August 16th - 22nd Weekly Climate Summary

Day by Day

The week started with zonal mid- to upper-level flow across most of the United States, and a surface high would develop over Nebraska in the afternoon. Temperatures were relatively mild, with most of the state reaching the 80s and dew points in the 60s. In the evening, storms developed in north-central Nebraska and the panhandle. One of these storms produced wind gusts of 79 mph, 6 miles west-southwest of Eli.  

The surface high slowly meanders eastward throughout Monday into the vicinity of Missouri and Iowa. Ample daytime heating and broad southerly winds drawing moisture up to central Nebraska would bring favorable conditions for thunderstorms. By 4 pm, thunderstorms had formed out in the panhandle and were moving east. The most destructive storms would begin developing in central Nebraska at 6 PM, initially moving east before the most destructive storm of the bunch turned toward the southeast. This storm would go on to produce 90 mph straight-line winds and toss 2-inch hailstones in Ord. The largest hailstone of the day would come after that storm turned back to the east and drop tennis ball-sized (2.5 inches) hail in Cedar Rapids.

Overnight, these storms would move into Grand Island, producing 79-mph winds and dropping tremendous amounts of rainfall, up to 5.5 inches just 3 miles west of North Loup. Southwest Nebraska would reach the low 90s, with most of the state in the 80s. Nebraska got a break from severe weather Tuesday because of a cold front and outflow boundary from the morning storms.

The trend of severe weather continued into Wednesday across Eastern Nebraska, as a shortwave disturbance interacted with several pockets of atmospheric instability. This resulted in 33 severe thunderstorm warnings from around 8 AM to 5 PM due to high winds and large hail. The highest gust recorded on this day was in Greeley County, with a gust of 82 mph. The largest hailstone measured was found in neighboring Nance County at 1.75”. The greatest rainfall totals followed the storm track, with the highest of 5.45” in Stromburg. Additionally, an emergency manager in Union, NE, reported a funnel cloud, resulting in a tornado warning that extended into Iowa.

The high-pressure system from the day before remained, providing ample moisture in Central Nebraska. This, combined with highs in the low 90s, instability, and a surface cold front, resulted in another round of thunderstorms. Unlike the day prior, these were less organized and more local. There were four separate storms that happened throughout the day, with the most severe hitting South Central Nebraska, with winds recorded up to 66 mph and a hailstone 2” in diameter in the McCook area. However, the most intense rainfall was in Custer County, about 100 miles north of McCook.

The focus of severe weather shifted to the panhandle by Friday. Nocturnal convection resulted in a storm tracking from north to the south, dropping 3” hail east of Moomaw and wind gusts up to 71 mph in Lorenzo. Additionally, there were two tornado warnings as the storm crossed into Colorado. This brought localized, intense rainfall to Western Cheyenne County, with a rainfall report of 1.9” at Potter 9.8 NNE and another 1.2” report at Potter 12.29 SSW.

Saturday brought another round of severe weather, but with lower intensity. There were two independent storms, one in Central Nebraska and another in the extreme southwest panhandle. The only hail report was in Kimball, with a recording of a 1” hailstone. The central storm was much more moist, with rainfall recordings of 2.5” to 2.8” in Broken Bow. 

Weekly Statistics and Figures

From this week's consistent moisture in the central region, there was a large one class improvement in drought. Although there were storms in the Panhandle, this did not reduce the presence of drought because there was not a widespread and consistent rainfall.

Maximum Temperature

Minimum Temperature

Precipitation

Station Summary Table