Very windy conditions occurred over south central Nebraska on this Wednesday, especially east of Highway 183. High pressure was sprawled over the eastern United States, with a cold front advancing through the Intermountain West.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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.
Very windy conditions occurred over south central Nebraska on this Wednesday, especially east of Highway 183. High pressure was sprawled over the eastern United States, with a cold front advancing through the Intermountain West. Along this front, low pressure ejected from Wyoming into South Dakota. The result was a tight pressure gradient over the Central Plains. Unlike most high wind events, which occur with north winds, the high winds on this day were from the south. Numerous wind gusts over 50 mph were measured. Three locations, including Wood River, Shelby, and Glenvil measured peak gusts of 58 mph during the afternoon hours.
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 Mar 26, 12:08 PM CST, 1 hour 46 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
108 PM CDT WED MAR 26 2014
.UPDATE...
ISSUED AT 654 AM CDT WED MAR 26 2014
BASED ON SATELLITE TRENDS CLOUD COVER HAS BEEN INCREASED OVER THE
ENTIRE FCST AREA TODAY...ESPECIALLY SE OF THE TRI-CITIES WHERE
CLOUDS WILL BE THICKEST. THERE SHOULD BE ENOUGH THIN SPOTS TO
ALLOW FOR TEMPS TO REACH THE LOW 60S IN THOSE AREAS.
TEMPS HAVE FLAT-LINED AND THIS HAS BEEN ACCOUNTED FOR IN THE
HOURLIES.
OTHERWISE...NO CHANGES.
&&
.SHORT TERM...(TODAY AND TONIGHT)
ISSUED AT 401 AM CDT WED MAR 26 2014
...WIND ADVISORY EXPANDED FURTHER WEST IN WHAT WILL BE A
SUBSTANTIALLY WARMER DAY VERSUS THE LAST 4 DAYS AND WHILE TEMPS
WILL TAKE A HIT THU-FRI THE WEEKEND IS LOOKING GREAT...
ALOFT: THE FLOW WAS IN THE PROCESS OF DEAMPLIFYING AS THE E
PACIFIC TROF WAS BEING FORCED ONSHORE FROM AN UPSTREAM KICKER.
THE LONGWAVE RIDGE THAT HAS REMAINED PARKED ALONG THE W COAST FOR
AT LEAST THE LAST 30 DAYS WILL ADVANCE ACROSS THE REGION THIS
MORNING. A BROAD TROF WILL THEN DEVELOP OVER THE WRN USA. TWO
EMBEDDED LOW AMPLITUDE SHORTWAVE TROFS WILL AFFECT THE FCST AREA
OVER THE NEXT 30 HRS. THE FIRST WAS ADVANCING THRU THE DESERT SW
AND IT WILL EJECT INTO OK... BRINGING AN INCREASE IN CLOUDS OVER
N-CNTRL KS TODAQY. THE SECOND WAS MOVING ONSHORE INTO CA. THIS
TROF WILL PROGRESS ACROSS THE INTERMOUNTAIN W TODAY-TONIGHT AND
EMERGE INTO KS BY DAYBREAK THU.
SURFACE: THE FCST AREA WILL BE IN THE WARM SECTOR TODAY...WITH A
PACIFIC COLD FRONT ADVANCING THRU THE WRN USA. CYCLOGENESIS WILL
ENSUE ALONG THE FRONT AS IT EMERGES INTO THE LEE TROF. THE PRES
OVER THE PANHANDLE COULD BE AS LOW AS 989 MB BY SUNSET. THIS WILL
SETUP A 16 MB PRES GRADIENT ACROSS NEB/KS. THE COLD FRONT WILL
MIGRATE E THRU THE FCST AREA TONIGHT AND SHOULD BE THRU THE TRI-
CITIES BY DAWN.
THRU SUNRISE: MOSTLY CLEAR WITH JUST SOME SHREDS OF CIRRUS. S
WINDS WILL OCCASIONALLY GUST 20-30 MPH.
TODAY: SUNNY TO START...THEN INCREASING CLOUDS FROM THE S. SKIES
WILL TURN PARTLY-MOSTLY CLOUDY S AND E OF THE TRI-CITIES AND
ESPECIALLY DOWN INTO N-CNTRL KS. I MAY NOT HAVE ENOUGH CLOUDS DOWN
THERE AND WE MAY ATTEMPT AN ADJUSTMENT BEFORE 7 AM BASED ON
SATELLITE TRENDS.
STRONG WARM AIR ADVECTION /WAA/ HAS BEEN OCCURRING OVERNIGHT. THIS
WILL SET UP FOR A MUCH WARMER DAY. THE SUNNIEST AREAS N AND W OF
THE TRI-CITIES WILL BE WARMEST /70-74F/. THE CLOUDIER AREAS WILL
PROBABLY REACH THE LOW 60S.
