Excessive Heat in Lancaster, Nebraska

A maximum heat index of 114 degrees was observed the afternoon of the 15th. There were 8 hospitalizations from heat-related illness reported in Lancaster County as well.

Upper-level flow the evening of the 13th features a low-amplitude shortwave trough that had ejected out into the northern Great Plains. At the surface, a weakening stationary front was noted on WPC surface analysis to extend from northwest Nebraska into southeast Nebraska. Isolated strong thunderstorms that developed along this boundary brought a single severe wind gust in Knox County. However, the primary impact of this episode was the excessive heat that impacted much of southeast Nebraska and southwest Iowa. Heat indices the afternoon of the 15th in this area peaked between 110 and 115 degrees. The highest heat index was 117 degrees, observed by an AWOS station in Harlan, Iowa.