Thunderstorm Wind — Kearney, Nebraska

2024-07-01 · near Axtell, Kearney, Nebraska

Event narrative

Peak wind gusts were estimated to be around 75 MPH, with one measured gust of 66 MPH from a mesonet station located two miles southwest of Axtell. These wind gusts caused widespread tree damage in Axtell, with several large branches downed and some trees split in two. One portion of a split tree landed on a garage. Another home suffered minor damage as well as fence damage.

Wider weather episode

An upper level trough was moving over Nebraska from the west. A warm front was present near the Kansas/Nebraska border. Warm, moist air was on the east side of the warm front with hot, drier conditions on the west side of the front. CAPE, wind shear, and instability were high along and to the south of the front. A surface trough was also across the area which enhanced atmospheric lift.

Storms developed across northwest Kansas into southern Nebraska during the early to mid afternoon hours. These storms moved eastward into south central Nebraska during the early evening hours and one storm began impacting the local area by producing a 58 mph wind gust in Furnas County. This same storm ended up producing a tornado about 15 minutes later in Furnas County. This storm moved northeastward and produced another tornado in Kearney County over an hour later. Both tornadoes were rated an EFU due to lack of quality damage indicators in the area. The storms in the area produced severe wind gusts and ended with the strongest wind gust of the day of 78 mph in Fillmore County after 10 PM CDT.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (40.4700, -99.1500)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1193788. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.