A very small area of wind damage occurred during the predawn hours on this Friday morning. Shortly after midnight, scattered showers and generally weak thunderstorms developed over south central Nebraska.
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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.
A very small area of wind damage occurred during the predawn hours on this Friday morning. Shortly after midnight, scattered showers and generally weak thunderstorms developed over south central Nebraska. Most of this activity occurred east of Highway 281, between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. CST. The small storm that produced this damage moved into southwestern Hamilton County from northwestern Clay County shortly before 3 am CST. It was at 3 a.m. that a very small downburst occurred just southwest and west of Giltner. These were outflow winds immediately ahead of the storm. Grain bins were damaged as a result, with two having roofs pushed in. Another grain bin in a different but nearby location was removed from its location and deposited in a field. This downburst was very brief. Radar indicated strong outflow winds of 50 knots at the lowest elevation angle, at the time of the event, and there was no indication of these winds 5 minutes before or 5 minutes after.
These storms developed in an area of warm air advection associated with a 45 knot low-level jet, in the warm sector of low pressure over the Dakotas. A lee-side trough extended from this low across western Nebraska and Kansas. The flow aloft was moderately amplified with a ridge over the Plains and a trough along the West Coast. Mid-level winds were very weak over Nebraska, on the order of 5-10 knots. Surface temperatures were in the lower to middle 70s, with dewpoints in the 60s. Mid-level lapse rates were steep, nearly 8 deg C/km, resulting in MUCAPE around 1000 J/kg. Deep layer shear was a little less than 20 knots.
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 Sep 3, 11:44 PM CST, 3 hours 16 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE 1244 AM CDT FRI SEP 4 2015 .SHORT TERM...(THIS EVENING THROUGH FRIDAY) ISSUED AT 316 PM CDT THU SEP 3 2015 SATELLITE AND OBSERVATIONS SHOW HIGH CLOUDS ACROSS MUCH OF THE FORECAST AREA THIS AFTERNOON. A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE ACROSS WESTERN NEBRASKA AND KANSAS HAS BEEN KEEPING WINDS FROM THE SOUTH. THE REMAINDER OF THE AFTERNOON AND INTO THE EVENING HOURS THE WINDS WILL REMAIN BREEZY FROM THE SOUTH...BUT AS THE SUN GOES DOWN THE WINDS WILL DIMINISH AT LEAST A LITTLE. LATE THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT AN UPPER LEVEL WAVE WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA. THERE COULD BE A FEW SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO THE FAR WEST DURING THE LATE EVENING. THEY SHOULD MOVE TO THE NORTHEAST AND THROUGH THE NORTHERN PART OF THE FORECAST AREA DURING THE OVERNIGHT. THE NEXT QUESTION BECOMES HOW MUCH WILL LINGER INTO FRIDAY MORNING. THE GFS KEEPS A LITTLE IN THE NORTH WHILE THE NAM AND ECMWF MOVE PRECIPITATION OUT OF THE AREA AS DOES THE 4KM WRF. HAVE KEPT A LITTLE IN THE FAR NORTH BUT AM A LITTLE SKEPTICAL IF THERE WILL BE MUCH. TEMPERATURES ARE ALSO TRENDING A LITTLE WARMER. WITH THE MOISTURE AROUND THE AREA THE LOWS TONIGHT SHOULD REMAIN AROUND 70. HIGHS TOMORROW WILL REMAIN IN THE LOWER TO MID 90S. .LONG TERM...(FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY) ISSUED AT 316 PM CDT THU SEP 3 2015 THERE IS POTENTIAL FOR QUITE A BIG TRANSITION FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE LONG TERM TO THE END...BUT NUMERICAL MODELS AND THEIR ENSEMBLES ARE COMING INTO BETTER AGREEMENT WITH THE SYNOPTIC PATTERN BY MID AND LATE WEEK NEXT WEEK. THE SYNOPTIC PATTERN BEGINS WITH SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT...AS WE WILL BE SITUATED BETWEEN A PROMINENT RIDGE TO THE EAST/SOUTHEAST AND AN AMPLIFIED LONGWAVE TROUGH IN THE WEST/NORTHWEST. 850 MB TEMPERATURES WILL BE IN THE MID 20S CELSIUS...SO SEASONABLY HOT TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED WITH HIGHS WELL INTO THE 90S AND LOWS IN THE 70S. THIS SHIFTS SOMEWHAT BY SUNDAY/SUNDAY NIGHT AS THE NORTHWESTERN TROUGH DE- AMPLIFIES AND MOVES INTO THE NORTHERN PLAINS AS A NEGATIVELY TILTED TROUGH. BY LABOR DAY...FLOW STARTS TO TRANSITION TO MORE ZONAL...AS ANOTHER MORE SIGNIFICANT TROUGH MOVES EAST THROUGH SOUTHERN CANADA AND THE NORTHERN TIER OF THE UNITED STATES. BY THE END OF THE WORK WEEK NEXT WEEK...CYCLONIC FLOW BROADENS AND DEEPENS OVER THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL PLAINS...WITH 850 MB SIGNIFICANTLY COOLER NEAR 15C. AT THE SURFACE...THERE SHOULD BE A TROUGH IN THE LEE OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS