KEARNEY — Early autumn may not seem like the time for severe weather, but the conditions came together that produced storms with golf ball sized hail and 60 mph winds across much of south-central Nebraska on Tuesday, Oct. 3.
The threat level from the Storm Prediction Center was increased to an Enhanced Risk, a level three out of five, for parts of the National Weather Service – Hastings warning area on Tuesday morning.
A large upper-level trough was moving across the western United States and crossing the Rockies. This in turn produced a surface low pressure area over the northern Plains that served to draw more moisture northward.
An attended cold front would push eastward across Nebraska during the day and served as the main forcing mechanism for storms across the area, according to Quentin Davis, NWS Hastings meteorologist.
There were scattered showers during the early afternoon, but as peak heating increased and the better upper-level forcing arrived from the west, the main round of severe weather began to initiate to the west of the Tri-Cities area.
Davis said storms started off more discrete and isolated, which posed more of a hail threat and were the dominate storm mode west of Kearney. They later transitioned into a more linear line west of Kearney as it moved toward Grand Island and Hastings.
One cell near Elwood produced quarter sized hail south of Elwood around 3:15 p.m. and just under an inch hail fell within Elwood around 3:37 p.m. The same storm produced nickel sized hail in Overton.
Continuing northeast, crop damage occurred, a pivot was overturned and damage occurred to trees two miles northwest of Pleasanton.
Around 5 p.m., the storm continued to produce quarter sized hail two miles northwest of Rockville.
Davis said the largest hail of the event, golf ball sized hail, was produced in the Alma and Ayr areas.
As the storms began to congeal into a line, damaging wind became the primary hazard, Davis said. There was a 60-mph gust reported in Gibbon, and in Hastings.
The highest reported wind gusts were 82 mph in Fairbury, 76 mph in Roseland, 73 mph in Atlanta and 62 mph in Aurora.
Davis said much of the damage throughout the area was done to tree limbs by the severe winds. There were reports of pivots being overturned and powerlines down in Adams County.
There were several tornado warnings issued across the area, including one near Pleasanton and another in Phelps County. Davis said as of Wednesday morning they have no reports of confirmed touchdowns.
Rainfall was variable and dependent upon where the cores of thunderstorms passed over. Rainfall amounts of an inch generally fell across the area.
With the cold front that moved through the area, the first possible frost and freeze of the area is likely on Friday evening. This could even be the first killing freeze, below 28 degrees, for some areas.
A Freeze Watch will likely be issued this week, NWS Hastings reminds residents to drain hoses and sprinklers and bring sensitive plants indoors.
