND THE FRONT. THIS SURFACE FRONT WILL REMAIN THE PRIMARY FOCUS FOR CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT THIS AFTERNOON/EVENING...BUT WILL ALSO HAVE TO KEEP AN EYE ON THE ONGOING ELEVATED ACTIVITY TO THE WEST. SHORT TERM/HIRES MODELS REMAIN IN GOOD AGREEMENT SHOWING THE E/SE HALF OF THE CWA BEING PRIMARILY IMPACTED BY ANY ACTIVITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE FRONT...WHERE HAIL/WIND AND AN ISO TOR WILL REMAIN A CONCERN. HAIL/WIND WOULD BE THE CONCERNS WITH THE ACTIVITY FURTHER WEST. PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED SHIFT OFF TO THE E/NE...AND SHIFT OUT OF THE CWA NEAR/IF NOT BEFORE MIDNIGHT. ONCE WE GET PAST MIDNIGHT TONIGHT AND THROUGH TOMORROW...DRY FORECAST REMAINS IN PLACE...WITH SLIGHT NORTHWESTERLY FLOW SETTING UP IN THE UPPER LEVELS BEHIND THIS LATEST TROUGH AXIS AND AHEAD OF WEAK RIDGING DEVELOPING OVER THE ROCKIES. ONCE THE SFC FRONT PUSHES OUT OF THE CWA...HIGH PRESSURE SETTLES IN FROM THE WEST...AND IS EXPECTED TO BE CENTERED OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS THROUGH THE DAY. THIS WILL KEEP WINDS GENERALLY NORTHERLY...WITH SPEEDS ARND 10 MPH...AND WITH COOLER AIR ACCOMPANYING THIS SFC HIGH...TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO 'ONLY' TOP OUT IN THE LOW/MID 70S...OR NEAR AVERAGE FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR. .LONG TERM...SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY. FOR SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT...UPPER LEVEL RIDGING SHOULD BE A STRONG INFLUENCE ON KEEP OUR WEATHER DRY WITH A SURFACE TROUGH IN THE LEE OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS DEVELOPING DURING THIS PERIOD. TUESDAY MAY VERY WELL BE THE WARMEST DAY WITH 850 MB BEING THE WARMEST AHEAD OF LEE TROUGH AND AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT. ALSO...TUESDAY AFTERNOON WILL BE QUITE WINDY WITH AN INCREASING PRESSURE GRADIENT...ESPECIALLY WEST OF HIGHWAY 281. THE UPPER LEVEL PATTERN BECOMES QUITE AMPLIFIED BY WEDNESDAY. MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT THAT A MEAN LONGWAVE TROUGH DEVELOPS IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES AND A LONGWAVE RIDGE TO THE EAST. THE GFS IS MORE EARLY AND AGGRESSIVE THAN THE ECMWF AT EJECTING PIECES OF ENERGY INTO THE PLAINS...WHICH WILL LEAD TO AT LEAST LOW CHANCES OF PRECIPITATION FROM WEDNESDAY INTO THE REST OF THE LONG TERM FORECAST. AT THE SURFACE...A WARM FRONT IS FORECAST TO PASS EAST OF THE CWA BY SOMETIME WEDNESDAY...WITH A COLD FRONT IN WESTERN NEBRASKA PREDICTED TO STALL SOMEWHERE JUST WEST OF THE CWA. THE RIDGE TO THE EAST OF THE CWA SHOULD SHUNT MOISTURE RETURN TO AT LEAST SOME EXTENT...CALLING INTO QUESTION THE CHANCES OF SEVERE WEATHER AND FOR THAT MATTER...PRECIPITATION. MOISTURE SHOULD EVENTUALLY MAKE A RETURN WITH THE STALLED BOUNDARY HANGING AROUND THE REGION INTO THE WEEKEND. DETERMINING SEVERE CHANCES WILL BE DICEY...BUT STORMS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING COULD BE STRONG TO SEVERE...ESPECIALLY AS THE LOW-LEVEL JET KICKS IN WEDNESDAY EVENING. THE PLACEMENT OF THE BAROCLINIC ZONE WILL BE CRUCIAL IN DETERMINING SEVERE WEATHER CHANCES FURTHER OUT THAN WEDNESDAY. SHEAR NEAR THE BOUNDARY SHOULD BE AMPLE FOR SEVERE WEATHER...BUT INSTABILITY SEEMS TO BE THE LIMITING FACTOR HERE. NORTHERN AND WESTERN AREAS OF THE CWA HAVE POTENTIAL TO BE COOLER THAN THE REST IF THE BOUNDARY DRAPES INTO OUR CWA. && .AVIATION...18Z TAF. PRIMARY CONCERN FOR THIS TAF PERIOD LIES WITH THUNDERSTORM CHANCES. AN UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM PUSHING