Although widespread thunderstorm activity affected most all of South Central Nebraska from the evening hours of Friday the 8th into the early morning of Saturday the 9th, there were only a handful of severe-criteria hail and wind reports from western counties including estimated 60 MPH winds in the Minden and Arapahoe areas, quarter size hail in Kearney and hail up to golf ball size in central…
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
Although widespread thunderstorm activity affected most all of South Central Nebraska from the evening hours of Friday the 8th into the early morning of Saturday the 9th, there were only a handful of severe-criteria hail and wind reports from western counties including estimated 60 MPH winds in the Minden and Arapahoe areas, quarter size hail in Kearney and hail up to golf ball size in central Dawson County. However, the biggest story of the night turned out to be locally heavy rainfall. While much of the 24-county area received generally 1-2 inches of rain with little to no flooding issues, isolated pockets were drenched with 3-4 in a short time. One of these smaller zones of torrential rain happened to strike the city of Kearney, resulting in one of its worst flash flooding events in several years. Although unofficial reports suggested higher amounts may have fallen in the city, a few of the most reliable gauge readings featured storm totals of 3.89 in the southwestern part of town (NeRAIN observer) and 3.19 at Kearney Regional Airport (NWS cooperative observer). The majority of this rain fell within one hour between 11 pm-12 am CDT, in association with a supercell storm anchoring the western side of a southward-sinking squall line. As a result, significant urban street flooding ensued, stranding at least one to two dozen cars in water up to around 3 feet deep. However, the most newsworthy incident of the night occurred at Good Samaritan Hospital, where water broke through two-story, ground-to-ceiling windows of the cafeteria, allowing water to rush into the building. Flood waters also breached the hospital's basement, and water damage occurred in other portions of the main building. Fortunately, no hospital patients or employees were injured.
Taking a closer look at the timing and evolution of this event, strong to severe storms initially flared up well-north of the local area near the Nebraska-South Dakota border during the mid-to-late afternoon hours. This area of convection eventually grew upscale into a southeastward-moving squall line which first entered northern portions of South Central Nebraska between 830-1000 pm CDT. Along the western edge of this convective line, a semi-discrete supercell storm organized near the intersection of Dawson-Buffalo-Custer counties around 10 pm CDT. This intense storm then drifted southeastward through much of Buffalo County before weakening over Kearney County, but not before producing the Kearney flash flooding. As this supercell was affecting the Kearney area, a separate and smaller north-south oriented squall line moved into the local area out of southwestern Nebraska, affecting several western counties mainly between 11 pm-1 am CDT and yielding a few reports of marginally severe wind gusts mainly in Furnas and Harlan counties. By around 1 am CDT, both initial convective clusters had weakened enough that it appeared the rest of the night would feature only sub-severe showers and storms. However, during the 3-5 am CDT time frame a pair of isolated severe storms flared up west of the departing larger-scale precipitation shield, likely along an elevated outflow boundary. The southern of these storms reached peak intensity along the Phelps-Harlan county line but yielded no verifying storm reports, while the northern one affected primarily central Dawson County with hail up to golf ball size before dissipating around 530 am CDT.
This low-end severe weather and isolated flash flooding event was not very synoptically-evident in the hours leading up to it, thanks mainly to the lack of a notable mid-upper level disturbance and surface front. The initial storm development north of the local area appeared tied to a subtle mid level disturbance passing through otherwise typical, late-summer quasi-zonal flow featuring 0-6 kilometer deep layer wind shear generally no more than 30 knots. However, once storms became organized and moved into South Central Nebraska toward sunset they were sustained by respectable most-unstable CAPE on the order of 1000-2000 J/kg, as convective outflow promoted renewed storm development in a moist environment featuring surface dewpoints well into the 60s F. In addition, this nocturnal event was aided by the development of a modest 20-30 knot southwesterly low level jet evident around 850 millibars.
