Between 730-815 pm CDT on this Saturday evening, a severe multicell storm tracked northeast through western portions of Dawson County, pelting areas in and near Gothenburg with large hail ranging from quarter to baseball size. In Gothenburg itself, hail up to golf ball size was reported, with the baseball size report originating seven miles northeast of town before the storm slipped out of the…
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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 GID wrote it up.
Between 730-815 pm CDT on this Saturday evening, a severe multicell storm tracked northeast through western portions of Dawson County, pelting areas in and near Gothenburg with large hail ranging from quarter to baseball size. In Gothenburg itself, hail up to golf ball size was reported, with the baseball size report originating seven miles northeast of town before the storm slipped out of the local area into Custer County. This hail storm was by far the most notable of a handful of multicell storms that affected western portions of South Central Nebraska mainly between 730-1030 pm CDT. Prior to entering the local area, the initial development of strong to severe convection took place during the mid-late afternoon hours near the Nebraska-Kansas-Colorado border before tracking east-northeast. After darkness fell, the South Central Nebraska storms steadily faded away, as most activity ended up confined to Dawson, Gosper, Furnas, Harlan and Sherman counties.
On the large scale aloft, this event occurred under fairly modest quasi-zonal flow, as South Central Nebraska remained well-removed from stronger flow associated with broad longwave troughs centered near both the northwest and northeast corners of the United States. However, the presence of subtle, low-amplitude shortwave troughs passing through the flow helped ignite strong to severe convection in an environment featuring steep low to mid level lapse rates, around 2500 J/kg mixed-layer CAPE, and around 35 knots of 0-6 kilometer deep layer wind shear. At the surface, late afternoon and evening dewpoints in the Dawson County area averaged in the low-mid 60s, as steady south-southeast breezes prevailed to the east of a High Plains lee trough and south of a synoptic warm front aligned from western South Dakota into far eastern Nebraska.
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 25, 3:26 PM CST, 3 hours 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE 426 PM CDT SAT MAY 25 2013 ...SCT SEVERE TSTMS TO ERUPT IN THE NEXT 3-6 HRS WITH POTENTIAL FOR EXCESSIVE RAINFALL INTO TNGT... .SHORT TERM...(THIS EVENING THROUGH SUNDAY) ISSUED AT 426 PM CDT SAT MAY 25 2013 CORRECTED TYPOS. THE REMNANTS OF LAST NGT/S MCS WAS EXITING MO INTO IL. THE RAIN- COOLED AIR AND ASSOCIATED DIFFERENTIAL HEATING PUT THE EFFECTIVE WARM FRONT FROM CNTRL MISSOURI NW INTO ERN NEB/SD. STRONG HEATING OVER S-CNTRL NEB HAS RESULTED IN THE LOSS OF AN APPARENT THERMAL BOUNDARY. HOWEVER...SFC OBS DO SHOW A PRES TROF ORIENTED WNW-ESE ACROSS SRN NEB. 20Z MSAS ALSO INDICATED PRES FALLS ALONG THIS TROF. THE STRONGEST CONFLUENCE WAS N-NE OF THE TRI-CITIES...WHERE SATELLITE SHOWS EXTENSIVE CU. PRESENT INDICATIONS ARE THAT TSTMS COULD ERUPT IN THAT CONFLUENCE ZONE AS THE CAP ERODES. WE/VE NOTED SFC DWPTS ARE IN THE MID-UPR 60S DUE TO THE EXTENSIVE RAINFALL LAST NGT. THIS WAS RESULTING IN MLCAPE OF 3000-4000 J/KG. ELSEWHERE...MULTIPLE MODELS /INCLUDING THE HRRR/ DEVELOP TSTMS WITHIN THE LEE TROF OVER WRN NEB/ERN CO/NW KS. THESE STORMS HEAD E. NOT SURE IF THEY REMAIN SCT IN NATURE OR GROW UPSCALE WITH THETA-E ADVECTION AND CONVERGENCE AT THE NOSE OF THE LLJ. THE MCV WE REFERENCED IN EARLIER AFD/S WAS MOVING INTO NE KS AND WILL NOT BE A PLAYER IN OUR FCST. HEAVY RAIN: MODELS ARE NOT GIVING THE SAME SIGNALS AS LAST NGT. FOR WHAT IT/S WORTH...THE GENERAL INDICATION IS THAT THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL/MCS ACTIVITY WILL BE OVER THE NRN HALF OF NEB OR EVEN SD INTO IA/MO. HOWEVER...WE STILL HAVE AN INTENSIFYING LLJ TNGT...WITH ITS NOSE IN VICINITY OF I-80. PLUS THE UPR-LVL RIDGE IS OVERHEAD. SATELLITE-DERIVED