Hail — Buffalo, Nebraska

2023-08-10 · near Glenwood Park, Buffalo, Nebraska

Wider weather episode

A supercell thunderstorm produced a swath of severe weather across portions of south central Nebraska during the evening of August 10th. A weak upper level disturbance and associated surface front/trough sparked isolated thunderstorms in Dawson and Buffalo Counties between 4-5 PM CDT. These storms developed amidst warm surface temperatures (near 90 degrees) and strong instability (CAPE values near 2000 J/kg). The strong instability and adequate deep layer shear allowed the isolated storms to morph into a singular, dominant supercell that tracked from the Kearney area at around 5 PM, southeastward towards Superior by around 9 PM. Large hail was the primary severe threat, with several instances of significant severe hail (at least 2 inches in diameter) reported along its path. As a result, the main impact from this severe event was crop damage, though vehicle and home damage also occurred. The storm exited Nebraska altogether between 9-10 PM CDT.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (40.7300, -99.1200)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1119144. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.