Hail in Nebraska, October 30, 2013

Name: Hail in Nebraska, October 30, 2013
Start: 2013-10-30T04:50
End: 2013-10-30T05:25
Location: Nebraska

October 30, 2013 · NWS GID · 6 events in 2 counties and zones

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $105,000
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 GID wrote it up.

During the pre-dawn hours on this Wednesday morning, a fast moving line of elevated thunderstorms raced east-northeast at 50-60 MPH across several counties in South Central Nebraska mainly along and north of Interstate 80. While the majority of this activity was sub-severe, producing only small hail, the southeast periphery of the line intensified between 530-630 am CDT, dropping quarter to golf ball size hail at various points in Merrick and Polk counties before exiting the local area. The largest reported golf ball size hail occurred in Shelby at 620 am CDT. A few miles northeast of town, an NWS cooperative observer reported half dollar size hail still on the ground two hours after it fell, thanks to cool surface temperatures in the upper 30s F. This ended up being the final severe thunderstorm event of 2013 within South Central Nebraska.

The first thunderstorms of the morning flared up over Dawson County shortly after 4 am CDT. During the ensuing few hours, storms quickly expanded into a northwest-southeast oriented line as they tracked east-northeast. On the synoptic scale aloft, this event occurred in the presence of subtle shortwave disturbances ejecting northeastward into the Central Plains out ahead of an expansive, large scale trough centered over the Intermountain West. On the smaller scale, storm initiation and intensification was tied to increasing warm air/moisture advection evident in the 850-700 millibar layer, accompanied by steepening mid level lapse rates. Mesoscale severe weather parameters around the time of the large hail featured around 1000 J/kg most-unstable CAPE in the presence of strong mid level flow around 50 knots at 500 millibars. This elevated convection occurred well north-northwest of a quasi-stationary surface front looped from far northeast Kansas into the Oklahoma Panhandle.

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 Oct 30, 3:09 AM CST, 1 hour 41 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 30, 3:09 AM CST, 1 hour 41 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 30, 2:33 AM CST, 2 hours 17 minutes before

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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Oct 30, 3:25 AM CST, 1 hour 25 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Oct 30, 4:14 AM CST, 36 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Oct 30, 4:34 AM CST, 16 minutes before

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The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 95 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 10:49 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Merrick

When: October 30, 4:50 AM CST
Where: Merrick County, 0.69 mi S of Central City
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 41.110, -98.000

This report of nickel size hail was received via Facebook.

Hail, Merrick

When: October 30, 4:54 AM CST
Where: Merrick County, 0.69 mi S of Central City
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 41.110, -98.000

Nickel size hail was ongoing at the time of the report.

Hail, Merrick

When: October 30, 4:55 AM CST
Where: Merrick County, 0.69 mi N of Central City
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 41.130, -98.000

This report of quarter size hail was received via an NERAIN (Nebraska Rainfall Assessment and Information Network) observer.

Hail, Polk

When: October 30, 5:15 AM CST
Where: Polk County, 1.48 mi SSE of Osceola
Measured: 1.25 in hail
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 41.160, -97.540

The ground was about 50 percent covered by half dollar size hail. The time was estimated from radar.

Hail, Polk

When: October 30, 5:20 AM CST
Where: Polk County, 0.69 mi S of Shelby
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $75,000
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 41.190, -97.430

Golf ball size hail fell in the community of Shelby.

Hail, Polk

When: October 30, 5:25 AM CST
Where: Polk County, 2.5 mi ENE of Shelby
Measured: 1.25 in hail
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 41.220, -97.390

Half dollar size hail was still on the ground over two hours after it fell.

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

Every storm in Nebraska in 2013 Every state in 2013 This day in weather history Warnings in Nebraska, October 2013

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 477158, 477157, 477160, 477162, 477161, 477159.