July 5th Severe Storms Summary

Severe thunderstorms erupted across parts of south central and eastern Nebraska during the early morning hours on July 5th, affecting mainly locations near the Highway 81 corridor including Polk, York and Fillmore counties. The main impacts from these storms included large hail and very heavy rain, although isolated wind damage occurred as well (see photos below).

Locations near Stromsburg and Benedict were hit particularly hard by these storms, with reports of hail from quarter to golf ball size falling for 15 to 20 minutes, inflicting significant damage to area crops. Very heavy rainfall also led to localized flooding, with at least 2 to 4 inches of rain common along a corridor from near Stromsburg through Waco and southward toward Milligan. In fact, 5.75 inches of rain was reported two miles southeast of Waco.

Following is a list of PRELIMINARY local storm reports gathered from a variety of sources:

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
1124 AM CDT SAT JUL 05 2008

.TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON

.DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE.

            ..REMARKS..

0630 AM     HAIL             4 SW STROMSBURG         41.08N 97.64W
07/05/2008 E1.75 INCH       POLK               NE   PUBLIC

            QUARTER TO GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL FELL FOR 15-20 MINUTES.

0635 AM     HAIL             2 N BENEDICT            41.04N 97.61W
07/05/2008 M1.75 INCH       YORK               NE   PUBLIC

            HAIL UP TO GOLF BALL SIZE WITH CONSIDERABLE CROP DAMAGE.
            ALSO STRONG WINDS FLIPPED A SMALL HOG BUILDING INTO SOME
            TREES.

0700 AM     HEAVY RAIN       7 SE STROMSBURG         41.04N 97.50W
07/05/2008 M3.62 INCH       POLK               NE   TRAINED SPOTTER

            FROM NEBRASKA RAINFALL ASSESSMENT AND INFORMATION NETWORK

0740 AM     FLOOD            2 N BENEDICT            41.04N 97.61W
07/05/2008                   YORK               NE   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            WATER COVERING ONE LANE OF HIGHWAY 81

0748 AM     HAIL             3 W GRESHAM             41.03N 97.46W
07/05/2008 E1.75 INCH       YORK               NE   PUBLIC

            GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL

0800 AM     HEAVY RAIN       4 SE WACO               40.86N 97.41W
07/05/2008 M5.20 INCH       YORK               NE   TRAINED SPOTTER

            FROM NEBRASKA RAINFALL ASSESSMENT AND INFORMATION NETWORK

0815 AM     HAIL             MILLIGAN                40.50N 97.39W
07/05/2008 E0.75 INCH       FILLMORE           NE   LAW ENFORCEMENT

0900 AM     HEAVY RAIN       2 SE WACO               40.88N 97.43W
07/05/2008 M5.75 INCH       YORK               NE   PUBLIC

The following photos were submitted courtesy of Jeanette McLean, and depict wind damage approximately 2 miles north of Benedict in York County. The first photo shows a hog building flipped into a grove of trees, while the second depicts a blown down grain auger.

National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office