OUT OF THE ROCKIES WILL BRING INCREASING THUNDERSTORM CHANCES TO THE TERMINAL AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO THE EARLY EVENING...AND HAVE VC MENTION AS WELL AS A TEMPO GROUP MENTIONED. THE SURFACE COLD FRONT HAS PUSHED SOUTH OF THE TERMINAL...WINDS WILL BE GUSTY THIS AFTERNOON...AND WILL REMAIN NORTH/NORTHWESTERLY THROUGH THIS TAF PERIOD. OUTSIDE OF MVFR CIGS BEING POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON/EVENING AS THE STORM SYSTEM PASSES...VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED. && .GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NE...NONE. KS...NONE. &&
Hazardous weather outlook, May 19, 1:31 PM CST, 2 hours 27 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE 231 PM CDT SAT MAY 19 2012 KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087- 201215- PHILLIPS-SMITH-JEWELL-ROOKS-OSBORNE-MITCHELL-VALLEY-GREELEY-NANCE- SHERMAN-HOWARD-MERRICK-POLK-DAWSON-BUFFALO-HALL-HAMILTON-YORK- GOSPER-PHELPS-KEARNEY-ADAMS-CLAY-FILLMORE-FURNAS-HARLAN-FRANKLIN- WEBSTER-NUCKOLLS-THAYER- 231 PM CDT SAT MAY 19 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE ENTIRE OUTLOOK AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND CONTINUING INTO THE MID TO LATE EVENING HOURS. THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH...HAIL TO THE SIZE OF GOLF BALLS...AND ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL ALL BE POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. TUESDAY AFTERNOON WILL BE WINDY. WIND WILL BLOW FROM THE SOUTH AT SPEEDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 45 MPH ARE EXPECTED...ESPECIALLY WEST OF HIGHWAY 281. THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY. STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. ALTHOUGH PREDICTABILITY IS LOW...STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE EACH AFTERNOON AND EVENING...DURING THE TIME PERIOD OF THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS ANTICIPATED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACROSS THE OUTLOOK AREA. && MORE INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE FOLLOWING WEB PAGE: HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/HASTINGS (ALL LOWERCASE) ADO/HEINLEIN
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 19, 2:52 PM CST, 1 hour 6 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
352 PM CDT SAT MAY 19 2012
NEZ075-085-192130-
ADAMS NE-WEBSTER NE-
352 PM CDT SAT MAY 19 2012
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SOUTHERN ADAMS AND WESTERN
WEBSTER COUNTIES UNTIL 430 PM CDT...
AT 347 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A
STRONG THUNDERSTORM 5 MILES NORTHEAST OF INAVALE...OR 31 MILES SOUTH
OF HASTINGS...MOVING NORTH AT 25 MPH.
HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF NICKELS AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE
EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM.
LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...
BLADEN...
BLUE HILL...
AYR...
ROSELAND...
THIS STORM MAY INTENSIFY...AND A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN
EFFECT FOR THIS AREA. 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 4008 9851 4013 9873 4015 9873 4060 9859
4053 9828
TIME...MOT...LOC 2052Z 197DEG 21KT 4019 9859
HEINLEINLocal storm report, May 19, 3:22 PM CST, 36 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
422 PM CDT SAT MAY 19 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0415 PM HAIL BLUE HILL 40.33N 98.45W
05/19/2012 E1.00 INCH WEBSTER NE TRAINED SPOTTER
NICKEL TO QUARTER SIZE HAIL STARTED AROUND 405 PM.
