Showers and thunderstorms over southwest Nebraska on the evening of April 24th produced strong downburst winds in the Roscoe area. These downbursts were highly localized, but caused damage in areas they impacted.
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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.
Showers and thunderstorms over southwest Nebraska on the evening of April 24th produced strong downburst winds in the Roscoe area. These downbursts were highly localized, but caused damage in areas they impacted. In addition, the very strong winds blew two vehicles off of Interstate 80, causing an injury in each case.
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 Apr 24, 4:38 PM MST, 47 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE 638 PM CDT TUE APR 24 2012 .AVIATION... NO FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS FOR TAF SITES KLBF AND KVTN. WIND IS EXPECTED TO BE LESS THAN 10KT THROUGH TONIGHT AS WE BEGIN TO DECOUPLE FROM WINDS ALOFT. A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE EASTERN PANHANDLE WILL SUPPORT STRONG WIND GUSTS...BUT THIS ACTIVITY SHOULD PUSH SOUTH OF LBF AND WEAKEN DURING THE EVENING. A WEAK WIND SHIFT WILL PUSH THROUGH THE VTN TERMINAL AROUND 07-09Z BECOMING 280-310 AT 5-8 KTS. WIND SHIFT WILL MAKE IT TO LBF AROUND 12-14Z. WINDS WILL VEER AROUND TO 330-350 DURING THE DAY INCREASING TO 10-13 KTS GUSTING TO 20 KTS. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 356 PM CDT TUE APR 24 2012/ DISCUSSION... RECORD HEAT WAVE THIS AFTERNOON WILL FADE WEDNESDAY AS THE THERMAL RIDGE MOVES EAST AND IS THEN SHUNTED SOUTH IN NORTHWEST FLOW. 700MB TEMPS ARE EXPECTED TO COOL A FEW DEGREES WEDNESDAY. MODEL CONSENSUS SUGGESTS ABOUT A 5F COOL-DOWN WITH HIGHS IN THE 80S. THE LEADING EDGE OF A CANADIAN COLD FRONT SHOULD BE OPERATING WEDNESDAY AFTN AND NIGHT. THE FRONT IS EXPECTED TO BECOME STATIONARY ACROSS KS THURSDAY MORNING WITH EASTERLY FLOW AT 850MB SENDING MOISTURE NORTHWEST ONTO THE HIGH PLAINS OF WRN NEB/ERN WY AND NORTHEAST COLO. THE FRONT NOW STATIONARY SOMEWHERE OVER COLO/KS THURSDAY...DEEP TROPICAL MOISTURE FEEDING OFF THE CENTRAL PACIFIC...A SIGNIFICANT UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE AND WARM AIR ADVECTION AIMED AT SWRN NEB COULD SET THE STAGE FOR SEVERE WEATHER LATE THURSDAY. TIMING ISSUES ARE PLAGUING THE MODELS WITH THE ECMWF THE SLOWEST. THIS COULD DELAY THE ONSET OF TSTMS UNTIL LATE EVENING. HPC APPEARED TO BE FOLLOWING THE SLOWER ECMWF WHICH DEVELOPS A BROAD SLOW MOVING PCPN SHIELD OF RAIN/ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS. THIS AREA OF RAIN DEVELOPING ALONG AND NORTH OF THE H700 LOW WILL MOVE VERY SLOWLY EAST DURING THE DAY FRIDAY AND AT THE SAME TIME A BLOCK FORM WILL FORM OVER MANITOBA. THIS BLOCKING EVENT COULD LAST THROUGH THE WEEKEND AND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH PERSISTENT CLOUDINESS...A STALLED OUT BUT WEAKENING DEFORMATION ZONE AND VERY COOL TEMPERATURES AS THE BLOCK DRIVES CANADIAN AIR UP AGAINST THE COLO FRONT RANGE. THE MODELS SHOW THE MANITOBA BLOCK WEAKENING SUNDAY BUT LOW PRESSURE ACROSS ALBERTA WILL NOT DEEPEN SUFFICIENTLY UNTIL TUESDAY. SO BELOW NORMAL TEMPS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS SOME AREAS FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY. HPC AND THE MODELS ARE SHOWING AN INCH OR MORE RAINFALL THROUGH SUNDAY AND GIVEN THE TROPICAL MOISTURE PLUME ONGOING ACROSS THE ERN PACIFIC AND THE BLOCK FORECAST TO DEVELOP OVER MANITOBA FRIDAY AND SATURDAY...THESE QPF AMOUNTS CERTAINLY APPEAR POSSIBLE. FIRE WEATHER... RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES AS LOW AS 12 TO 15 PERCENT IN ZONE 204 AND 210 AND ALSO INTO HALSEY AND THEDFORD IN THE CENTRAL SANDHILLS. HOWEVER...WINDS ARE LIGHT AND VARIABLE OR LESS THAN 10 KTS EXCEPT FOR IN GARDEN AND DEUEL COUNTY WHERE CURRENT GUST 15 TO 20 MPH WILL CONTINUE TO DIMINISH THROUGH LATE AFTERNOON. REPORTS AROUND THE AREA INDICATE THAT SPRING GREEN-UP IS UNDERWAY. ALTHOUGH DRY LIGHTNING CANNOT BE RULED OUT INTO ZONE 204...THE FORECAST IS FOR NO THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY LATE THIS AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING. && .LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && SHORT TERM/EXTENDED...CDC AVIATION...JA/POWER
