Two primary supercells moved southeast from Cherry County and vicinity toward Custer County during the late morning and afternoon. An additional round of storms consisting of a linear system and a supercell moved through north central Nebraska later in the evening.
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 LBF wrote it up.
Two primary supercells moved southeast from Cherry County and vicinity toward Custer County during the late morning and afternoon. An additional round of storms consisting of a linear system and a supercell moved through north central Nebraska later in the evening. Wind gusts were estimated up to 100 mph and hail to tennis ball size, while multiple reports of damaged crops and flooded buildings were received during the event.
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 North Platte, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 10, 5:40 AM CST, 5 hours 15 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service North Platte NE 640 AM CDT Fri Jul 10 2020 .SHORT TERM...(Today through Saturday) Issued at 410 AM CDT Fri Jul 10 2020 Concerns in the short-term revolve around the potential for two rounds of thunderstorms Friday afternoon and evening with the threat for severe weather during either. Period begins with generally zonal flow as an upper-level ridge continues to strengthen across the southern Rockies. Isolated to widely scattered rain and weak convection continue to percolate across the area, mainly over the Panhandle region. This is occurring within an area of strengthening h85 flow associated with the LLJ. The focus and maximized convergence will shift north into South Dakota as we approach sunrise, thus limiting the potential for any additional development through the morning hours. Weak echoes are struggling out near Scottsbluff as they encounter stronger capping the further east they progress. Am more concerned about seeing stuff north of Pine Ridge turn more to the southeast and approach the northern tier of counties over the next few hours. Thinking this potential is fairly low given both the expected veering and weakening of the LLJ with time orientation of instability gradient that is more west-to-east along and just north of the NE/SD border. Will continue to monitor. The ridge axis remains just west of the region with a northern stream shortwave rounding this feature across the northern Rockies. With the mid-level flow compressed between the strengthening ridge and the approaching shortwave, flow aloft will increase with h5 winds approaching 40 knots. Low-level southerly flow has been in place for a few days now, helping maintain a humid airmass across much of the area. Indeed, morning dew point values are in the 50s and 60s with upper 60s not too far south in Kansas. With partly to mostly sunny skies today, will see another warm day with h85 temperatures ranging from the low 30s in the far west to low 20s in the east. This will translate to temperatures nearing 100 west of Highway 61 to the upper 80s east of Highway 83. With dew points expected to climb back into the upper 60s today, we'll see heat index values climb into the mid to upper 90s with the area of greatest concern being generally along Highway 83 into much of southwest Nebraska. Thunderstorm chances increase through the afternoon and into the evening hours. Steep mid-level lapse rates are already in place with upstream soundings from Thursday evening at DNR and RIW indicating an EML that extends well west of the region. This will allow high instability to develop, with MLCAPE values exceeding 3500 j/kg. As alluded to previously, strong mid- level will be in place helping contribute to sufficient deep-layer shear for organized severe weather. The potential first round will develop by early afternoon off the higher elevations of southeast Montana/western South Dakota as moist upslope flow coincident with the first of two passing shortwaves moves over the area. This activity should move east-southeast with time, following the h7 thermal gradient, and approach portions the area by mid-to-late afternoon. Given the steering flow aloft and direction of shear vectors, general thoughts are areas most prone to these storms will be generally northeast of a North Platte to Merriman line. Mid-level lapse rates of around 8 C/km and 0-6km BWD of nearly 50 knots thanks to low level southerly flow will foster an environment supporting of supercells capable of large hail and damaging wind gusts. Given DCAPE values exceeding 1500 j/kg and max 0-3km theta-e differences of -20 C, cannot rule out a few significant damaging wind gust reports. As for hail, while the more impressive lapse rates remain north of the area, SBLI values approaching -10 and such strong shear suggest the potential for a few hail reports exceeding 2", especially for areas generally north of Highway 2. As the LLJ increases this evening, hodographs will enlarge with 0-3km SRH values climbing to the 200-300 m2/s2 range. Particularly concerning is orientation of 0-3km shear vector with storm motion, suggesting potential for QLCS type spinups. Should this threat materialize, the area of greatest concern would be across north central Nebraska, particularly areas east of Highway 83 and north of Highway 91, in closer proximity to the surface warm front. The potential second wave of rain and thunderstorms would be tied to the strong surface cool front expected to move in from the north during the evening hours Friday. This frontal boundary will be fairly strong with pressure rises of nearly 2 hPa/hour behind the boundary. This would support gusty winds even without the threat for thunderstorms but including the convective element to this with strong instability remaining across the area, will be