Tornado Warning

We experienced our first Nebraska Tornado Warning yesterday as a severe thunderstorm ran through the area causing tornadoes, funnel clouds, upper rotation, hail and heavy rains. Here is the preliminary report with the National Weather service.

A series of supercell thunderstorms rolled across south central Nebraska and north central Kansas beginning in the afternoon on Thursday, May 29 and continuing through Thursday evening and night. There were numerous reports of tornadoes and areas of potential tornado damage.

Several teams of meteorologists will work with local officials to survey the storm damage today to determine tornado damage paths and tornado ratings. The process of determining this information may last into the weekend.

Reports of damage can be sent to your local law enforcement agency or the National Weather Service (NWS). You can submit reports or photos to the NWS webmaster.

A list of preliminary storm damage reports can be found here.

A composition of storm reports across the United States on May 29, 2008 can be found here.

The following map indicates the locations of severe reports across the region.
T = Tornado Reports W = Wind Reports H = Hail Reports

This storm began near McCook, Nebraksa, and built into a significant storm before causing tornadoes in Kearney, 40 miles to our west. Severe damage was found in parts of southern Kearney and many people are out of their homes at this time. The storm then moved right into Grand Island. Damage was found in the county at some farms, and several reports of funnel clouds right over the City, however nothing touched down in town. This storm continued eastbound until it inflicted serious damage to the small town or Aurora, NE. Over a dozen homes are destroyed and they were busy with damage assessment today.

Back home, we were put into a Flood Warning as almost 8 inches had fallen in recent days, and the additional rain from this storm increased the risk of flooding. I spent today measuring creeks and rivers throughout the county to monitor their flow. Fortunately, the run-off was not as bad as originally feared and our flood hazard did not materialize.

Becky and the children took shelter in our basement and monitored the progress of the storm by radio. They brought the dog in, however he refused to take shelter in the downstairs bathroom with the rest of the family. I spent the storm in our Emergency Operations Center monitoring reports from local emergency responders (police, fire) as well as volunteer storm spotters and HAM radio operators providing ground truth reports of hail, rain, funnel clouds and tornadoes.

It was only this morning when Allison texted me about the incident that I thought that I should have exercised our family communication plan. Since we suffered no problems, and I was dog tired after getting back home following the storm, we just went to bed. Next time, we intend to exercise our family notification system regardless of the outcome. No plan is complete without exercising it.

So, please know that we are alright. I will include a few web articles on the storm.

Tornadoes Confirmed in the Kearney Area

Hamilton and York County Tornado Events

Storm damage heavy in Aurora, Kearney

Heavy rains, flooding accompanied storm

Tornadoes, heavy wind and rain pound Central Nebraska


Here is our Press Release from last night:

PRESS RELEASE

Shortly before 6pm, portions of Hall County were issued a Tornado Warning by the National Weather Service. This was the same storm system that reported caused damage to areas east of Hall County. Local agencies, storm spotters and amateur radio operators were dispatched to locate and report dangerous weather. Local warning devices were activated by the Grand Island Emergency Center.

At this time, no injuries of fatalities are reported, nor are they expected as a result of this event.

Weather Observations

Hall County received various reports of rotation, wall clouds, heavy rains, pea to quarter size hail. Minor street flooding and one overpass blocked in Grand Island, as well as one tree over a county road west of the City. No injuries or damage reported in either case.

Damage Reports

Responders in Cairo, Doniphan, Grand Island, Alda report no damage beyond light tree damage and other minor issues.

Grand Island Police reported minor street flooding and one flooded overpass.

One Grand Island resident reported lightning strike and power outage.

Wood River reported a damaged grain bin across the road near Wildwood and Hwy 11. Powerlines are down at this location. No estimation at this time for the clearance of this roadway.

Ongoing Operations

The response agencies of Hall County are finalizing their damage assessment, and the Emergency Management Department will be monitoring local creeks, streams and rivers for signs of any flooding.

Jon Rosenlund

Director of Emergency Management

Grand Island/Hall County

308-385-5360

"Self-Sufficiency is Emergency Preparedness"

It looks like we'll have an active storm season this year, so we'll get plenty of practice. Get you plans together folks, especially Darren and Melanie out in Iowa. Welcome to Tornado Alley!