WIND: A TIGHT PRES GRADIENT AND THE DYNAMICALLY FORCING WILL KEEP
THE LOW-LEVEL JET /LLJ/ IN PLACE BUT WITH THE STRONGEST CORE
SHIFTING E. MIXING TO AROUND 4K FT WILL TRANSFER THESE WINDS DOWN
TO THE SURFACE. USED AN EVENT BLEND OF THE 18Z/00Z NAM AND 00Z GEM
FOR WINDS AND NUDGED THEM HIGHER BASED ON THE BUFKIT MOMENTUM
TRANSFER ALGORITHM. THIS NECESSITATED ADDING ANOTHER ROW OF
COUNTIES TO THE ADVISORY. SO THE ENTIRE TRI-CITY AREA IS NOW
INCLUDED.
TONIGHT: A 90 KT JET STREAK ON THE TROPOPAUSE WILL EJECT INTO
KS/OK...PUTTING THE FCST AREA IN THE FAVORABLE LEFT EXIT REGION.
THE LLJ HAS ADVECTED AN ELEVATED MIXED LAYER /EML/ OVER THE FCST
AREA. THE TROF MOVING UP FROM THE S WILL ADVECT DEWPOINTS INTO THE
40S HERE. COMBINED WITH STEEP MID-LEVEL LAPSE RATES OF 8.5 C/KM...
MUCAPE WILL PEAK AROUND 500 J/KG PRIOR TO MIDNIGHT AND SHARPLY
DROP OFF THEREAFTER AS SUB-CLOUD EVAPORATION COOLS THE EML.
FCST IS ESSENTIALLY CLOUDY WITH SCATTERED SPRINKLES/SHWRS AND
TSTMS...WITH THUNDER MAINLY BEFORE MIDNIGHT. OVERALL AM NOT
EXCITED ABOUT THIS POTENTIAL AND AM NOT EXPECTING IT TO RAIN
EVERYWHERE. WHERE IT DOES...PRECIP AMOUNTS WILL BE LIGHT. SREF
PROBS FOR .10" ARE NOT EVEN 30%.
POPS WERE BASED PRIMARILY ON A BLEND OF THE 15Z/21Z SREF FROM
YESTERDAY AND A QUICK CHECK OF THE 03Z CYCLE. THOSE POPS WERE THEN
TRIMMED.
A VERY MILD NIGHT EXPECTED AS MOST LOCATIONS WILL REMAIN IN THE
40S.
.LONG TERM...(THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY)
ISSUED AT 401 AM CDT WED MAR 26 2014
FORECAST CONCERNS ARE SQUARELY ON THE CHANCES OF PRECIPITATION ON
AND OFF THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD.
MODELS ARE ACTUALLY IN DECENT AGREEMENT WITH TIMING OF MULTIPLE
WAVES THROUGH SUNDAY. THE MOST NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCES ARE IN THE
AMPLITUDE OF THE TROUGHS. WITH THE SYNOPTIC SCALE ZONAL FLOW
CONTINUE TO EXPECT WAVES MOVING THROUGH THE FLOW. THESE
DISTURBANCES WILL PROVIDE ENOUGH ENERGY TO SQUEEZE LIGHT PRECIP
OUT OF THE CLOUDS.
THE FIRST CHANCE OF RAIN IS ONGOING THURSDAY AND SHOULD BE ENDING
FROM WEST TO EAST IN THE AFTERNOON. THE PRECIP WILL COME TO AN
END AS A COOL FRONT MOVES ACROSS THE AREA WITH MOST OF THE PRECIP
OCCURRING ALONG AND AHEAD OF IT.
ANOTHER WAVE FOLLOWS QUICKLY BEHIND AND REQUIRES A MENTION OF
RAIN OR SNOW AGAIN ON FRIDAY. AGAIN...THIS PRECIP WILL QUICKLY
COME TO END AS THE FRONT PASSES DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS.
TEMPERATURES FRIDAY MORNING WILL BE AROUND FREEZING SO ANY PRECIP
THAT OCCURS EARLY WOULD LIKELY BE IN THE FROZEN FORM.
FOR ONCE A PLEASANT WEEKEND APPEARS TO BE ON TAP AS THERE IS A
BREAK IN THE FAST MOVING WAVES AND THE THE AREA EXPERIENCE SOME A
SUSTAINED WARMING TREND AS SURFACE WINDS SHIFT TO THE SOUTH.
OTHERWISE NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURES CAN BE EXPECTED THROUGH THE
PERIOD.