&&
ODERLocal storm report, May 19, 3:23 PM CST, 35 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
423 PM CDT SAT MAY 19 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0418 PM HAIL 3 W BLUE HILL 40.33N 98.50W
05/19/2012 E1.00 INCH WEBSTER NE TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
ODERLocal storm report, May 19, 3:30 PM CST, 28 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
430 PM CDT SAT MAY 19 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0420 PM HAIL BLUE HILL 40.33N 98.45W
05/19/2012 E1.50 INCH WEBSTER NE TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
ODERSpecial weather statement, May 19, 3:32 PM CST, 26 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE 432 PM CDT SAT MAY 19 2012 NEZ076-085-086-192215- CLAY NE-NUCKOLLS NE-WEBSTER NE- 432 PM CDT SAT MAY 19 2012 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHEASTERN WEBSTER... NORTHWESTERN NUCKOLLS AND SOUTHWESTERN CLAY COUNTIES UNTIL 515 PM CDT... AT 424 PM CDT...STORM SPOTTERS REPORTED A GUSTNADO NEAR ROSEMONT...OR 24 MILES SOUTH OF HASTINGS...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.ALONG A BOUNDARY TO THE EAST OF THE MAIN SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WHICH IS PRODUCING LARGE HAIL. THIS GUSTNADO IS DETACHED FROM THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM. ALTHOUGH TYPICALLY WEAKER AND SHORTER LIVED THAN A TORNADO...GUSTNADOES CAN STILL CAUSE INJURY OR MINOR DAMAGE. GUSTNADOES TYPICALLY APPEAR AS A SWIRL OF DUST OR DEBRIS. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING IS STILL IN EFFECT FOR EASTERN ADAMS...WESTERN CLAY...AND NORTHEASTERN WEBSTER COUNTIES UNTIL 500 PM CDT. LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE... LAWRENCE... DEWEESE... FAIRFIELD... EDGAR... CLAY CENTER... IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES YOUR AREA...TAKE SHELTER IN A STURDY BUILDING. LAT...LON 4012 9839 4022 9842 4056 9808 4035 9789 TIME...MOT...LOC 2126Z 234DEG 18KT 4025 9835 HEINLEIN
Special weather statement, May 19, 3:44 PM CST, 14 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE 444 PM CDT SAT MAY 19 2012 KSZ006-007-NEZ085-086-192215- JEWELL KS-NUCKOLLS NE-SMITH KS-WEBSTER NE- 444 PM CDT SAT MAY 19 2012 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SOUTHEASTERN WEBSTER... SOUTHWESTERN NUCKOLLS...NORTHWESTERN JEWELL AND NORTHEASTERN SMITH COUNTIES UNTIL 515 PM CDT... AT 443 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 7 MILES NORTHWEST OF ESBON...OR 37 MILES NORTHWEST OF BELOIT...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH. HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF NICKELS AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE... GUIDE ROCK... COWLES... THIS STORM MAY INTENSIFY...AND A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THIS AREA. 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 4019 9845 4007 9815 3981 9847 3989 9863 TIME...MOT...LOC 2144Z 211DEG 25KT 3992 9849
The radar
The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 111 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:57 UTC.
Event by event
3 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Mitchell
- When
- May 19, 4:05 PM CST
- Where
- Mitchell County, 7 mi S of Beloit
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Reported by
- Law Enforcement
- Coordinates
- 39.369, -98.120
Hail, Jewell
- When
- May 19, 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- Jewell County, Jewell
- Measured
- 1.5 in hail
- Property damage
- $75,000
- Crop damage
- $250,000
- Reported by
- COOP Observer
- Coordinates
- 39.670, -98.150
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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
- 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
- Hail in Nebraska, May 19, 2012
More
Every storm in Kansas in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, 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: 386895, 386094, 380846.