A powerful low pressure system that brought two days of blizzard conditions to eastern Montana, northeast Wyoming, northwest South Dakota and the western ¾ of North Dakota was also responsible for high winds across the entire state of Nebraska on April 12th. As the surface cold front surged into eastern Nebraska, an explosive line of thunderstorms developed and the first two confirmed tornado touchdowns of 2022 were reported near Seward and Unadilla.
According to data provided by the Nebraska Mesonet, peak one minute gusts ranged from 39 mph on the University of Nebraska’s east campus to 60 mph at Winslow. Five second wind gusts are not available, but it is not uncommon during high wind events for this shorter duration event to exceed the one minute gust standard by 5 to 10 mph.
Breaking down the wind gust information from the Nebraska Mesonet into a regional analysis reveals remarkable consistency between individual locations. Peak one minute gusts for stations located within each climate district are as follows: Panhandle (50 mph – Sidney), North Central (53 mph – Mullen, Naper), Northeast (58 mph – Concord), Central (51 mph – Kearney), East Central (61 mph – Winslow), Southwest (48 mph – Dickens), South Central (49 mph - Guide Rock) and Southeast (48 mph – Nebraska City).
The lowest Nebraska Mesonet one minute wind gusts reported in each climate district are as follows: Panhandle (40 mph -Scottsbluff), North Central (43 mph -Sparks), Northeast (43 mph – Pierce), Central (43 mph – Broken Bow, Lexington), East Central (39 mph – Lincoln UNL East Campus), Southwest (40 mph – North Platte), South Central (43 mph – Smithfield) and Southeast (47 mph – Wilbur, Rulo).
Severe weather impacted areas east of a line from Hebron to Seward to Decatur. Besides the two confirmed tornado touchdowns, an additional 19 hail reports and 13 thunderstorm wind gust reports were issued by storm spotters. Within this area, rainfall totals were in the 0.30 to 0.70 inch range according to NeRAIN reports. Rainfall totals over 0.50 inches were most commonly reported east of a line from Wilbur to Omaha.
Unfortunately, areas west of the severe line of thunderstorms received no measurable rainfall, further intensifying drought concerns. Although the strength of this storm system was well advertised for nearly 10 days, the storm track continually shifted north of its original placement over Nebraska. Instead, heavy snowfall with blizzard conditions were centered over North Dakota and preliminary storm totals in the center of the state currently range from 20 to 30 inches.
Al Dutcher, Agricultural Extension Climatologist, Nebraska State Climate Office