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 Aug 8, 4:51 AM CST, 1 hour 9 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE 551 AM CDT FRI AUG 8 2014 .SHORT TERM...(TODAY AND TONIGHT) ISSUED AT 412 AM CDT FRI AUG 8 2014 THE PRIMARY FORECAST CONCERN WILL CENTER AROUND PRECIPITATION CHANCES WITH PLENTY OF UNCERTAINTY STILL PRESENT IN HOW THINGS WILL PLAY OUT. AT 330 AM...WSR-88D WAS INDICATING AN EXPANDING AREA OF SHOWERS AND WEAK THUNDERSTORMS FROM EASTERN CUSTER COUNTY INTO BUFFALO COUNTY. THIS PRECIPITATION IS NOT BEING HANDLED VERY WELL BY THE NUMERICAL MODELS. THERE SEEMS TO BE A LITTLE ISENTROPIC LIFT ON THE 310K SURFACE WITH THE GREATEST LIFT IN THE 750-800 MB LAYER. THIS AREA OF LIFT WILL SLIDE EAST THROUGH DAWN AND IS EXPECTED TO DECREASE AFTER SUNRISE...CALLING INTO QUESTION HOW LONG THE CURRENT EXPANSION OF OVERALL RAINFALL COVERAGE WILL CONTINUE BEFORE THINGS START TO DIE OUT. THE 06Z HRRR IS LARGELY DRY FROM SUNRISE THROUGH AT LEAST NOON ACROSS MOST OF OUR FORECAST AREA...WHILE THE 06Z NAM AND 00Z ECMWF INDICATE A DECENT AMOUNT OF FAIRLY WIDESPREAD QPF THIS MORNING...ESPECIALLY BY LATE MORNING. THE NMM AND ARW WRF MODELS DO INDICATE SOME ISOLATED SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS THIS MORNING BUT NOTHING OVERLY IMPRESSIVE. AM NOT YET READY TO BITE ON WIDESPREAD CONVECTION THIS MORNING ALTHOUGH RADAR TRENDS THE NEXT FEW HOURS COULD CHANGE MY MIND. ZONES NORTH OF INTERSTATE 80 STAND THE BEST SHOT AT SEEING SOME OF THIS DEVELOPING EARLY MORNING CONVECTION. THERE HAS ALSO BEEN AN AREA OF SHOWERS ACROSS OUR FAR SOUTHERN KANSAS COUNTIES...BUT THIS ACTIVITY HAS BEEN ON THE DECREASE AND WILL LIKELY CONTINUE TO DIE DOWN OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS. DAYTIME HOURS...WITH SO MUCH UNCERTAINTY IN THE FORECAST MODELS AND AN OVERALL WEAK FLOW PATTERN THAT PROMOTES SLOW STORM MOVEMENT AND PULSE TYPE STORMS...FELT THAT COVERAGE OF SHOWERS/STORMS COULD BE LIMITED TODAY AND HAVE THUS REDUCED POPS. DEEP LAYER SHEAR VALUES 0-6 KM OF 20-30 KTS IS NOT SUPPORTIVE OF LONG LASTING CONVECTION AND THE STORM MOTIONS HAVE BEEN SLOW AND WILL LIKELY CONTINUE TO BE IN THE 15 TO 20 MPH MAKING IT HARD FOR STORMS TO COVER MUCH REAL ESTATE. HOWEVER...THOSE AREAS THAT CAN CATCH A THUNDERSTORM MAY SEE BENEFICIAL LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL DUE TO THE SLOW STORM MOTION BUT YOUR NEIGHBOR A FEW MILES DOWN THE ROAD MIGHT MISS OUT...ITS THAT KIND OF PATTERN. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORM WORDING WITH POPS GENERALLY IN THE 30 TO 40 PERCENT RANGE SEEM LIKE THE BEST WAY TO HANDLE THIS SET UP FOR NOW. ABUNDANT CLOUDS TODAY SHOULD HELP TO HOLD TEMPERATURES DOWN AND WILL GO WITH BELOW NORMAL HIGH TEMPERATURES RANGING FROM THE UPPER 70S NORTHEAST TO THE LOWER TO MID 80S ACROSS OUR KANSAS COUNTIES. TONIGHT...CONFIDENCE IN THE PRECIPITATION FORECAST CONTINUES TO BE SHAKY...BUT MOST MODELS SEEM TO HINT AT DECREASING CHANCES BY LATE EVENING AND MORE SO AFTER MIDNIGHT. THE 00Z ECMWF SEEMS TO BE A LITTLE MORE AGGRESSIVE THAN THE 00Z GFS AND 06Z NAM WHEN IT COMES TO OVERNIGHT QPF AMOUNTS. WILL LEAN TOWARDS THE LOWER POPS GIVEN THE PATTERN AND WILL GO FROM SCATTERED WORDING IN THE EVENING TO ISOLATED AFTER MIDNIGHT. .LONG TERM...(SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY) ISSUED AT 435 AM CDT FRI AUG 8 2014 AS HAS BEEN THE CASE WITH THE LONG TERM DISCUSSION THE PAST FEW NIGHTS...THERE ARE REALLY NOT ANY DRASTIC CHANGES TO SPEAK OF FROM THE PREVIOUS FORECAST PACKAGE. STARTING WITH THE BIG PICTURE OVERVIEW OF POPS...THE SATURDAY THROUGH MONDAY TIME FRAME CONTINUES TO CARRY VARIOUS 20-50 PERCENT CHANCES...WITH THE GREATEST COVERAGE OF 40-50 POPS CONCENTRATED DURING THE SATURDAY EVENING-SUNDAY MORNING TIME FRAME. ACTUALLY CAME CLOSE TO INTRODUCING SOME 60 PERCENT LIKELY POPS ON SATURDAY NIGHT...BUT GIVEN THE ABOVE-AVERAGE DIFFICULTY OF PRECIP FORECASTING IN THIS QUASI-ZONAL FLOW PATTERN...WOULD RATHER WAIT UNTIL THINGS GET INTO THE SHORTER TERM 12-24 HOUR TIME FRAME TO GIVEN THE IMPRESSION THAT ANYTHING IS "LIKELY". BEYOND MONDAY DAYTIME...WHICH MAY ACTUALLY BE TRENDING TOWARD NO LONGER NEEDING POPS ACROSS MOST/ALL OF THE CWA...DID MAINTAIN A PRECIP-FREE FORECAST FROM MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY DAYTIME...BEFORE HIGHLY UNCERTAIN 20-30 POPS RE- ENTER THE PICTURE FOR THE WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY TIME FRAME. ACTUALLY CONSIDERED REDUCING WEDNESDAY DAYTIME POPS TO "SILENT" 10 PERCENT TERRITORY FOR MUCH OF THE CWA...BUT GIVEN THAT SLIGHT 20 PERCENT CHANCES WERE JUST INTRODUCED BY THE PREVIOUS DAY SHIFT...WOULD PREFER TO LEAVE THEM AS- IS FOR THIS FORECAST CYCLE JUST IN CASE MODELS TREND BACK THE OTHER WAY AGAIN. AS FOR THUNDERSTORM INTENSITY...CERTAINLY CANNOT RULE OUT AT LEAST A FEW STRONG TO POSSIBLY AT LEAST MARGINALLY SEVERE STORMS MAINLY ON SATURDAY LATE AFTERNOON-EVENING PRIMARILY WITHIN THE WESTERN 1/2 OF THE CWA...AND THEN MAYBE AGAIN ON SUNDAY MAINLY WITHIN THE SOUTHERN 1/2 OF THE CWA. AS IS SEASONABLY-TYPICAL...ONE OF THE MAIN LIMITING FACTORS FOR A POTENTIALLY MORE WIDESPREAD SEVERE THREAT IS DEEP LAYER WIND SHEAR ONLY AVERAGING NEAR/BELOW 30KT. OFFICIALLY...THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER INCLUDED A SLIVER OF THE FAR WESTERN CWA IN A SLIGHT RISK AREA ON THE INITIAL DAY 2 OUTLOOK VALID FOR SATURDAY AFTERNOON-EVENING...BUT THE OVERALL-BETTER SEVERE WEATHER THREAT SHOULD REMAIN AT LEAST SLIGHTLY WEST OF THE LOCAL AREA WITHIN WESTERN NEB/NORTHWEST KS. AT LEAST LIMITED PARTS OF THE CWA COULD ALSO SEE HEAVY RAINFALL OF 1-2+ INCHES MAINLY DURING THE AFOREMENTIONED SATURDAY EVENING-SUNDAY TIME FRAME...BUT CERTAINLY NOT EXPECTING AN ORGANIZED FLOODING THREAT GIVEN THE FAIRLY DRY ANTECEDENT CONDITIONS OVER THE PAST SEVERAL WEEKS. TEMPERATURE-WISE...MADE ONLY VERY MINOR 1-2 DEGREES AT MOST TWEAKS TO HIGHS AND LOWS FROM PREVIOUS FORECAST ISSUANCE. FOR LOWS...CONFIDENCE IS RELATIVELY HIGH THAT THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE CWA WILL BOTTOM OUT SOMEWHERE IN THE 60S EACH MORNING. FOR HIGH TEMPS...THERE IS A BIT MORE UNCERTAINTY HERE ESPECIALLY ON DAYS WHERE THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF WIDESPREAD CLOUDS AND/OR PRECIP COULD EASILY RESULT IN 5+ DEGREE ERRORS...BUT IN GENERAL A SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL REGIME FOR MID-AUGUST LOOKS TO PREVAIL FROM SATURDAY- THURSDAY...WITH MOST NEB ZONES GENERALLY TOPPING