BEGINNING FRIDAY EVENING...WHICH HAS BEEN A CONSISTENT FEATURE AS OF LATE. ALSO A COLD FRONT WILL BE LOCATED WELL TO THE NORTHWEST...OVER THE NORTHERN PLAINS...EXTENDING SOUTHWEST INTO THE NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAINS. WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SOLID LOW-LEVEL JET AND ITS AXIS POTENTIALLY MAKING ITS WAY INTO THE WEST/NORTHWEST CWA BY OVERNIGHT FRIDAY NIGHT...WE WILL HAVE A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN THAT PART OF THE CWA...ALTHOUGH LOW AND MID LEVELS WILL BE ON THE DRY SIDE...SO I AM NOT LOOKING FOR A LOT OF COVERAGE OF ANY PRECIPITATION DURING THIS TIME PERIOD. THIS COLD FRONT WILL MAKE ITS WAY SOUTHEAST INTO OUR AREA BY SUNDAY/SUNDAY NIGHT...BUT THERE WILL NOT BE A LOT OF SUPPORT FOR PRECIPITATION THIS FAR SOUTH...AND THE FRONT ITSELF WILL WASH OUT A BIT AND BECOME FRONTOLYTIC. THE MOST PROMISING TIME PERIOD FOR RAIN WILL BE IN THE MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT TIME PERIOD WHEN A MORE SIGNIFICANT WAVE MOVES INTO THE PLAINS ANS HENCE...A STRONGER COLD FRONT AND BAROCLINICITY MOVES IN. THINGS COULD BE A BIT MORE COMPLICATED IN THIS PERIOD AS A SURFACE LOW COULD MOVE THROUGH THE CENTRAL PLAINS...WHILE WE MAY BE IN A BRIEF WARM SECTOR...BEFORE THE COOLER AIR PUSHES IN. BY WEDNESDAY...THE COLD FRONT SHOULD BE WELL SOUTH OF THE CWA...AND WE WILL BE MAINLY DRY...BUT I LEFT A SMALL CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION IN THE FAR SOUTH...WHERE THEY MAY BE JUST CLOSE ENOUGH TO THE BOUNDARY TO ENCOUNTER SOME RAIN. THE FRONT QUICKLY MAKES A RETURN NORTH...AND WE COULD ENCOUNTER ANOTHER SHOT AT SOME RAIN AS THE WARM FRONT HEADS NORTH. AS FOR TEMPERATURES/DEWPOINTS...SATURDAY WILL PROBABLY BE THE MOST UNCOMFORTABLE NIGHT AS LOWS IN THE LOWER TO MID 70S ARE EXPECTED JUST AHEAD OF THE APPROACHING COLD FRONT AND DEWPOINTS WILL REMAIN AT LEAST IN THE MID TO UPPER 60S. WENT CLOSER TO A CONSRAW/SUPERBLEND BLEND...IF YOU WILL. WITH THE PASSAGE OF THE COLD FRONT LATE SUNDAY AFTERNOON INTO SUNDAY NIGHT...DEWPOINTS WILL BE NOTICEABLY LOWER IN THE 40S/50S AS WELL AS TEMPERATURES DIPPING INTO THE MID 50S IN THE NORTH TO MID 60S IN OUR SOUTH. ALTHOUGH TEMPERATURES ON MONDAY MAY STILL BE RATHER WARM INTO 80S FOR MOST LOCATIONS...DEWPOINTS WILL BE CONSIDERABLY LOWER...MAINLY IN THE 50S FOR SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA...AND THE MID 50S TO LOWER 60S FOR NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS. WITH LOWER 850 MB TEMPERATURES...MID WEEK HIGHS WILL BE MAINLY IN THE MID 70S TO MID 80S AND LOWS IN THE 50S. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 06Z KGRI/KEAR TAFS THROUGH 06Z FRIDAY NIGHT) ISSUED AT 1227 AM CDT FRI SEP 4 2015 PREVAILING VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED AT BOTH TERMINALS THROUGH THE PERIOD...ALTHOUGH A VCTS WITH TEMPORARY MVFR VSBYS AND CIGS WILL BE POSSIBLE DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS TODAY. THIS ACTIVITY WILL LIKELY BE SPARKED BY A DEVELOPING LLJ...WHICH IS ALREADY RESULTING IN WS AT BOTH TERMINALS ACCORDING TO WIND DATA BEING PICKED UP BY THE KUEX RADAR. THIS WS SHOULD DIMINISH DURING THE MID MORNING HOURS...WHEN WIND SPEEDS AT THE SURFACE INCREASE...WHICH WILL OCCASIONALLY GUST TO 25KTS OR GREATER OUT OF THE SOUTH THROUGH THE AFTERNOON HOURS. ADDITIONAL CHANCES FOR A VCTS OR TS ARE ANTICIPATED JUST BEYOND THE VALID PERIOD OF THE TAF. && .GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NE...NONE. KS...NONE. && SHORT TERM...JCB LONG TERM...HEINLEIN AVIATION...ROSSI
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE 1225 AM CDT FRI SEP 4 2015 KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087- 050530- 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- 1225 AM CDT FRI SEP 4 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS. .DAY ONE...OVERNIGHT. THERE IS A SMALL CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS PRIMARILY ACROSS PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS TODAY. SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED WITH ANY OF THIS ACTIVITY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. PERIODIC...SMALL CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS EXIST ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE LOCAL AREA FOR THE ENTIRE PERIOD. .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) ROSSI
The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 54 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 08:59 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Wind gusts estimated to be near 60 MPH resulted in roof damage to a few grain bins west of Giltner.
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, September 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: 599583.