Above average precipitation later in the month, especially over Dundy and western Hitchcock counties, supported slightly improved drought conditions from west to east by late month. D3 Extreme Drought was widespread much of the month, with a small pocket of D4 Exceptional Drought over portions of Hitchcock and Red Willow counties.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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 GLD wrote it up.
Above average precipitation later in the month, especially over Dundy and western Hitchcock counties, supported slightly improved drought conditions from west to east by late month. D3 Extreme Drought was widespread much of the month, with a small pocket of D4 Exceptional Drought over portions of Hitchcock and Red Willow counties. By late in the month, drought improved to D2 Severe Drought for Dundy and the southwest half of Hitchcock counties. Monthly precipitation amounts ranged from two to three and one-half inches over Red Willow county, to five to six inches over Dundy county. Normal monthly precipitation amounts range from about two and one-half inches over southwest Dundy county, to about three and one-half inches over eastern Red Willow county.
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 Goodland, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 30, 11:35 PM CST, 25 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Goodland KS 1135 PM MDT Thu Apr 30 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Patchy frost possible across northern portions of the area early Friday morning, if clouds thin out. - A few showers possible Fri afternoon; lower chances and less coverage compared to Thursday. - Patchy frost or a light freeze possible Friday night into Saturday morning, if winds are calm. ~35% chance of a hard freeze. - Drying out with a warming trend over the weekend. && .SHORT TERM /THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT/... Issued at 1242 PM MDT Thu Apr 30 2026 Northwest flow is ongoing across the area with cloudy skies in place and rain showers ongoing. Scatted bands of 700mb frontogenesis is in place across the area leading to brief periods of moderate rainfall. This is forecast to be the trend through the remainder of the afternoon with a gradual end from north to south. Drier air is seen moving into central Nebraska via channel 10 low level water vapor which is leading to me trim rain chances a little sooner especially north of the Interstate. Most if not all of the rain is forecast to be over by mid evening with southern parts of the area seeing some lingering showers through 06Z. Tonight, temperatures are forecast to fall into the low to mid 30s across the area as high pressure pushes in from the north and winds go light and variable. This does bring concern for frost and light freezes especially for north and northeast portions of the forecast area. The one variable that is keeping my confidence lower on frost developing is that some low and mid level clouds are forecast to develop. I did contemplate a Frost Advisory but opted not to due to the cloud cover concerns. We will also have to keep an eye on some fog potential as well currently thinking across northeast portions of the area such as Decatur, Sheridan, Gove and Norton counties where some of the moisture may be able to pool up. The entire area may also have a threat for patchy fog if the rain if the clouds were to clear quicker due to the moist boundary layer and the light winds. Confidence is not high enough at this time to put into the forecast but will need to be monitored. Friday, north-northwest synoptic flow is forecast to be present over the area. Clouds are forecast to return to most of the area a 500mb vorticity maxima moves through the area associated with a low pressure system over the Great Lakes. Showers and perhaps some isolated storms are forecast to develop as this lift moves into the area, but coverage will not be as great as it has been the past few days. Severe weather is not anticipated with any storms due to minimal CAPE values Friday but similar to what occurred on Wednesday perhaps some wind gusts of 40-50 mph may be possible. Drier air is forecast to push in from the north behind the shower and storm potential. Mixing height dew points are forecast to fall into the mid to upper teens across northwest portions of the area. With mixing heights around 10,000 feet forecast soundings suggests that some gusts around 25 mph may be possible as humidity falls into the mid to upper teens. Can't rule out an hour or two of critical fire weather conditions for Yuma and Dundy counties during the late afternoon but due to the recentness of the rainfall should help put a brief damper to extreme fire spread potential. Friday night and into Saturday, high pressure is forecast to move into the area and again clear out clouds and lead to light and variable winds. This along with the lower dew points falling into the 20s does bring freeze and frost concerns as lows are currently forecast to fall into the low 30s. Do have concern for some hard freeze potential as well if radiational cooling is stronger than currently anticipated. 