Drought in Nebraska, June 1 to 30, 2026

Name: Drought in Nebraska, June 1 to 30, 2026
Start: 2026-06-01T00:00
End: 2026-06-30T23:59
Location: Nebraska

June 1 to 30, 2026 · NWS OAX · 12 events in 12 counties and zones

Severe (D2) to exceptional (D4) drought conditions continued across portions of eastern Nebraska through the month of June.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 12 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 12

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS OAX wrote it up.

Severe (D2) to exceptional (D4) drought conditions continued across portions of eastern Nebraska through the month of June.

What forecasters said that day

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 May 31, 10:24 PM CST, 1 hour 36 minutes earlier. Its key messages:

Regular chances for showers and thunderstorms continue with more thunderstorms in the forecast for this evening, especially along and east of the Missouri River.
A summer-like pattern sets up next week keeping warm and muggy weather in place with additional daily chances for showers and thunderstorms throughout the week into next weekend.

Area forecast discussion, May 31, 10:24 PM CST, 1 hour 36 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Omaha/Valley NE
1124 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Regular chances for showers and thunderstorms continue with
  more thunderstorms in the forecast for this evening,
  especially along and east of the Missouri River.

- A summer-like pattern sets up next week keeping warm and muggy
  weather in place with additional daily chances for showers and
  thunderstorms throughout the week into next weekend.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 1104 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026

We've seen a couple isolated storms develop this evening, some
along a boundary stretching south from ongoing storms in South
Dakota, and a couple others around the Omaha/Council Bluffs
area. Mid-level dry air is making storm development difficult,
though if storms do develop there is 2000J/kg+ of CAPE, and
1400J/kg of DCAPE. Shear is modest (75m2/s2 of sfc-1km SRH),
lending to observed storms not holding together long, but
occasional low-to-mid level rotation was observed in the
earlier cell over Douglas County. The low tornado threat is only
diminishing, making primary hazards large hail and damaging
winds. Storms that develop this evening should clear out by 5AM,
with clearing skies Monday morning.

Ridging starts to build up on Monday over our area with
subsidence dampening storm potential Monday afternoon despite a
shortwave moving over our area. CAMs show a few isolated storms
through the afternoon, so introduced a 15-20% chance for a few
isolated storms. Temperatures expected to warm into the mid-to-
upper 80s during the afternoon. A more substantial shortwave
triggers convection over western Nebraska during the afternoon,
likely developing into an MCS through the evening. This could
bring us another chance for showers and storms across our far
western counties early Tuesday, though most guidance has it
dissipating before it gets any farther east.

We continue to see ridging amplify across the Central Plains
through midweek, with a moisture plume triggering storms along
the western flank of the ridge. Nightly potential for MCS
development and propagation eastward appears likely, with
increasing chances for storms to make it into eastern Nebraska
Tuesday night and Wednesday night. Thursday the Ridge shifts far
enough eastward for the moisture plume to run straight up
through our area, developing storms across eastern Nebraska and
western Iowa Thursday afternoon through the evening.

Going into the weekend, the ridge shifts far enough eastward
that that moisture plume drops southeast into Missouri, but a
developing surface Low over the Dakotas triggers more chances
for showers and storms Friday afternoon and evening. Through the
weekend we see a baroclinic weather pattern set up with strong
ridging building up to our north, and a series of two shortwave
troughs moving northeast into Nebraska through the weekend. This
will keep chances for showers and storms for Saturday and
Sunday, while increased warm-air advection from enhanced
southerly flow will warm temperatures back into the upper 80s to
near 90.

Extreme heat appears possible next week with ample moisture
contributing to concerning heat indices.

&&

.AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z TUESDAY/...
Issued at 1124 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026

Storms should stay mostly clear of the terminals for the rest of
the night, though we do still have a 20% chance of a storm
impacting KOMA through 07Z. Mostly clear skies expected through
morning with winds becoming northwesterly by around 10Z. Winds
continue to shift toward northerly then northeasterly by midday
Monday with a 15-20% chance for a few isolated showers/storms
Monday afternoon into the evening.

