Through all but the final few days of June, an unusually long-lasting, roughly six-week period of generally minor flooding continued along the Platte River in South Central Nebraska, impacting local areas from Gothenburg downstream to near Grand Island. This flooding event got underway during the May 15th-20th time frame, initially spurred by a combination of heavy rainfall over upstream…
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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.
Through all but the final few days of June, an unusually long-lasting, roughly six-week period of generally minor flooding continued along the Platte River in South Central Nebraska, impacting local areas from Gothenburg downstream to near Grand Island. This flooding event got underway during the May 15th-20th time frame, initially spurred by a combination of heavy rainfall over upstream portions of northeast Colorado and the southern Nebraska Panhandle, coincident with above normal Rocky Mountains snow melt. During June, flooding persisted, and at times worsened, thanks to multiple rounds of heavy rain falling directly over the local Platte basin, especially downstream from Kearney. Although peak water levels and impacts during this May-June event closely resembled those which occurred during the Platte River flooding of late-September to early-October 2013, this event was considerably more prolonged. The vast majority of local flooding impacts were noted within Dawson, Buffalo and Hall counties, mainly affecting pastures and lowlands immediately adjacent to the river, with very little impact to infrastructure. That being said, a few locations did experience legitimate disruptions. One of these was the Blue Heron Campground near Gothenburg, and another was the area around the south side of the Interstate 80/Highway 281 interchange (exit 312) near Grand Island, where water occasionally encroached into the parking lots of businesses. Flooding concerns were noticeably lower downstream from the Grand Island area, largely due to the widening of the main river channel.
Taking a closer look at local flooding trends during June, of three automated Platte river gauges near Cozad, Kearney and Grand Island, all of them spent the majority of the month in minor flood stage. Grand Island even briefly exceeded moderate flood stage of 7.0 feet on two occasions, first on the 5th and again on the 19th. The gauge sites near Cozad and Grand Island briefly dropped slightly below flood stage for a few days around mid-month, before going into flood again. In general, there were June crests in water levels, one early in the month between mainly the 2nd-8th, and again later in the month from primarily the 17th-23rd. The early-month peak was clearly tied to multiple rounds of heavy rain that fell between the 3rd-6th. During this four-day stretch, a concentrated area of the Platte basin between Kearney, Hastings and Grand Island was drenched with 3-7. During a heavy rain event at Grand Island on the evening of the 4th, the river actually flowed over South Locust St. near Interstate 80 exit 314 for a short time. Fortunately, a noticeably drier weather pattern settled in for the latter half of the month, allowing excess water to gradually work its way out of the local area. From roughly the 23rd onward through the end of June, a steady decline in water levels occurred at all three aforementioned gauge sites, with the Kearney gauge being the last to drop below its flood stage of 6.0 ft. on the 29th.
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 31, 10:46 PM CST, 1 hour 14 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE 1146 PM CDT SUN MAY 31 2015 .SHORT TERM...(THIS EVENING THROUGH MONDAY) ISSUED AT 320 PM CDT SUN MAY 31 2015 RADAR HAS A FEW RETURNS THIS AFTERNOON. MOST OF IT IS LIKELY NOT REACHING THE GROUND...BUT THERE WAS A REPORT OF LIGHT RAIN AT KLBF THIS AFTERNOON SO THERE IS AT LEAST A FEW SPRINKLES HITTING THE GROUND. THE LATEST TREND HAS BEEN TO DIMINISH SO DO NOT EXPECT THEM TO LINGER VERY LONG THIS AFTERNOON. THE SOUTH WINDS THIS AFTERNOON HAVE BROUGHT AN INCREASE IN MOISTURE TO THE AREA. AS AN UPPER LEVEL WAVE MOVES INTO THE AREA TONIGHT. THERE COULD BE A FEW SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. DO NOT EXPECT THERE TO BE A LOT OF RAIN AROUND...ALL OF THE MODELS HAVE FAIRLY SPOTTY PRECIPITATION FOR TONIGHT. EXPECT SOME SPOTTY THUNDERSTORMS TO MOVE THROUGH THE AREA MAINLY LATE THIS EVENING THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS BEFORE MOVING OUT OF THE AREA BEFORE MID DAY MONDAY. BY MONDAY AFTERNOON THERE SHOULD BE AT LEAST A LITTLE CLEARING. LOW TEMPERATURES TONIGHT WILL BE WARMER THAN LAST NIGHT. WITH DEW POINTS AROUND 50 DEGREES AT THIS TIME EXPECT ONLY LOWER 50S FOR LOWS. SOUTH WINDS WILL CONTINUE MONDAY AND WITH THE TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL BE BREEZY AGAIN. THIS WILL ALSO ALLOW TEMPERATURES TO WARM INTO THE 70S TO AROUND 80 DEGREES. .LONG TERM...(MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY) ISSUED AT 358 PM CDT SUN MAY 31 2015 HIGH PRESSURE IS FORECAST TO BUILD ACROSS THE PLAINS AS AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE CUTS OFF ACROSS CENTRAL CALIFORNIA...WITH MULTIPLE WAVES EJECTING OUT OF THIS LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM AND TRAVERSING THE LOCAL AREA THROUGH THE EXTENDED FORECAST PERIODS. WHILE THERE REMAINS A VERY SMALL CHANCE FOR SOME HIGH PLAINS CONVECTION TO CROSS THE LOCAL AREA TOMORROW NIGHT...CONTINUED TO TRIM THESE CHANCES AS THE RESPONSIBLE DISTURBANCE IS LOOKING LESS AND LESS IMPRESSIVE. THAT SAID...WITH SOME SPOTTY PRECIP BEING DEPICTED IN GUIDANCE...DID NOT FEEL QUITE COMFORTABLE ENOUGH TO COMPLETELY REMOVE THUNDERSTORM CHANCES TOMORROW NIGHT...DESPITE IT CONTINUING TO TREND DRIER. TUESDAY ONWARD...MULTIPLE WAVES OF ENERGY ARE FORECAST TO CROSS THE LOCAL AREA THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK...WITH THE NEXT BEST CHANCE FOR SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY COMING TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY MORNING. WITH AMPLE INSTABILITY IN PLACE...IT REMAINS NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION FOR A FEW STRONG TO MARGINALLY SEVERE STORMS DEVELOPING...BUT LACKING BETTER SHEAR...MARGINALLY LARGE HAIL AND STRONG WIND GUSTS WILL BE THE PRIMARY CONCERNS. NOT SURPRISINGLY... THE LOCAL AREA IS HIGHLIGHTED IN A MARGINAL RISK FOR SEVERE WEATHER FROM SPC...AND INCLUDED THIS WORDING IN THE HWO. THEREAFTER...THE SAME THEME WILL CONTINUE...WITH MULTIPLE CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS DEPENDENT ON FORCING EMERGING OUT OF THE LONGWAVE TROUGH TO OUR WEST. WITH CONTINUED LOW SHEAR VALUES...SEVERE POTENTIAL WILL REMAIN FAIRLY MARGINAL...BUT WILL WAIT TO REFINE TIMING AND MENTION OF ADDITIONAL CHANCES FOR SEVERE WEATHER UNTIL THINGS BECOME A BIT CLEARER. OVERALL...WHILE NOT CONTINUOUSLY WET...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE AROUND THROUGH AT LEAST THE UPCOMING WEEKEND...WITH THE FOCUS GENERALLY COMING DURING THE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT HOURS. TEMPERATURE WISE...EXPECT READINGS TO RUN FAIRLY NEAR CLIMO FOR EARLY JUNE...WITH HIGHS IN THE UPPER 70S/LOWER 80S...AND LOWS NEAR 60...ELEVATED A BIT ABOVE CLIMO DUE TO MOIST AIRMASS THAT IS FORECAST TO BE IN PLACE. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 06Z KGRI/KEAR TAFS THROUGH 06Z MONDAY NIGHT) ISSUED AT 1134 PM CDT SUN MAY 31 2015 THERE IS SOME UNCERTAINTY IN THE FORECAST TONIGHT INTO MONDAY AS TO WHETHER OR NOT CONVECTION WILL DEVELOP. CONVECTION SO FAR HAS REMAINED WELL SOUTH IN SOUTHWEST KANSAS AND MODELS ARE HIT AND MISS ON WHETHER OR NOT WE WILL SEE ANY AS THE LLVL JET STRENGHTENS. WINDS WILL REMAIN FROM A SOUTHEAST DIRECTION. && .GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NE...NONE. KS...NONE. && SHORT TERM...JCB LONG TERM...ROSSI AVIATION...FAY
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE 339 PM CDT SUN MAY 31 2015 KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087- 011200- 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- 339 PM CDT SUN MAY 31 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE AFTER DARK TONIGHT. SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. FLOOD WARNINGS REMAIN ALONG PORTIONS OF THE PLATTE RIVER BETWEEN GOTHENBURG AND CENTRAL CITY. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST FLOOD STATEMENTS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. MULTIPLE CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE LOCAL AREA THROUGH SATURDAY...PRIMARILY DURING THE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT HOURS. SOME OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS COULD BE SEVERE TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING...WITH LARGE HAIL AND STRONG WINDS GUSTS BEING THE MAIN CONCERNS. IN ADDITION...FLOOD WARNINGS REMAIN IN EFFECT ALONG PORTIONS OF THE PLATTE RIVER BETWEEN GOTHENBURG AND CENTRAL CITY. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST FLOOD STATEMENTS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. .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)
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nebraska in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Nebraska, June 2015
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: 577248, 577249, 577250.