With ground already saturated from repeated heavy rainfall events in May and early June, another complex of thunderstorms producing very heavy rainfall moved across eastern Nebraska and western Iowa starting during the evening on the 10th and continued into the early morning hours on the 11th. This was followed with additional thunderstorms on the afternoon of the 11th over southeast Nebraska…
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 OAX wrote it up.
With ground already saturated from repeated heavy rainfall events in May and early June, another complex of thunderstorms producing very heavy rainfall moved across eastern Nebraska and western Iowa starting during the evening on the 10th and continued into the early morning hours on the 11th. This was followed with additional thunderstorms on the afternoon of the 11th over southeast Nebraska and southwest Iowa. This additional rainfall led to more significant flooding along area rivers.
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 Omaha, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 11, 3:00 AM CST, 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE
400 AM CDT THU JUN 11 2015
.SHORT TERM...(TODAY THROUGH SATURDAY)
ISSUED AT 345 AM CDT THU JUN 11 2015
FORECAST CONCERNS WILL BE ONGOING THUNDERSTORMS...HEAVY RAIN AND
SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL...THEN DECREASING COVERAGE OF
STORMS/SHOWERS TONIGHT.
A PARADE OF SHORT WAVES WERE NOTED ON THE WATER VAPOR SATELLITE
IMAGERY WITH THE REMNANTS OF BLANCA AND ABUNDANT MOISTURE FROM
NEBRASKA WEST TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 4 TO 8 DEG C H7 DEWPOINTS
WERE COMMON OVER A LARGE AREA. THE 00Z OAX SOUNDING HAD 1.53 PWAT
WITH INSTABILITY AT 3300J/KG. THUNDERSTORMS ERUPTED NEAR THE FRONT
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND ALSO ACROSS WESTERN AND CENTRAL NEBRASKA.
OVERNIGHT THESE STORMS CONTINUED TO DEVELOP AND PER THE RECENT
WSR-88D RADAR STRETCHED FROM SOUTHERN MN THROUGH EASTERN NEBRASKA
AND IOWA INTO NORTHWEST MISSOURI AND EASTERN KANSAS. ADDITIONAL
STORMS WERE LOCATED TO THE WEST OVER PARTS OF CENTRAL AND WESTERN
NEBRASKA.
THE OPERATIONAL MODELS WERE TOO FAR NORTH WITH THE HEAVY
RAIN OVERNIGHT SAVE FOR THE 00Z NCEP HRRR WHICH WAS A BIT FARTHER
SOUTH...BUT STILL LACKED THE STORMS FARTHER SOUTH MORE INTO KS.
THE STORMS IN WESTERN NEBRASKA SHOULD TRACK FARTHER NORTH
COMPARED TO THE AREA WITH RAIN THAT FELL OVER THE LAST 12HRS.
UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT WITH THE RIGHT REAR ENTRANCE OF THE JET
CONTINUES THROUGH 18Z IN NORTHEAST NEBRASKA. THE BEST OMEGA IS
OVER THE AREA EARLY THIS MORNING...THEN SHIFTS TOWARD SOUTHERN
MINNESOTA TOWARD 18Z...BUT LINGERS IN SOUTHWEST IOWA THROUGH 00Z.
THE H7 WARM AIR ADVECTION OVER CENTRAL NEBRASKA CONTINUES IN
EASTERN NEBRASKA THIS MORNING...THEN SHIFTS MORE INTO IOWA THIS
AFTERNOON. THE ATMOSPHERE REMAINS VERY MOIST WITH 1.5 TO 2.0
INCHES OF PWAT. THE LOW LEVEL JET OF 40 TO 50 KTS WHICH HAS AIDED
CONVECTION OVERNIGHT CONTINUES THIS MORNING...BUT SHIFTS INTO
WESTERN IOWA. WILL MAINTAIN HIGH POPS THIS MORNING AND THEN TREND
HIGHER POPS WITH THE DEFORMATION BAND AND ALONG THE FRONT THIS
AFTERNOON...GRADUALLY LOWERING SHOWER CHANCES THROUGH THE
EVENING.
THIS AFTERNOON...WILL NEED TO WATCH SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA/SOUTHWEST
IOWA ALONG THE FRONT AS INSTABILITY INCREASES TO 2000-3000 J/KG AND
THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE/ENHANCED RISK FOR SEVERE WEATHER IN THE
SOUTHEAST PART OF THE FORECAST AREA.
DRIER AIR ARRIVES FOR FRIDAY WITH THE COLD FRONT SLIPPING SOUTH
TOWARD SOUTHERN KANSAS. THE NEXT SHORTWAVE LIFTS NORTH ACROSS
KANSAS AND INTO NEBRASKA FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY. THIS WILL
RETURN SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS TO THE AREA.
.LONG TERM...(SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY)
ISSUED AT 345 AM CDT THU JUN 11 2015
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE ONGOING SATURDAY NIGHT WITH SPOTTY
STORMS SUNDAY AND MONDAY. TEMPERATURES SHOULD BE CLOSE TO NORMAL
FROM THE UPPER 70S TO THE MID 80S.
&&
.AVIATION...(06Z TAFS FOR KOFK...KLNK AND KOMA.)
ISSUED AT 1215 AM CDT THU JUN 11 2015
RADAR MOSAIC REVEALING WIDESPREAD TSRA ACTIVITY CURRENTLY MOVING
ACROSS CNTRL AND ERN NEB WITH ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY OVER N-CNTRL KS.
EXPECTED PCPN ACTIVITY/OCCASIONAL IFR CONDITIONS TO CONTINUE AT
ALL TERMINALS THRU THE EARLY MORNING HOURS FOLLOWED BY CONDITIONS
IMPROVING TO VFR WITH ONSET OF FRONTAL PASSAGE/WIND SHIFT TO THE
NW.