PW SHOWS A PLUME OF SUBTROPICAL MSTR EXTENDING N FROM THE CARIBBEAN INTO THE CNTRL PLAINS. LBF/OAX/TOP 12Z SOUNDINGS WERE ALL 150-170% OF NORMAL. ANY CLUSTERING OF TSTMS WILL THREATEN FLASH FLOODING...ESPECIALLY HERE HVY RAIN OCCURRED LAST NGT. FLASH FLOOD WATCH: IT WAS CONTEMPLATED BUT DECIDED NOT TO ISSUE FOR NOW. A SWATH OF 2-3" /ISOLATED 4"/ OCCURRED FROM SHERMAN-HALL- HAMILTON-CLAY-THAYER COUNTIES. JUST TOO MUCH UNCERTAINTY. NO GUARANTEES IT OCCURS IN THE SAME AREA AGAIN TNGT OR THAT RFALL IS AS HEAVY. SEVERE: GIVEN THAT MAGNITUDE OF THE INSTABILITY...EXCESSIVELY LARGE HAIL AND WIND DAMAGE ARE POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY BEFORE 9 PM. CANNOT RULE OUT A TORNADO IF STORMS DO INDEED DEVELOP N AND E OF THE TRI-CITIES. LCL HGTS ARE LOWEST THERE. SUN: PROBABLY A REPEAT OF TODAY. ANY LEFTOVER RAIN DEPARTS EARLY. THEN BECOMING P/CLOUDY. DRY MOST OF THE DAY. THEN TSTM REDEVELOPMENT WITH THREAT OF SVR AGAIN LATE. .LONG TERM...(SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY) ISSUED AT 337 PM CDT SAT MAY 25 2013 PRIMARY CONCERN WILL BE OFF AND ON CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS...ALONG WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES EACH DAY. STARTING WITH THE BIG PICTURE IN THE UPPER LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE...THERE SHOULD BE A LOW AMPLITUDE LONG-WAVE TROUGH OVER THE WESTERN HALF OF THE COUNTRY...WITH RIDGING OVER THE MISSOURI TO OHIO RIVER...AND A CLOSED LOW OVER THE FAR NORTHEAST ATLANTIC SEABOARD. AT THE SURFACE...AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE IS PROGGED TO BE SITUATED OVER THE KS/CO BORDER WITH ANOTHER ONE OVER EASTERN WY. SHOULD BE A WARM FRONT DRAPED EAST TO WEST WITH THE QUESTION BEING...IS IT SITTING ACROSS OUR CWA OR A LITTLE BIT FURTHER NORTH. AS THE WEEK ROLLS ALONG...THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OVER THE WEST AMPLIFIES A BIT AND MOVES JUST A LITTLE TO THE EAST. BY MID WEEK THE EASTERN HALF OF THE U.S. SHOULD SEE MINOR RIDGING. FOR OUR AREA...THIS PATTERN SHOULD ALLOW VARIOUS MID LEVEL DISTURBANCES TO ROTATE THROUGH...GIVING US ENOUGH FORCING TO TRIGGER THUNDERSTORMS. THE GFS AND THE EC MODELS ARE IN BASIC AGREEMENT BY THE END OF THE WORKWEEK IN TAKING THE WESTERN TROUGH...CLOSING IT OFF...AND PUSHING IT NORTHWEST INTO THE NORTHERN PLAINS. THIS WILL ALSO DRAG A COLD FRONT ACROSS THE AREA WHICH WILL BE ANOTHER FOCUSING MECHANISM FOR THUNDERSTORMS. DIFFICULTIES IN TRYING TO PINPOINT WHERE AND WHEN THUNDERSTORMS MAY ERUPT RESULT FROM SEVERAL FACTORS INCLUDING...THE TIMING OF THE AFOREMENTIONED SHORT WAVE TROUGHS...LOCATIONS OF ANY SYNOPTIC SCALE FRONT...AND LOCATION OF ANY MESOSCALE BOUNDARIES LAID OUT FROM THE PREVIOUS DAYS CONVECTION...AVAILABLE MOISTURE...ANY LOW LEVEL JET DEVELOPMENT AND ITS LOCATION. PRIMARY FACTORS IN POSSIBLE SEVERE INCLUDE...DEGREE OF INSTABILITY DUE TO SURFACE HEATING...DEEP LAYER SHEAR...ALONG WITH ANY CAPPING INVERSION. CHECKING THE FACTORS ABOVE FOR SUNDAY EVENING...DIFFICULT TO SAY IF WE ARE GOING TO SEE ANY MID LEVEL SUPPORT WITH AN APPROACHING SHORT WAVE AS MODELS ALL OVER THE PLACE. SHOULD BE WARM FRONT IN PLACE ALTHOUGH LOCATION COULD RANGE FROM KS/NE BORDER TO WELL NORTH OF THERE. OF COURSE ANY CONVECTION TONIGHT COULD GENERATE OUTFLOW BOUNDARY THAT MAY HANG AROUND. PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES HAVE BEEN WELL ABOVE THE AVERAGE AND EXPECTED TO REMAIN THAT WAY FOR SEVERAL DAYS. 12Z NAM CRANKS UP THE LOW LEVEL JET SUN EVENING WITH BEST CONVERGENCE JUST NORTH OF THE KS/NE STATE LINE AT 00Z...WHILE GFS RUN PLACES BETTER CONVERGENCE ASSOCIATED WITH JET WELL NORTH OR EAST OF THE CWA AT THE SAME TIME. AS FAR AS SEVERE WEATHER GOES...DECENT INSTABILITY SHOULD LINGER A WHILE INTO THE EVENING WHILE 0-6 KM BULK SHEAR LOOKS TO BE BETWEEN 40 AND 50 KT. SO IF WE CAN GET CONVECTION TO FIRE...THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE OF SEEING SOME SEVERE WEATHER. WORKED THROUGH THE SAME PROCESS FOR MON/MON NIGHT AND TUE/TUE NIGHT AND ASSIGNED POPS ACCORDINGLY. STARTING WED...WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH A NEW SET OF ISSUES AS THE MAIN LOW FINALLY KICKS OUT OF THE WEST. WILL IT STAY THE COURSE WITH THE CURRENT PREDICTED TRACK...WHICH IS TO KEEP THE MID LEVEL LOW PRESSURE CENTER A LITTLE NORTH OF OUR CWA...OR WILL IT CHANGE SOLUTIONS. THIS WILL HELP DICTATE HEAVY RAIN POTENTIAL VS STRAIGHT SEVERE FOR WED AND THURSDAY. WOULD LIKE TO GET A LOOK AT A FEW MORE RUNS BEFORE MAKING THAT CALL. ONE OTHER NOTE THAT I FORGOT TO MENTION ABOVE. WHILE THUNDERSTORMS WONT BE IMPOSSIBLE DURING THE DAYTIME...THIS KIND OF SET UP USUALLY GIVES US THE BEST CHANCE FOR RAIN DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. PREVIOUS FORECAST TOOK THIS TRACK AND I SEE NO REASON TO CHANGE. TEMPERATURES HAVE CLIMBED TO THE LOWER TO MID 80 THIS AFTERNOON AND SEE NO REASON THEY SHOULD NOT HIT SIMILAR VALUES THE NEXT FEW DAYS...BEFORE COOLING OFF JUST A TAD BY NEXT WEEKEND AS THE UPPER LOW MOVES PAST AND WE GET INTO THE WRAP AROUND FLOW. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z SUNDAY AFTERNOON) ISSUED AT 1244 PM CDT SAT MAY 25 2013 UNCERTAINTY IS ABOVE AVERAGE DUE TO TSTM POTENTIAL. THIS AFTN: VFR WITH A SLGT CHC OF AN IFR TSTM AFTER 21Z. SSE WINDS WILL GUST TO AROUND 22 KTS. TNGT: VFR MUCH OF THE NGT BUT THERE IS A SLGT CHC OF A TSTM. JUST CANNOT PINPOINT IT ATTM. GUSTINESS OF SSE WINDS WILL DIMINISH AROUND SUNSET...BUT THERE COULD BE SOME OCCASIONAL GUSTS TO NEAR 20 KTS. SUN THRU 18Z: VFR. SSE WINDS GUST UP TO 25 KTS. CIG CONFIDENCE: MEDIUM VSBY CONFIDENCE: MEDIUM WIND CONFIDENCE: HIGH EXCEPT NEAR TSTMS WX CONFIDENCE: LOW DUE TO TSTM POTENTIAL && .GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NE...NONE. KS...NONE. && SHORT TERM...HALBLAUB LONG TERM...EWALD AVIATION...HALBLAUB
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE 343 PM CDT SAT MAY 25 2013 KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087- 262045- 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- 343 PM CDT SAT MAY 25 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL REDEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...AND THE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO RAPIDLY BECOME SEVERE. ANY STORMS THAT FORM WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING VERY LARGE HAIL OF GOLF BALL SIZE OR GREATER...AND DAMAGING WINDS OF 70 MPH. AN ISOLATED TORNADO IS ALSO POSSIBLE UNTIL ROUGHLY 9 PM...MAINLY NORTH OF A LINE FROM LEXINGTON TO HEBRON NEBRASKA. IN ADDITION...VERY HEAVY RAINFALL OCCURRED OVER PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA LAST NIGHT. ANY THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RAINFALL...WHICH MAY CAUSE AREAS OF FLOODING...ESPECIALLY FOR LOCATIONS WHICH RECEIVED HEAVY RAINFALL AMOUNTS LAST NIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. FROM SUNDAY THROUGH NEXT FRIDAY...THERE ARE SEVERAL CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE OUTLOOK AREA. THE BEST POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE STORMS WILL BE SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING AND MONDAY AFTERNOON AND OVERNIGHT. LARGE HAIL TO AT LEAST THE SIZE OF QUARTERS...WIND GUSTS TO AT LEAST 60 MPH...AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IN EXCESS OF 2 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE. WITH MULTIPLE ROUNDS OF TORRENTIAL RAIN POSSIBLE THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS...FLASH FLOODING WILL BECOME A CONCERN. SOME RIVERS...CREEKS AND STREAMS MAY ALSO RISE OUT OF THEIR BANKS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR ACTIVATION THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. && MORE INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE FOLLOWING WEB PAGE: HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/HASTINGS (ALL LOWERCASE) HALBLAUB
The North Platte radar (KLNX), 120 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:43 UTC.
3 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail ranging in size from quarters to golf balls was reported in Gothenburg.
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, May 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: 449520, 449524, 449525.