&&

.OAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NE...None.
IA...None.

&&

DISCUSSION...McCoy
AVIATION...McCoy

Hazardous weather outlook, May 31, 10:07 PM CST, 1 hour 53 minutes before

Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Omaha/Valley NE
1107 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026

IAZ043-055-056-069-079-080-090-091-NEZ011-012-015>018-030>034-
042>045-050>053-065>068-078-088>093-020415-
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-
1107 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for southwest Iowa, west central
Iowa, east central Nebraska, northeast Nebraska and southeast
Nebraska.

.DAY ONE...Tonight.

Strong to severe storms are possible through around 3 AM. Isolated
hail and strong wind gusts are the primary hazards.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday.

Additional strong to severe thunderstorms are possible across the
area Monday afternoon and evening. Isolated hail and strong wind
gusts are the primary hazards.

Daily chances for thunderstorms continue through next week.
Thunderstorms could potentially be strong to severe, though chances
are low (less than 15%) at this time.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation may be needed.

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 31, 8:18 PM CST, 3 hours 42 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Omaha/Valley NE
918 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0913 PM     Hail             6 SW Norfolk            41.98N 97.49W
05/31/2026  E0.25 Inch       Madison            NE   Public

&&

Local storm report, May 31, 8:27 PM CST, 3 hours 33 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Omaha/Valley NE
927 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0919 PM     Hail             2 NW Elkhorn            41.30N 96.26W
05/31/2026  E0.25 Inch       Douglas            NE   Public

&&

Local storm report, May 31, 8:38 PM CST, 3 hours 22 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Omaha/Valley NE
938 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0933 PM     Hail             1 NW Elkhorn            41.30N 96.25W
05/31/2026  E0.50 Inch       Douglas            NE   Public

            Report from mPING: Half-inch (0.50 in.).

&&

Local storm report, May 31, 10:59 PM CST, 1 hour 1 minute before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Omaha/Valley NE
1159 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1156 PM     Hail             Woodbine                41.74N 95.71W
05/31/2026  E1.00 Inch       Harrison           IA   Law Enforcement

&&

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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

12 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Antelope

When: June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Antelope forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 42.177, -98.067 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme (D3) drought conditions persisted across Antelope County through the month of June, though improvements in areal coverage were observed. The coverage of extreme drought shrank from around 65 percent at the beginning of the month down to around 38 percent by the end of the month. The cooperative observers at Elgin and Oakdale recorded 5.29 and 5.31 inches of precipitation, respectively. These values were 1.29 and 0.96 inches above average.

Drought, Boone

When: June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Boone forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 41.707, -98.067 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme (D3) drought conditions were eliminated across Boone County during the month of June, while the coverage of severe (D2) drought shrank from around 60 percent at the beginning of the month down to around 2 percent by the end of the month. The cooperative observers at Albion and Loretto 7W recorded 3.80 and 5.17 inches of precipitation, respectively. These values were 0.03 and 1.29 inches above average.

Drought, Butler

When: June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 8, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Butler forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 41.226, -97.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Severe (D2) drought conditions covered around 23 percent of Butler County at the beginning of June, but conditions improved throughout the month. Severe drought coverage was reduced to zero early in the month, and moderate (D1) drought was completely eliminated by mid-month. The cooperative observer at Surprise recorded 3.79 inches of precipitation, 0.57 inches below average.

Drought, Cedar

When: June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Cedar forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 42.599, -97.252 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme (D3) drought conditions persisted across Cedar County throughout the month of June, with an expansion in areal coverage observed. The coverage of extreme drought expanded from around 53 percent at the beginning of the month to around 91 percent by the end of the month. The CoCoRaHS observers at St. Helena 4.1 SW and Coleridge 5.4 NE recorded 2.02 and 2.25 inches of precipitation, respectively. These values were 2.72 and 2.51 inches below average.