OUT LOW-MID 80S AND KS ZONES MORE SO MID-80S TO MAYBE LOW 90S AT TIMES. DEWPOINTS LOOK TO AVERAGE SOMEWHERE IN THE 60S THROUGH MOST OF THIS TIME FRAME...WHICH WILL KEEP AT LEAST A MODESTLY-HUMID FEEL IN THE AIR...BUT NOTHING OVERLY OPPRESSIVE BY AUGUST STANDARDS EITHER. AS HAS BEEN OBSERVED TO SOME DEGREE THE PAST FEW NIGHTS...AT LEAST LIGHT OVERNIGHT/EARLY MORNING FOG WITH LOCALIZED AREA OF SOMEWHAT MORE IMPACTFUL FOG CERTAINLY CANNOT BE RULED OUT ESPECIALLY DURING TIMES OF LIGHT BREEZES AND THE ABSENCE OF PRECIPITATION. GIVEN THE SUPPORT OF AT LEAST SOME DEGREE OF FOG FORMATION PER 00Z MET/MAV NUMERICAL GUIDANCE AND SREF VISIBILITY PROBABILITIES...HAVE COLLABORATED WITH THE SHORT TERM FORECASTER TO TOSS IN ANOTHER GENERIC MENTION OF PATCHY FOG TO MAINLY THE NORTHEAST 1/2 OF THE CWA FOR A FEW HOURS AFTER SUNRISE ON SATURDAY MORNING...LINGERING OVER FROM LATE FRIDAY NIGHT. GETTING INTO SOME MORE METEOROLOGICAL DETAIL AND TAKING IT IN 24-36 HOURS TIME FRAMES... SATURDAY DAYTIME-NIGHT...RIGHT OFF THE BAT AND HAS BEEN THE CASE FOR AWHILE NOW...CONFIDENCE IS NOT VERY HIGH IN POP TRENDS EVEN AT THIS 24-48 HOUR RANGE. VARIOUS 00Z/06Z MODELS SUCH AS THE NAM/GFS ECMWF AGREE THAT THE SAME...PERSISTENT QUASI-ZONAL MID-UPPER LEVEL FLOW REGIME WILL CONTINUE...MEANING THAT SHOWER/THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT WILL BE HIGHLY INFLUENCED BY THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN DIURNAL INSTABILITY INCREASES...LOW-AMPLITUDE SHORTWAVE TROUGHS...AND FAIRLY SUBTLE ZONES OF WARM AIR ADVECTION/THETA-E CONVERGENCE FOCUSED IN THE 850-700 MILLIBAR LAYER. STARTING WITH THE DAYTIME HOURS...HAVE GENERALLY DOWNPLAYED THE FAIRLY WIDEPSREAD QPF FIELDS DURING THE AFTERNOON THAT THE 06Z NAM PORTRAYS...LEANING MORE TOWARD THE LOOK OF SIMULATED REFLECTIVITY FROM THE 00Z 4KM WRF-NMM AND ARW RUNS. AS A RESULT...SUSPECT THAT A GOOD CHUNK OF THE DAY...IF NOT THE ENTIRE DAY...STANDS A DECENT CHANCE OF STAYING DRY ACROSS THE MAJORITY OF THE CWA...AS THE AREA GENERALLY LIES IN BETWEEN MID LEVEL DISTURBANCES. HOWEVER...JUST IN CASE SOME SPOTTY LINGERING WEAK CONVECTION FROM FRIDAY NIGHT LASTS INTO THE MORNING HOURS...MAINTAINED A SLIGHT 20 POP IN ALL AREAS DURING THE MORNING. THEN FOR THE AFTERNOON...THERE IS A CHANCE THE ENTIRE AREA COULD STAY STORM-FREE...AND IN FACT KEPT ANY PRECIP CHANCES OUT OF THE EASTERN TWO-THIRDS OF THE CWA...BUT LEFT SLIGHT CHANCES IN WESTERN ZONES MAINLY TO ACCOUNT FOR POTENTIALLY STRONG STORMS DEVELOPING INTO THE AREA FROM THE WEST. ON SATURDAY NIGHT...AND AS MENTIONED ABOVE...BRING A SOLID ZONE OF 40-50 POPS ACROSS THE CWA AS A PASSING MID LEVEL WAVE SHOULD KEEP HALFWAY DECENT COVERAGE OF WEAKENING STORMS GOING INTO THE NIGHT. SUNDAY DAYTIME-NIGHT...THE FLOW ALOFT OVER THE LOCAL AREA TURNS MORE NORTHWESTERLY AS A MID LEVEL RIDGE EXPANDS NORTHWARD OVER THE ROCKIES. MEANWHILE...A SERIES OF DISTURBANCES PASSING OFF TO THE EAST AND NORTHEAST OF THE CENTRAL PLAINS WILL HELP DRIVE A POTENTIALLY FAIRLY WELL-DEFINED WEAK COLD FRONT/NORTHERLY WIND SHIFT SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE AREA DURING THE DAY. AS FOR DAYTIME POPS...HAVE THE HIGHEST 30-50 CHANCES IN THE MORNING AND HIGHEST IN EASTERN ZONES...WITH MAINLY JUST