National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

May 1, 2012

Large Hail Affects Eastern
Portions of the Area


To the right is a National Weather Service Radar loop, valid from 6:20 p.m. on Tuesday, May 1st to 12:00 a.m. CDT on Wednesday, May 2nd.

The NWS Hastings coverage area is located within the orange outlined area labeled "GID", with the Interstate highways in red.

Detailed Event Summary:

A very unstable airmass in place, combined with a weak surface front and weak upper level forcing, resulted in the development of thunderstorms across portions of the NWS Hastings coverage area Tuesday evening, May 1, 2012. This activity affected only portions of South Central Nebraska, east of Highway 281 and north of Highway 6, dropping at times heavy rain and hail at least to the size of ping pong balls, and bringing wind gusts near 40 mph. By midnight, thunderstorms shifted off into eastern Nebraska, leaving quiet conditions for the remainder of the overnight hours.

Reports recieved as of 10 am Wednesday morning:

• Pea size hail in Doniphan.

• Nickel size hail in Osceola and near the towns of Shelby (3 miles northeast), Benedict (3 W), Waco (4 E) and York (6 SSW).

• Quarter size hail in Benedict and near the towns of Sutton (3 N) and Aurora (3 W & 5 W).

• Ping pong ball size hail near Aurora (5 N) and York (6 ESE).

Preliminary Storm Reports from May 1st. (click to open an interactive page)

Hail from 5 miles north of Aurora. Photo courtesy of Kirt Smith - Hamilton County EM