concerned about primarily damaging winds and large hail with the second complex as well. With the threat for two rounds of storms, heavy rainfall will be possible for areas that see more than one round of storms. Confidence in where this occurs is fairly low, but given PWATs of around 1.25" with RH values in the lowest 1 km of 60-70%, rain processes should be efficient. Thinking many locations stand a good chance of seeing 1-1.5" of rain but the potential exists for isolated areas approaching 2-3" total by early Saturday morning. This threat will remain east of any areas that saw heavy rain over the past few nights so the threat for flooding is fairly low, but will need to monitor through the evening hours. The cool front will remain fairly progressive and is expected to clear the area by sunrise on Saturday. As such, have PoPs exiting the area by 12z. Weak high pressure will move into the area and allow for a dry day across the region. Temperatures will be slightly cooler with highs ranging from the low 80s northeast to low 90s southwest but given lower humidity expected, will be a much more comfortable day. Winds will be light out of the north at less than 20 mph, gradually shifting to the northeast towards the evening. .LONG TERM...(Saturday night through Thursday) Issued at 410 AM CDT Fri Jul 10 2020 Northwest flow aloft at the beginning of the period will transition to largely zonal as the southern CONUS ridge begins to flatten. This leaves the area in stronger flow aloft and will lead to multiple shots at precipitation with the passage of shortwaves embedded in the mean flow. The first chance at precipitation appears to be Sunday afternoon with the potential for storms to initiate in the higher terrain of Wyoming and move into the western CWA. Shear will be more than adequate for organized convection, with values generally around 40-50kts across the area. Will have to watch any convection that forms as it pushes eastward into better lower level moisture and instability. It appears the best chance of precipitation during the period will be Monday evening through Tuesday with the approach of a cold front. Monitoring potential for a few strong to severe storms along this front given 30-40kts of bulk shear and 2500-3000 j/kg of MLCAPE. The best parameter space at this time looks to be over the northeastern CWA. Forecast soundings indicate largely straight line hodographs, so the main threat would appear to be large hail and damaging wind gusts. This front will be slow to push through the area and as a consequence have included at least chance pops through 06Z Wednesday. Will have another shot at precip on Wednesday night, though confidence is on the lower side with discrepancies between model solutions. Looking ahead into next weekend, building heights aloft will lead to a more benign flow regime and lower precip chances through the end of the period. Temperatures will gradually cool for the first half of the work week before becoming abnormally warm again as ridging strengthens overhead toward late week. && .AVIATION...(For the 12Z TAFS through 12Z Saturday morning) Issued at 638 AM CDT Fri Jul 10 2020 Scattered showers and thunderstorms continued to move east, just to the north of Cherry County. It appears that thunderstorms in the KVTN vicinity will occur this morning, with more development this afternoon. Concerns remain for the potential for additional strong to severe convection during the late afternoon and evening hours across north central into central Nebraska. Confidence in impacts at KVTN has increased for a TEMPO included from 22Z until 04Z. Storms should remain northeast of KLBF per the latest model trends, so no mention in the KLBF TAF attm. && .LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && SHORT TERM...Jurgensen LONG TERM...Brown/Jurgensen AVIATION...Roberg
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service North Platte NE 1125 AM CDT Fri Jul 10 2020 NEZ004>010-022>029-035>038-056>059-069>071-094-111630- Sheridan-Eastern Cherry-Keya Paha-Boyd-Brown-Rock-Holt-Garden- Grant-Hooker-Thomas-Blaine-Loup-Garfield-Wheeler-Arthur-McPherson- Logan-Custer-Deuel-Keith-Perkins-Lincoln-Chase-Hayes-Frontier- Western Cherry- 1125 AM CDT Fri Jul 10 2020 /1025 AM MDT Fri Jul 10 2020/ This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of western and north central Nebraska. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. Severe thunderstorms are expected this afternoon into tonight across western and north central Nebraska due to the development of a surface low pressure system across northwest Nebraska and a strong upper level disturbance moving over the area. The greatest risk for severe weather is east of a line from Merriman through Maxwell. Large hail, damaging winds, and an isolated tornado are possible with any storms. In addition, there is a marginal risk for excessive rainfall east of a line from Merriman to Broken Bow. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. Thunderstorms will be possible Monday night through Wednesday across portions of western and north central Nebraska. A slow moving cold front will approach the area beginning on Monday. At this time, the threat for severe storms is uncertain. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Please relay any information about observed severe weather to the NWS. && Get your weather, hydrological, and climate information at http://www.weather.gov/northplatte Meltzer/Snively
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE
843 AM CDT FRI JUL 10 2020
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1245 AM TSTM WND DMG 5 S MAXWELL 41.01N 100.53W
07/10/2020 LINCOLN NE PUBLIC
NUMEROUS TREES DOWN AND A EMPTY PIVOT WAS FLIPPED. TIME
IS ESTIMATED BASED OFF OF RADAR.
