Clusters of thunderstorms developed in eastern Nebraska as a mid-level low moved across the northern Plains. An EF-U tornado was reported near Snyder with no known impacts or damage.
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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 OAX wrote it up.
Clusters of thunderstorms developed in eastern Nebraska as a mid-level low moved across the northern Plains. An EF-U tornado was reported near Snyder with no known impacts or damage. The highest measured wind gust was 62 mph in Gage County. There were a few reports of tree damage across the area.
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 Aug 5, 5:38 PM CST, 1 hour 15 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Omaha/Valley NE 638 PM CDT Sat Aug 5 2023 ...Updated Aviation Forecast Discussion... .DISCUSSION... Issued at 228 PM CDT Sat Aug 5 2023 Key Messages: - Widely scattered severe storms are possible late this afternoon through this evening. - Windy and cooler Sunday. - Cool with continued shower and thunderstorm chances this upcoming week. Late this afternoon and tonight: A midlevel vorticity maximum --evident in early afternoon water vapor imagery-- over central SD is forecast to drift into northeast NE by Sunday morning in tandem with a weak surface low. Meanwhile, an associated cold front will advance into the mid-MO Valley tonight. Ahead of the front, surface analysis indicates a number of subtle confluence zones, which have focused isolated thunderstorm development near the SD border, and a deepening cumulus field from near Tekamah to northeast of Lincoln. A fair amount of model spread exists in convective evolution this afternoon and evening, due in part to the modestly forced nature of the environment. Based on current visible satellite trends, it appears that storms will gradually become more widespread across northeast NE this afternoon into early evening with activity spreading southeast this evening. Objective analysis suggests that the air mass has become moderately unstable as of 2 PM with MLCAPE estimated in the 1000-1500 J/kg range. Continued daytime heating coupled with slight cooling aloft ahead of the midlevel system will support further destabilization into early evening amidst a modestly sheared kinematic environment. The given setup will be supportive of organized multicells and supercell storm modes with the primary hazards being large hail and locally damaging winds, especially if storms grow upscale into a line. The best potential for a tornado or two will be along and east of the MO River where locally backed near-surface winds will enhance low-level shear. Localized flash flood also remains a concern. Thunderstorms are expected to shift east/south of the area by midnight to 1 AM. Sunday and Sunday night: The midlevel vorticity maximum over the mid-MO Valley Sunday morning will continue east-southeast into IA with TROWAL-related shower activity developing Sunday morning and continuing into Sunday night. An associated cold front will sweep through the area with northwest winds gusting to 35 to 45 mph. Temperatures Sunday will be affected by clouds and areas of precipitation with highs in the low to mid 70s. Monday through Wednesday: Northwest flow will prevail in the midlevels with an embedded perturbation moving through the area Monday night into Tuesday. Another, stronger system is forecast to move through the central Plains Tuesday night into Wednesday. We will see a chance of showers and thunderstorms with those disturbances with the best chance of measurable precipitation being late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. Temperatures will remain below normal with highs mainly in the 70s. Thursday and Friday: We will see another chance of showers and storms Thursday night into Friday morning in association with a midlevel disturbance glancing the region. Highs in the 70s to lower 80s Thursday are forecast to warm into the low/mid 80s by Friday. && .AVIATION...(For the 00Z TAFS through 00Z Sunday evening) Issued at 638 PM CDT Sat Aug 5 2023 Primary TAF concern 00Z to 05Z will be threat of thunderstorms, primarily at KOFK and KOMA. More immediate threat of storms will be at KOFK between 00z and 03z. Not expecting storms to move into KOMA until 0215-0245Z. VFR Ceilings 3500-6000 AGL and visibilities 5-10SM with thunderstorms in general. Stronger storms may reduce visibilities into the 1-2SM range. Threat of thunderstorms diminishes at all TAF sites afer 06z. As weak cold front moves through area, cooler air in its wake will cause ceilings to decrease into MVFR category 1500-2500 AGL. Timing of MVFR cigs around 10Z at KOFK and 14Z and KOMA and KLNK. Visibility restriction will hover 6-10SM. Scattered showers could lower visibilities into MVFR categories after 14z. && .OAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NE...None. IA...None. && DISCUSSION...Mead AVIATION...Fortin
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Omaha/Valley NE 421 PM CDT Sat Aug 5 2023 IAZ043-055-056-069-079-080-090-091-NEZ011-012-015>018-030>034- 042>045-050>053-065>068-078-088>093-061130- Monona-Harrison-Shelby-Pottawattamie-Mills-Montgomery-Fremont- Page-Knox-Cedar-Thurston-Antelope-Pierce-Wayne-Boone-Madison- Stanton-Cuming-Burt-Platte-Colfax-Dodge-Washington-Butler- Saunders-Douglas-Sarpy-Seward-Lancaster-Cass-Otoe-Saline- Jefferson-Gage-Johnson-Nemaha-Pawnee-Richardson- 421 PM CDT Sat Aug 5 2023 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of southwest Iowa...west central Iowa...east central Nebraska...northeast Nebraska and southeast Nebraska. .DAY ONE...Tonight and Sunday Thunderstorms are developing this afternoon over portions of northeast Nebraska into west-central IA with additional storm development possible across the remainder of eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa this evening. A few of these storms could be strong to severe with the primary hazards being hail up to ping- pong ball size and damaging winds of 60 to 75 mph. A tornado or two are possible, mainly to the northeast of a Hartington to Fremont to Harlan, Iowa line. Localized flash flooding is also a concern. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday night through Saturday Northwest winds could gust up to 40 to 45 mph on Sunday, with the strongest winds expected over northeast Nebraska. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotters will not be needed today or tonight.
The Omaha radar (KOAX), 52 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:54 UTC.
4 thunderstorm wind, 2 funnel cloud, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Emergency manager relayed report from the public of a tornado.
Public reported a brief funnel cloud north of Prague that last for about a minute and went away.
Fire department reported an intermittent funnel cloud 6 miles southwest of Herman.
Public reported a 12 to 14 inch diameter tree blown over and a fence.
A private weather station measured a peak wind gust of 62 mph.
Public reported trees snapped and other debris scatter around.
Public reported via social media large tree branches broken.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nebraska in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Nebraska, 2023Warnings in Nebraska, August 2023
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: 1125472, 1125473, 1125474, 1125475, 1125476, 1125477, 1125478.