&&
.HYDROLOGY...
ISSUED AT 345 AM CDT THU JUN 11 2015
WILL LET THE CURRENT FFA REMAIN INTO EFFECT THIS MORNING WITH 1
TO 3 INCHES OF RAIN IN SEVERAL SPOTS AND MATCHED UP WITH FSD/DMX
WITH OUR IOWA COUNTIES FOR THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY EXPECTED THIS
MORNING. CONVECTION CONTINUES...HOWEVER THE BETTER MORE WIDESPREAD
RAINFALL RATES SHIFTING INTO IOWA. RAINFALL RATES ARE BEGINNING TO
INCREASE FOR PARTS OF NORTHEAST NEBRASKA WITH THIS DEVELOPING AREA
OF STORMS. AS MENTIONED ABOVE...THERE IS ABUNDANT MOISTURE
AVAILABLE WITH CONTINUED SUPPORT FOR NEW STORM DEVELOPMENT THIS
MORNING AND THIS AFTERNOON FOR DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE FORECAST
AREA. THESE STORMS WILL EFFICIENT RAIN PRODUCERS CAPABLE OF HEAVY
RAIN.
&&
.OAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NE...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 1 PM CDT THIS AFTERNOON FOR NEZ050>053-
065>068-078-088>093.
IA...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 1 PM CDT THIS AFTERNOON FOR IAZ043-055-
056-069-079-080-090-091.
&&
SHORT TERM...ZAPOTOCNY
LONG TERM...ZAPOTOCNY
AVIATION...DEE
HYDROLOGY...ZAPOTOCNYHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE 1057 PM CDT WED JUN 10 2015 IAZ043-055-056-NEZ011-012-015>018-030>034-042>045-111800- MONONA-HARRISON-SHELBY-KNOX-CEDAR-THURSTON-ANTELOPE-PIERCE-WAYNE- BOONE-MADISON-STANTON-CUMING-BURT-PLATTE-COLFAX-DODGE-WASHINGTON- 1057 PM CDT WED JUN 10 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST IOWA...WEST CENTRAL IOWA...EAST CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND NORTHEAST NEBRASKA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT AND THURSDAY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL INCREASE IN AREAL COVERAGE DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS ACROSS THE OUTLOOK AREA. AT THIS POINT IT APPEARS THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE HEAVY RAINFALL...BUT THERE IS A SMALL CHANCE A FEW STORMS MAY APPROACH OR BECOME SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS POSSIBLE. THUNDERSTORM REDEVELOPMENT WILL BE POSSIBLE ALONG A FRONTAL BOUNDARY THURSDAY AFTERNOON MAINLY ALONG AND SOUTH OF I-80 WITH POSSIBLE SEVERE STORM DEVELOPMENT BY LATE AFTERNOON. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS ARE THE MAIN HAZARDS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THUNDERSTORM CHANCES CONTINUE ON AND OFF INTO THE WEEKEND AND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED THROUGH THURSDAY. IAZ069-079-080-090-091-NEZ050>053-065>068-078-088>093-111800- POTTAWATTAMIE-MILLS-MONTGOMERY-FREMONT-PAGE-BUTLER-SAUNDERS- DOUGLAS-SARPY-SEWARD-LANCASTER-CASS-OTOE-SALINE-JEFFERSON-GAGE- JOHNSON-NEMAHA-PAWNEE-RICHARDSON- 1057 PM CDT WED JUN 10 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST IOWA...EAST CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT AND THURSDAY FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL INCREASE IN AREAL COVERAGE DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS ACROSS THE OUTLOOK AREA. AT THIS POINT THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE HEAVY RAINFALL AND POSSIBLE FLASH FLOODING TONIGHT IN PRONE AREAS...AS WELL AS FLOODING ALONG RIVERS AND STREAMS. IN ADDITION...IT IS POSSIBLE THAT A FEW STORMS MAY APPROACH OR BECOME SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS POSSIBLE. THUNDERSTORM REDEVELOPMENT WILL BE POSSIBLE ALONG A FRONTAL BOUNDARY THURSDAY AFTERNOON MAINLY ALONG AND SOUTH OF I-80 WITH POSSIBLE SEVERE STORM DEVELOPMENT BY LATE AFTERNOON. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS ARE THE MAIN HAZARDS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THUNDERSTORM CHANCES CONTINUE ON AND OFF INTO THE WEEKEND AND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED THROUGH THURSDAY.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
6 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Minor flooding was observed along the Lincoln Creek near Seward. The creek crested at 16.52 feet and was responsible for minor agricultural low-level flooding along the creek.
This was the second significant flood of June along Turkey Creek, and the third of the year. The river crested over 4 feet above flood stage, and although briefly feel below flood stage on the 13th, additional heavy rain on the 14th allowed the creek to stay above flood stage until the 18th. Significant flooding of row crops in the flood plain was observed from Wilbur downstream to De Witt where some structures near town were again flooded.
This was the second, and more significant flood of the Missouri River near Rulo in the month of June. The river crested at 21.47 ft, or 5.47 feet above flood stage. In addition to significant agricultural low-land flooding, some cabins along the river also flooded.
Minor flooding was observed along the Maple Creek near Nickerson. The flooding was confined to low-lined agricultural areas along the river.
The Missouri River at Nebraska City rose to just above flood stage during the late afternoon of the 12th, and crested and fell below later that evening. The flooding was confined to minor over-band flooding along the river.
Minor flooding was observed along the Missouri River near Brownville. The river crested at 35.21 feet and led to significant flooding of agricultural low-lands along the river.
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: 574469, 574502, 574506, 574505, 574499, 574501.