&&
SJACOBSPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE
853 AM CDT FRI JUL 10 2020
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1250 AM TSTM WND DMG 5 SE BRADY 40.97N 100.30W
07/10/2020 LINCOLN NE CO-OP OBSERVER
LARGE TREES DOWN. LARGE BRANCH FELL ONTO HOUSE.
&&
SMELTZERPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE
926 AM CDT FRI JUL 10 2020
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1200 AM TSTM WND DMG SUTHERLAND 41.16N 101.13W
07/10/2020 LINCOLN NE TRAINED SPOTTER
MULTIPLE TREES DOWNED AND SMALL BUILDING DAMAGE. TIME
ESTIMATED FROM RADAR
&&
SNIVELYPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE
930 AM CDT FRI JUL 10 2020
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1155 PM TSTM WND DMG PAXTON 41.12N 101.36W
07/09/2020 KEITH NE TRAINED SPOTTER
9 IN. DIA. TREE BRANCH DOWNED
&&
SNIVELYPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE
933 AM CDT FRI JUL 10 2020
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1245 AM TSTM WND DMG 4 S BRADY 40.96N 100.37W
07/10/2020 LINCOLN NE PUBLIC
MULTIPLE LARGE TREE BRANCHES DOWNED. TIME ESTIMATED FROM
RADAR
&&
SNIVELYPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE
1029 AM CDT FRI JUL 10 2020
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0818 PM HAIL 2 S HYANNIS 41.97N 101.76W
07/09/2020 M0.75 INCH GRANT NE CO-OP OBSERVER
0844 PM HAIL 10 N WHITMAN 42.19N 101.54W
07/09/2020 M0.75 INCH CHERRY NE TRAINED SPOTTER
0916 PM HAIL 18 NE WHITMAN 42.25N 101.34W
07/09/2020 E1.75 INCH CHERRY NE PUBLIC
REPORT WITH PHOTO VIA SOCIAL MEDIA. TIME ESTIMATED FROM
RADAR.
0940 PM HAIL 1 NNE ASHBY 42.04N 101.93W
07/09/2020 M1.00 INCH GRANT NE TRAINED SPOTTER
0943 PM HAIL 1 SSE ASHBY 42.02N 101.93W
07/09/2020 M0.88 INCH GRANT NE TRAINED SPOTTER
1151 PM TSTM WND DMG SUTHERLAND 41.16N 101.13W
07/09/2020 LINCOLN NE PUBLIC
POWER KNOCKED OUT IN SUTHERLAND. REPORT VIA PUBLIC PHONE
CALL
1155 PM TSTM WND DMG 2 ESE SUTHERLAND 41.14N 101.09W
07/09/2020 LINCOLN NE LAW ENFORCEMENT
SEMI BLOWN OVER ON I-80 NEAR MM 160. REPORT VIA SOCIAL
MEDIA. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.
1155 PM TSTM WND DMG PAXTON 41.12N 101.36W
07/09/2020 KEITH NE TRAINED SPOTTER
9 IN. DIA. TREE BRANCH DOWNED
1200 AM TSTM WND DMG SUTHERLAND 41.16N 101.13W
07/10/2020 LINCOLN NE TRAINED SPOTTER
MULTIPLE TREES DOWNED AND SMALL BUILDING DAMAGE. TIME
ESTIMATED FROM RADAR
1202 AM TSTM WND GST 5 NE HERSHEY 41.20N 100.93W
07/10/2020 M55.00 MPH LINCOLN NE MESONET
HOME WEATHER STATION PWS-KNENORTH39
1204 AM TSTM WND GST 7 N NORTH PLATTE 41.23N 100.76W
07/10/2020 M58.00 MPH LINCOLN NE MESONET
HOME WEATHER STATION PWS-KNENORTH14
1220 AM TSTM WND GST 4 E NORTH PLATTE 41.13N 100.70W
07/10/2020 M59.00 MPH LINCOLN NE MESONET
RSOIS GUSTED TO 51 KNOTS.