Drought, Knox

When: June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Knox forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 42.637, -97.892 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme (D3) drought conditions degraded further across Knox County during the month of June, leading to the introduction of exceptional (D4) drought. Exceptional drought coverage expanded to around 18 percent by the end of the month, while coverage of extreme drought or greater encompassed 100 percent of the county. The cooperative observer at Orchard 9NNE recorded 4.55 inches of precipitation, 0.31 inches below average. The CoCoRaHS observers at Crofton 4.4 WNW and Crofton 0.7 NNW recorded 2.20 and 2.39 inches of precipitation, respectively. These values were 1.87 and 1.81 inches below average.

Drought, Lancaster

When: June 1, 12:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Lancaster forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 40.784, -96.688 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Severe (D2) drought conditions were present across around 11 percent of Lancaster County at the start of June, but conditions improved as the month progressed. Severe drought coverage was reduced to zero early in the month, and moderate (D1) drought was completely eliminated by mid-month. The Lincoln Airport recorded 4.09 inches of precipitation, 0.39 inches below average. The cooperative observer at Crete 4ESE recorded 3.34 inches of precipitation, 1.52 inches below average.

Drought, Madison

When: June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Madison forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 41.917, -97.601 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Severe (D2) drought conditions persisted across Madison County through the month of June, though improvements in areal coverage were observed. The coverage of severe drought shrank from around 34 percent at the beginning of the month down to less than one percent by the end of the month. The Norfolk Airport recorded 1.96 inches of precipitation, 2.41 inches below average. The CoCoRaHS observer at Norfolk 1.0 NNW recorded 1.72 inches of precipitation, 2.51 inches below average.

Drought, Pierce

When: June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Pierce forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 42.264, -97.601 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme (D3) drought conditions persisted across Pierce County through the month of June, with an expansion in areal coverage observed. The coverage of extreme drought expanded from around 4 percent at the beginning of the month to around 28 percent by the end of the month. The cooperative observer at Pierce recorded 3.16 inches of precipitation, 0.97 inches below average. The CoCoRaHS observer at Pierce 2.6 NNE recorded 3.33 inches of precipitation, 1.01 inches below average.

Drought, Saline

When: June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 8, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Saline forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 40.524, -97.141 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Severe (D2) drought conditions covered around 8 percent of Saline County at the beginning of June, but conditions improved steadily throughout the month. Severe drought coverage was reduced to zero early in the month, and moderate (D1) drought was completely eliminated by mid-month as all drought classifications were removed by late June. The cooperative observer at Friend 3E recorded 4.33 inches of precipitation, 0.13 inches above average. The CoCoRaHS observers at Milford 5.9 SSE and Tobias 4.7 SSW recorded 3.94 and 3.32 inches of precipitation, respectively. These values were 0.60 and 1.30 inches below average.

Drought, Seward

When: June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 8, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Seward forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 40.872, -97.139 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Severe (D2) drought conditions covered nearly 99 percent of Seward County at the beginning of June, but conditions improved rapidly throughout the month. Severe drought coverage was reduced to zero early in the month, and moderate (D1) drought was completely eliminated by mid-month. The cooperative observer at Seward recorded 5.06 inches of precipitation, 0.36 inches above average.

Drought, Thurston

When: June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Thurston forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 42.158, -96.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Moderate (D1) drought conditions covered nearly 98 percent of Thurston County at the beginning of June before temporarily easing early in the month. However, conditions degraded later in June with the introduction of severe (D2) drought, which expanded to cover around 7 percent of the county by the end of the month.

Drought, Wayne

When: June 1, 12:00 AM CST to June 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Wayne forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 42.209, -97.119 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Severe (D2) drought conditions covered around 42 percent of Wayne County at the beginning of June before temporarily easing early in the month. Severe drought conditions redeveloped by mid-month, covering around 32 percent of the county by the end of June. The CoCoRaHS observer at Carroll 6.35 WSW recorded 2.98 inches of precipitation.

What these are

Drought: A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Nebraska in 2026 Every state in 2026 This day in weather history Warnings in Nebraska, June 2026

Sources

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: 1351587, 1351588, 1351589, 1351590, 1351591, 1351592, 1351593, 1351594, 1351595, 1351596, 1351597, 1351598.