SLIGHT CHANCE 20S IN PLACE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AND OVERNIGHT HOURS. AT LEAST PARTS OF THE CWA MAY BE CANDIDATES FOR FUTURE REMOVAL OF SUNDAY NIGHT POPS. MONDAY DAYTIME-NIGHT...THIS IS LOOKING MORE AND MORE LIKE A FAIRLY TRANQUIL 24 HOURS AS SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE NOSES DOWN FROM THE NORTH IN THE WAKE OF THE AFOREMENTIONED COLD FRONT AND THE EXPANDING MID- UPPER RIDGE TO THE WEST SHUNTS THE TRACK OF DISTURBANCES WELL OFF TO THE EAST OF THE AREA. AT LEAST FOR NOW...HAVE HELD ONTO SOME SLIGHT POPS IN NORTHEAST ZONES DURING THE DAY...WHILE LEAVING THE NIGHT PRECIP-FREE. TUESDAY DAYTIME-NIGHT...DESPITE SOME HINTS IN THE LATEST ECMWF/GFS RUNS OF BRINGING SOME LIMITED CONVECTIVE POTENTIAL BACK INTO WESTERN ZONES LATE IN THE NIGHT...OPTED TO KEEP THE ENTIRE 24 HOURS VOID OF PRECIP MENTION AT THIS TIME AS THE RIDGE LOOKS TO PROVIDE LIMITED LARGE SCALE FORCING. WEDNESDAY DAYTIME-THURSDAY DAYTIME...THIS 36 HOURS BRINGS VARIOUS 20- 30 PERCENT POPS BACK INTO THE PICTURE...WITH THE HIGHER END OF THIS RANGE FOCUSED ON WED NIGHT-THURS AND MAINLY PER THE ECMWF SOLUTION AS IT BRINGS A SHORTWAVE TROUGH OUT OF THE DESERT SOUTHWEST AND ACROSS THE CENTRAL PLAINS...ALTHOUGH THE GFS IS NOT NEARLY AS AGGRESSIVE WITH THIS SCENARIO. EVEN PER THE ECMWF...AND AS MENTIONED EARLIER...THE WEDNESDAY DAYTIME HOURS MAY BE A FUTURE CANDIDATE FOR REMOVAL OF SLIGHT POPS FROM MUCH OF THE AREA. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z SATURDAY MORNING) ISSUED AT 546 AM CDT FRI AUG 8 2014 THE BIGGEST AVIATION FORECAST CHALLENGE WILL CONTINUE TO CENTER AROUND PRECIPITATION. THERE IS CERTAINLY A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TODAY...BUT TOO DIFFICULT TO PIN DOWN A PREFERRED TIME AND THUS WILL CONTINUE TO CALL FOR FOR VICINITY THUNDERSTORMS OVER AN EXTENDED PORTION OF THE TAF PRIMARILY FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING UNTIL WE CAN BETTER NAIL DOWN THE TIMING WITH FUTURE FORECAST UPDATES. IN ADDITION...THE WIND WILL BE RATHER LIGHT AND SOMEWHAT VARIABLE THROUGH MUCH OF THE DAY. VISIBILITY WILL ALSO BE A CONCERN UNTIL AROUND 9 AM WITH SOME PATCHY DENSE FOG NOT FAR FROM KGRI. THUS FAR THIS FOG HAS STAYED OUT OF KGRI...BUT IT WILL NEED TO BE WATCHED. && .GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NE...NONE. KS...NONE. && SHORT TERM...WESELY LONG TERM...PFANNKUCH AVIATION...WESELY
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE 524 AM CDT FRI AUG 8 2014 KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087- 091030- 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- 524 AM CDT FRI AUG 8 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. PATCHY DENSE FOG WILL BE POSSIBLE THROUGH 9 AM...PRIMARILY NORTH AND EAST OF LINE FROM HEBRON...TO GRAND ISLAND...TO LOUP CITY. VISIBILITY MAY BE REDUCED TO LESS THAN ONE QUARTER MILE IN SOME SPOTS. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE OUTLOOK AREA TODAY INTO TONIGHT. A FEW OF THESE STORMS MAY BE ON THE STRONG SIDE...WITH SMALL HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH BEING THE PRIMARY CONCERNS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. SEVERAL CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS REMAIN IN THE FORECAST FROM SATURDAY THROUGH MONDAY...AND THEN AGAIN WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY. ALTHOUGH THE CURRENT WEATHER PATTERN PROMOTES CONSIDERABLE UNCERTAINTY IN PRECIPITATION FORECASTS BEYOND 12 TO 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE...IT CURRENTLY APPEARS THE SATURDAY EVENING INTO SUNDAY MORNING TIME FRAME FEATURES THE HIGHEST THUNDERSTORM CHANCES AND POTENTIAL FOR LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. ALTHOUGH WIDESPREAD SEVERE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IS NOT ANTICIPATED THIS WEEKEND...AT LEAST A FEW STRONG TO MARGINALLY SEVERE STORMS CANNOT BE RULED OUT...ESPECIALLY ON SATURDAY EVENING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION SHOULD NOT BE NEEDED THROUGH TONIGHT. && MORE INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE FOLLOWING WEB PAGE: HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/HASTINGS (ALL LOWERCASE) WESELY/PFANNKUCH
The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 66 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 11:59 UTC.
4 heavy rain, 3 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
This storm total rainfall was 3.19 inches, and was the 24 hour total, ending the morning of August 9th. This is the official Kearney 24-hour rainfall total from the NWS Cooperative Observer at the airport.
This 24-hour storm total rainfall was 3.22 inches, with most of the rain falling between 10 pm CDT and 3 am CDT. This report was received via the NERAIN network.
Wind gusts of 50 mph occurred along with the quarter size hail.
This storm total rainfall was 3.89 inches, and was the 24 hour total, ending the morning of August 9th, with the majority of rain falling between 10 pm CDT and 3 am CDT. This report was received via the NERAIN network.
This storm total rainfall was 3.30 inches, and was the 24 hour total, ending the morning of August 9th. The majority of rain fell between 11 pm CDT and 3 am CDT. This report was received via the NERAIN network.
Wind gusts up to 30 mph occurred along with the quarter size hail, which was falling at the time of the report.
A thunderstorm wind gust was estimated to be 60 mph.
A thunderstorm wind gust was estimated to be 60 mph.
Stalled cars with flooding was observed on many streets across Kearney, with an estimate of 15 to 20 stalled cars. The sewer system of Kearney was overwhelmed and water broke through the two-story ground-to-ceiling windows of a dining room to Good Samaritan Hospital. Some of the windows were broken. The hospital basement was flooded, and there was water damage in other portions of the hospital. Rainfall was later measured to be around 3.5 inches.
A thunderstorm wind gust of 60 mph was estimated to occur along the leading edge of a gust front, just ahead of an approaching thunderstorm. This occurred on the east side of Oxford.
This report, along with a photo, was received on Facebook.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nebraska in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Nebraska, August 2014
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: 536181, 536173, 536144, 536166, 536169, 536146, 537505, 537506, 537539, 537522, 536148.