1230 AM TSTM WND GST 5 WNW MAXWELL 41.11N 100.62W
07/10/2020 M64.00 MPH LINCOLN NE MESONET
UNION PACIFIC UP101
1245 AM TSTM WND DMG 4 S BRADY 40.96N 100.37W
07/10/2020 LINCOLN NE PUBLIC
MULTIPLE LARGE TREE BRANCHES DOWNED. TIME ESTIMATED FROM
RADAR
1245 AM TSTM WND DMG 5 S MAXWELL 41.01N 100.53W
07/10/2020 LINCOLN NE PUBLIC
NUMEROUS TREES DOWN AND A EMPTY PIVOT WAS FLIPPED. TIME
IS ESTIMATED BASED OFF OF RADAR.
1250 AM TSTM WND DMG 5 SE BRADY 40.97N 100.30W
07/10/2020 LINCOLN NE CO-OP OBSERVER
LARGE TREES DOWN. LARGE BRANCH FELL ONTO HOUSE.
&&
SNIVELYThe North Platte radar (KLNX), 113 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:55 UTC.
16 thunderstorm wind, 15 hail, 4 flash flood, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The combination of high winds and hail resulted in extensive crop damage. Wind gusts were estimated at least 70 mph.
Several trees were downed and power was knocked out to Lakeview.
Public estimated 60 mph wind gusts near Sparks.
Public estimated wind gusts up to 60 mph north of Johnstown.
Public reported hail up to quarter size southwest of Merritt Reservoir.
Public reported hail up to 2 inches in diameter near Brownlee.
A trained weather spotter estimated 60 mph wind gusts north of Brownlee.
A semi truck was blown over on U.S. Highway 83 near Brownlee with estimated 70 mph winds.
Public reported quarter size hail near Elsmere.
Nebraska mesonet site northwest of Dunning measured a 60 mph wind gust.
A trained weather spotter reported golf ball size hail southeast of Dunning.
A trained weather spotter estimated wind gusts near 100 mph at Gates.
Public reported wind gusts of at least 70 mph near Gates.
Large hail and strong winds resulted in a five mile swath of corn being shredded. Radar data and surrounding reports suggest at least golf ball size.
KBBW measured a 65 kt wind gust.
A trained weather spotter estimated wind gusts up to 70 mph near Mason City.
Large trees were downed in Broken Bow.
Torrential rainfall caused flooding at a golf course near Broken Bow.
Public reported quarter size hail in Mason City.
Golf ball size hail caused crop damage near Ansley.
Hail estimated up to golf ball size resulted in significant crop damage between Ansley and Mason City.
Flood waters washed out the footers of a building.
Custer County Fairgrounds is under water. Water is standing or flowing all across town.
Large cottonwood trees were bending over due to high winds south of Mason City.
A trained weather spotter reported golf ball size hail northwest of Merriman.
A trained weather spotter reported hail to two inches in diameter northwest of Merriman.
Public reported two inch diameter hail in Merriman.
A trained weather spotter reported tennis ball size hail south of Eli.
Public reported golf ball size hail southeast of Merriman.
A trained weather spotter reported quarter size hail south of Cody.
A trained weather spotter reports basement is filling with water.
McKelvie National Forest measured 59 mph wind gust.
Nearly one inch of rain in 30 minutes caused minor flooding.
A trained weather spotter reported a large tree branch downed in Bassett.
A trained weather spotter reported a large tree branch downed near Purdum.
A report of two inch diameter hail near Milburn was forwarded via social media.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nebraska in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Nebraska, July 2020
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: 901891, 901892, 901894, 901895, 901897, 901898, 901899, 901900, 901902, 901904, 901905, 901907, 901909, 901956, 901910, 901911, 901913, 901918, 901919, 901920, 901957, 901921, 901925, 901926, 901928, 901930, 901932, 901934, 901936, 901937, 901939, 901942, 901945, 901947, 901949, 901950.