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE 345 PM CDT TUE APR 24 2012 NEZ004>010-022>029-035>038-056>059-069>071-094-252045- 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- 345 PM CDT TUE APR 24 2012 /245 PM MDT TUE APR 24 2012/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA. .DAY ONE...LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. ISOLATED DRY LIGHTNING IS POSSIBLE LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY THIS EVENING FOR AREAS MAINLY WEST OF HIGHWAY 61. WHILE NO RAINFALL OR HAIL IS EXPECTED...ANY LIGHTNING STRIKES COULD IGNITE A RANGELAND FIRE WHICH COULD SPREAD QUICKLY DUE TO VERY DRY CONDITIONS AND GUSTY WINDS NEAR A THUNDERSTORM. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH FRIDAY AFTERNOON. THE APPROACH AND PASSAGE OF AN UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM AND SURFACE LOW PRESSURE WILL BE A FOCUS FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. FOR THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY...AREAS OF HEAVY RAINFALL ARE POSSIBLE DUE TO THE SLOW MOVEMENT OF THIS LARGE SYSTEM. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED THROUGH TONIGHT. && THIS PRODUCT IS NOW AVAILABLE...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER... HYDROLOGICAL AND CLIMATOLOGICAL INFORMATION...AT HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/NORTHPLATTE KAR
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE 354 PM MDT TUE APR 24 2012 NEZ022-035-056>058-242300- ARTHUR NE-DEUEL NE-GARDEN NE-KEITH NE-PERKINS NE- 354 PM MDT TUE APR 24 2012 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SOUTHWESTERN ARTHUR...PERKINS... WESTERN KEITH...GARDEN AND DEUEL COUNTIES UNTIL 500 PM MDT... AT 351 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 7 MILES EAST OF LISCO TO BIG SPRINGS...AND MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH. NO RAIN WAS REACHING THE GROUND WITH THE STORMS BUT WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS. THESE STORMS WILL BE NEAR... BIG SPRINGS AROUND 400 PM MDT. OSHKOSH AROUND 410 PM MDT. VENANGO...AND BRANDON AROUND 420 PM MDT. BLUEWATER BATTLEFIELD STATE HISTORICAL PARK AROUND 425 PM MDT. ASH HOLLOW STATE HISTORICAL PARK AND LEWELLEN AROUND 435 PM MDT. WINDLASS HILL AROUND 440 PM MDT. CLEAR CREEK STATE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA AROUND 445 PM MDT. THESE STORMS 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. CDC
The North Platte radar (KLNX), 127 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:22 UTC.
3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Strong downburst winds caused a semi-truck to be blown off Interstate 80 and overturned at the Roscoe interchange near mile-marker 134 and produced one injury.
Downburst winds destroyed a two car garage, snapped a 12 inch diameter pine tree in half eight feet above the ground and downed several large cottonwood tree limbs. In the same area, the strong winds caused two power poles to bend over at 45 degree angles.
Downburst winds blew a car off the road along Interstate Highway 80 at mile-marker 137 with one injury.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nebraska in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Nebraska, April 2012
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: 370636, 370639, 370640.