13Z NBM data shows a 35% chance for temperatures of 28 degrees or less across most of the area with the exception being the east and the south. A surface trough however is forecast to move into the west during the morning hours which would shift winds and have them become more westerly, depending on the time this occurs could help prevent the hard freeze potential. The surface trough is forecast to bring back warmer temperatures to the area Saturday as highs in the 70s return. However with the warmer temperatures and still lingering low dew points humidity is forecast to fall back into the mid to upper teens again. At this time as the CWA should be in the axis of the surface trough winds should remain on the lighter side around 10 mph sustained with some gusts around 20 mph based on current forecast soundings and typical early May mixing. Due to this lack of wind, fire weather is not a concern at this time. && .LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... Issued at 215 PM MDT Thu Apr 30 2026 Sunday, a Rex blocking pattern is forecast to develop on the west coast with a ridge near the Canadian border and a low pressure system near California. Expect pleasant conditions for our county warning area (CWA) with sunny skies and high temperatures forecast in the 70s to 80s. Relative humidity (RH) values are forecast in the low to mid teens. Sustained winds will be around 10-15 mph with occasional afternoon gusts up to 25 mph possible. The highest wind gusts do not coincide with the lowest RH's of the day, so fire weather concerns remain limited. As the Rex block begins to traverse east, west-southwesterly flow develops over the region. We will see fairly consistent weather for the remainder of the forecast period. Expect mild temperatures in the 70s and potential for showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon as several shortwaves traverse through the region. Probability of Precipitation (PoPs) around 30-60% Monday and Tuesday afternoon. Instability is weak for our area, so major impacts are not expected, but if thunderstorms are able to form, we could see some small hail. GEFS Ensemble members differ on when this pattern will move on, but it will likely move on after Tuesday. Overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, a cold front is expected to move through the region bring cooler conditions with high temperatures forecast in the 60s with lows in the 30s. We transition to a more zonal pattern for the remainder of the forecast period, so no precipitation is expected Wednesday evening and Thursday. && .AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z SATURDAY/... Issued at 1130 PM MDT Thu Apr 30 2026 VFR conditions are expected to prevail through the TAF period at both terminals. Lingering surface moisture from recent rainfall, light winds and decreasing cloud cover could potentially support the development of patchy fog early Friday morning (~09-14Z), depending on cloud cover, though.. surface visibility forecasts from current and recent (00-04Z May 01) runs of the HRRR are not strongly indicative of fog development and confidence is low enough to preclude explicit mention with the 06Z TAF issuance. Light and variable winds will shift to the WNW and increase to ~9-13 knots after sunrise (by late morning), becoming NW to NNW and modestly increasing to ~12-17 knots during the afternoon. Winds will weaken to 5-10 knots after sunset Friday evening. && .GLD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KS...None. CO...None. NE...None. && SHORT TERM...Trigg LONG TERM...Rhoades AVIATION...Vincent
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Goodland KS 1025 AM MDT Thu Apr 30 2026 COZ090>092-KSZ001>004-013>016-027>029-041-042-NEZ079>081-011630- Yuma-Kit Carson-Cheyenne CO-Cheyenne KS-Rawlins-Decatur-Norton- Sherman-Thomas-Sheridan-Graham-Wallace-Logan-Gove-Greeley-Wichita- Dundy-Hitchcock-Red Willow- 1025 AM MDT Thu Apr 30 2026 /1125 AM CDT Thu Apr 30 2026/ This hazardous weather outlook is for extreme southwest Nebraska... northwest Kansas and east central Colorado. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... Frost may develop overnight and into early Friday morning across portions of extreme southwest Nebraska, northeast Colorado and northwest Kansas if clouds can clear out. If frost is able to develop it may harm sensitive outdoor vegetation. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY... Temperatures Friday night and into Saturday morning are forecast to fall below freezing along with the potential for a frost to develop under clear skies and light winds. There is also a 35% chance a hard freeze could occur for portions of the area. Frost and freeze conditions could injure or kill crops and other sensitive vegetation. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Active weather across portions of the Tri-State Area is anticipated. Spotters are encouraged to report significant weather conditions.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Monthly precipitation amounts ranged from about three inches over northeast portions of the county (near average), to over four inches over western portions of the county (about one to two inches above average). Normal monthly precipitation amounts are about three inches.
Monthly precipitation amounts ranged from about two and one-half to three and one-half inches across the county (about one inch below average to one-half inch above average). Normal monthly precipitation amounts are about three and one-quarter inches.
Monthly precipitation amounts ranged from about four to six inches across the county (about one to four inches above average). Normal monthly precipitation amounts are about two and one-half to three inches.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nebraska in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Nebraska, May 2026
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: 1334457, 1334461, 1334454.