A semi stationary front over the Nebraska Panhandle became the focus for thunderstorms as the atmosphere modified to produce large hail and damaging winds. Hail up to golf ball size and wind gusts to 70 mph produced damage.
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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.
A semi stationary front over the Nebraska Panhandle became the focus for thunderstorms as the atmosphere modified to produce large hail and damaging winds. Hail up to golf ball size and wind gusts to 70 mph produced damage.
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 Aug 30, 1:08 PM MST, 3 hours 42 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE 308 PM CDT FRI AUG 30 2013 .SHORT TERM...(THIS EVENING THROUGH SATURDAY) ISSUED AT 307 PM CDT FRI AUG 30 2013 TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY...A WEAK UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE... CURRENTLY ACROSS THE WYOMING...WILL MOVE ACROSS THE FCST AREA TONIGHT SPAWNING A FAIRLY ORGANIZED AREA OF TSTMS. ALL MODELS SHOW K INDICES INCREASING TO AROUND 40C OR GREATER. THE RAP AND OTHER MODELS SHOW PRECIPITABLE WATER INCREASING TO 1.50 INCHES OR GREATER. FCST STORM MOTION OF 10KT OR LESS WOULD SUPPORT LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL AND WEAK WINDS ALOFT 30KT OR LESS AT AND BELOW 300MB SUGGEST OUTFLOW DOMINANT COLD POOL DRIVEN BOW SEGMENTS CAPABLE OF GUSTY WINDS. LOW LEVEL EASTERLIES AND WEAK WESTERLIES ALOFT PRODUCE BULK SHEAR OF 35 TO 40 KT SO SOME STORMS THIS EVENING COULD BECOME SEVERE WITH WIND DAMAGE AND LARGE HAIL. SPC PROVIDED THIS DISCUSSION AT 227 PM CDT...RECENT LIGHTNING WITHIN THE CONVECTION ALONG THE BLACK HILLS AND LARAMIE MOUNTAINS HAS INCREASED CONFIDENCE THAT THE ENVIRONMENT ACROSS THE CNTRL PLAINS IS GRADUALLY BECOMING MORE SUPPORTIVE OF SURFACE-BASED CONVECTIVE INITIATION. 12Z RAP SOUNDING MODIFIED FOR 19Z SURFACE OBSERVATION -- 93/62 -- YIELDS STRONG SURFACE-BASED INSTABILITY /SBCAPE OVER 3000 J PER KG/ AND LITTLE REMAINING CINH. INCREASED CONVERGENCE ALONG A WEAK SURFACE TROUGH AND CONTINUED DESTABILIZATION FOSTERED BY ISOLATION IS EXPECTED TO RESULT IN ADDITIONAL SURFACE-BASED CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT DURING THE NEXT HOUR OR TWO. THE STORM COMPLEX COULD MOVE MOSTLY EAST ACCORDING TO THE RAP MODEL OR TAKE A SOUTHEAST TURN AS INDICATED BY THE HRRR. EITHER WAY THE CONVECTION WILL AFFECT MOST OF THE FCST AREA AND EXIT SOUTH OR EAST BY AROUND 12Z. THIS TSTM COMPLEX SHOULD SET UP A FRONTAL BOUNDARY FOR ADDITIONAL STORM DEVELOPMENT SATURDAY AFTN AND BEYOND WITH THE BEST SHEAR AND INSTABILITY ACROSS NCNTL NEB NEAR KANW AND KONL. THE MODELS HAVE A TOTALLY DIFFERENT IDEA IN MIND WITH THE FRONT AND LIFT IT RAPIDLY NORTH BY 15Z SATURDAY MORNING AND THEN DROP ANOTHER COLD FRONT THROUGH DURING THE AFTN. SO THERE IS A DISCONNECT IN CONVENTIONAL STORM THEORY VS THE MODELS. IF THE FRONT IS DOES NOT RETREAT NORTH AS QUICKLY THAN STORM DEVELOPMENT COULD BE MUCH FARTHER SOUTH...PERHAPS OVER KS. THE FCST USES A BLEND OF NAM...GEMREG...GFS AND ECM FOR A 30 POP FROM 20Z ONWARD...MAINLY SOUTH AND EAST OF KVTN/KIML. TEMPERATURES ARE A BLEND OF TRIED AND TRUE MODEL DATA PLUS BIAS CORRECTION FOR HIGHS IN THE LOWER 90S NORTH TO UPPER 90S SOUTH. .LONG TERM...(SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY) ISSUED AT 307 PM CDT FRI AUG 30 2013 SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH LABOR DAY... COLD FRONT SHOULD STRETCH FROM NEAR ANW THROUGH LBF AND IML EARLY SATURDAY EVENING. DO EXPECT SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE FRONT. COVERAGE MAY END UP LESS ACROSS SWRN NEBR WHICH WILL BE FURTHER REMOVED FROM COOLER TEMPERATURES ALOFT ASSOCIATED WITH MAIN UPPER TROUGH ACROSS MINNESOTA. ONLY A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS FAR SOUTHEAST AFTER MIDNIGHT. DRY AND LESS HOT SUNDAY AND LABOR DAY. HIGHS SUNDAY FORECAST VERY NEAR PREVIOUS FROM NEAR 83 NCTRL AND 85 TO 88 SOUTHWEST. NORTHERLY WINDS SUNDAY LOOK FAIRLY LIGHT FROM 5 TO 15 MPH WEST AND 10 TO 20 MPH EAST. ON LABOR DAY...NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL CONTINUE WITH A RETURN SOUTHEAST FLOW AT THE SURFACE AND HIGHS FROM NEAR 83 NORTHEAST TO NEAR 90 WEST TIER. SOUTHERLY WINDS MONDAY FROM 10 TO 20 MPH WEST TO 5 TO 15 MPH EAST. ON TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY... A HEAT UP AGAIN LIKELY AS UPPER RIDGE PERSISTS OVER COLORADO AND TROUGHING INCREASES ACROSS THE PAC NW AND NORTHEASTERN U.S. A WEAK COLD FRONT AND DISTURBANCE IN NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT INDICATED BY THE GFS AND ECMWF. THIS FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH A DEEP UPPER LOW MOVING ACROSS HUDSON BAY. AS A RESULT OF ECMWF CONSISTENCY AND FAIR AGREEMENT BY THE GFS...WILL INTRODUCE A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS WEDNESDAY NIGHT. AN OTHERWISE DRY EXTENDED. HIGHS FORECAST IN THE UPPER 80S TO LOW 90S MOST AREAS WITH MID 90S PARTS OF SWRN NEBR. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z SATURDAY AFTERNOON) ISSUED AT 1221 PM CDT FRI AUG 30 2013 ALL MODELS ARE DEVELOPING SCATTERED DEEP CONVECTION ACROSS WRN NEB THIS AFTN AROUND 21Z-22Z. STORM ACTIVITY SHOULD MOVE EAST INTO NCNTL NEB BY OR DURING THE EVENING. THE HRRR SUGGESTS STORMS COULD HIT KVTN AND KLBF BETWEEN 01Z AND 04Z. THE HRRR AND RAP INDICATE BOWING TSTM SEGMENTS DEVELOPING IN THE WEST WHICH COULD COALESCE NORTH AND SOUTH ACROSS THE FCST AREA THIS EVENING. THE STORM ACTIVITY SHOULD BE MOSTLY EAST OF THE FCST AREA BY 09Z WITH VFR THEREAFTER. && .LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && SHORT TERM...CDC LONG TERM...ROBERG AVIATION...CDC
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE 1239 PM CDT FRI AUG 30 2013 NEZ004>010-022>029-035>038-056>059-069>071-094-311745- 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- 1239 PM CDT FRI AUG 30 2013 /1139 AM MDT FRI AUG 30 2013/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. HEAT INDICES WILL APPROACH 100 DEGREES ACROSS SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA. THE COMBINATION OF DEW POINTS IN THE LOWER 60S AND TEMPERATURES AROUND 100 WILL PRODUCE THESE VALUES. SCATTERED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS WESTERN NEBRASKA LATE THIS AFTERNOON. THE STORM ACTIVITY WILL MOVE EAST INTO NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA BY OR DURING THE EVENING HOURS. STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF GUSTY WINDS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. SOME STORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE AND PRODUCE WIND DAMAGE AND LARGE HAIL...MAINLY WEST OF HIGHWAY 83. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. A COLD FRONT WILL TRACK ACROSS WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA SATURDAY AFTERNOON INTO SATURDAY EVENING...BRINGING AN INCREASED CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS. SCATTERED STRONG OR SEVERE STORMS ARE POSSIBLE ALONG THE FRONT...MAINLY NORTH AND EAST OF AINSWORTH AND ONEILL. LARGE HAIL AND WIND DAMAGE ARE THE SEVERE WEATHER THREATS ALONG WITH LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED THROUGH TONIGHT. && GET YOUR WEATHER...HYDROLOGICAL...AND CLIMATE INFORMATION AT HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/NORTHPLATTE (ALL LOWERCASE) CDC
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE 441 PM MDT FRI AUG 30 2013 NEZ004-022-056-057-302330- DEUEL NE-GARDEN NE-KEITH NE-SHERIDAN NE- 441 PM MDT FRI AUG 30 2013 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR WESTERN SHERIDAN...WESTERN KEITH...GARDEN AND DEUEL COUNTIES UNTIL 530 PM MDT... AT 435 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING SCATTERED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 20 MILES NORTHWEST OF HAY SPRINGS TO ANTIOCH...CRESCENT LAKE AND BIG SPRINGS...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 10 MPH. HAIL UP TO ONE-HALF INCH IN DIAMETER AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS...ALONG WITH HEAVY RAIN. LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THESE STORMS INCLUDE... OSHKOSH... BIG SPRINGS... HAY SPRINGS... RUSHVILLE... CRESCENT LAKE NWR... LEWELLEN... LAKESIDE... BRULE... ELLSWORTH... THIS INCLUDES INTERSTATE 80 BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 78 AND 121. THIS INCLUDES HIGHWAY 2 BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 96 AND 125. THIS INCLUDES HIGHWAY 20 BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 74 AND 93. THIS INCLUDES HIGHWAY 92 BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 115 AND 127. THESE STORMS 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. COLE
The Rapid City radar (KUDX), 158 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:48 UTC.
10 hail, 4 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail accumulated to a depth near 7 inches and broke a car windshield.
Wind gust estimated to 60 mph.
Winds estimated to 80 mph blew over large trees.
Winds to 60 mph downed big tree branches.
Hail nearly covered the ground.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nebraska in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Nebraska, August 2013
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: 473112, 473117, 473114, 473115, 473116, 473118, 473133, 473134, 473250, 473245, 473249, 473251, 473252, 473253.