&&
.AVIATION...(FOR THE 18Z KGRI TAF THROUGH 18Z THURSDAY AFTERNOON)
ISSUED AT 1248 PM CDT WED MAR 26 2014
STRONG WIND FROM THE SOUTH WILL BE THE MAIN ISSUE THIS AFTERNOON
AND EARLY EVENING. WIND WILL CONTINUE TO BE STRONG FROM THE SOUTH
THIS EVENING BUT SUBSIDE SOMEWHAT FROM THE SPEEDS IN THE
AFTERNOON. AS A COLD FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE WEST...WIND WILL
BECOME LIGHT AT SOME POINT...BUT PICK UP AGAIN BY EARLY MORNING
BEHIND THE FRONT...SWITCHING TO THE NORTHWEST. I TOOK OUT LOW-
LEVEL WIND SHEAR OVERNIGHT FROM THE PREVIOUS FORECAST AS THE LOW-
LEVEL JET AXIS SHOULD BE EAST/SOUTHEAST OF THE TERMINAL. WE COULD
GET SOME LIGHT SHOWERS FROM WARM AIR ADVECTION MAINLY LATE
TONIGHT...BUT THE BEST CHANCE OF ANY PRECIPITATION SHOULD BE EARLY
THURSDAY MORNING NEAR OR BEHIND THE COLD FRONT. MOST OF ANY SNOW
SHOULD REMAIN NORTH OF THE TERMINAL...ALTHOUGH A FEW SNOWFLAKES
CAN NOT BE RULED OUT.
&&
.CLIMATE...
ISSUED AT 654 AM CDT WED MAR 26 2014
AS OF MIDNIGHT...THE MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMP AT GRAND ISLAND /GRI/
STANDS AT 35.3F WHICH IS 2.9F BELOW NORMAL. WE WILL PUT A GOOD
DENT IN THAT DEPARTURE OVER THE NEXT 6 DAYS...BUT ODDS FAVOR THIS
MONTH ENDING UP SLIGHTLY COOLER THAN NORMAL.
AS FAR AS GRI PRECIP...IT DEPENDS ON HOW MUCH RAIN/SNOW FALLS IN
THE NEXT COUPLE DAYS. AS OF RIGHT NOW...THE 115 DAYS FROM DEC
1-MAR 25 IS THE 3RD DRIEST ON RECORD. THANKFULLY...STATISTICAL
ANALYSIS SHOWS THAT DEC-JAN-FEB PRECIP HAS NO CORRELATION WITH A
DRIER THAN NORMAL CALENDAR YEAR.
KEEP IN MIND THAT GRI IS THE ONLY LONG-TERM CLIMATE SITE WITHIN
OUR 30 COUNTIES. THAT IS WHY IT IS USED AS A PROXY FOR THE
REGION.
.GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NE...WIND ADVISORY FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 8 PM CDT THIS EVENING
FOR NEZ041-047>049-061>064-073>077-083>087.
KS...WIND ADVISORY FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 8 PM CDT THIS EVENING
FOR KSZ005>007-017>019.
&&
.GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NE...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 8 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR NEZ041-047>049-
061>064-073>077-083>087.
KS...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 8 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR KSZ005>007-017>019.
&&
UPDATE...HALBLAUB
SHORT TERM...HALBLAUB
LONG TERM...EDDY
AVIATION...HEINLEINHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE 406 AM CDT WED MAR 26 2014 KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087- 271200- 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- 406 AM CDT WED MAR 26 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING...EAST OF A LINE FROM STOCKTON KANSAS TO KEARNEY TO FULLERTON NEBRASKA. PLEASE SEE THE LATEST WIND ADVISORY MESSAGE FOR DETAILS. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE VERY LATE THIS AFTERNOON... WEST OF HIGHWAY 283 IN SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA...AND THEN FOR THE ENTIRE OUTLOOK AREA TONIGHT. NO SEVERE STORMS WILL OCCUR. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED THROUGH TONIGHT. && MORE INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE FOLLOWING WEB PAGE: HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/HASTINGS (ALL LOWERCASE) HALBLAUB/EDDY
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
200 PM CDT WED MAR 26 2014
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0135 PM NON-TSTM WND GST HEBRON AIRPORT 40.15N 97.59W
03/26/2014 M50 MPH THAYER NE AWOS
WIND 19038G51 MPH AT THE HEBRON AIRPORT
&&
PBEDAThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A peak wind gust of 58 MPH was measured by a mesonet site located 1 mile east-northeast of Shelby.
A peak wind gust of 58 MPH was measured by a mesonet site located 6 miles south of Glenvil.
A peak wind gust of 58 MPH was measured by a mesonet site located 1 mile south of Wood River.
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, March 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: 501067, 501068, 501069.