High Wind — Harlan, Nebraska

2025-02-25 · Harlan, Nebraska

Event narrative

A wind gust of 66 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located six miles east-southeast of Oxford.

Wider weather episode

A weak cold front triggered some high-based showers across southwest Nebraska which eventually moved into parts of south central Nebraska during the early evening hours. As the showers moved east, they produced locally strong wind gusts which topped 60 mph. The strongest wind gust of 66 mph was measured at Oxford. In all, seven locations recorded a wind gust of 58 mph or higher, including a 60 mph wind gust at the Cambridge Airport Automated Weather Observing Station east of town. No damage was reported. Unfortunately, the showers were unable to produce much measurable rainfall.

Ahead of a weak cold front, temperatures soared into the middle 70s by late afternoon on the 25th. Low level moisture remained sparse with surface dewpoints struggling to push 40 degrees. While these parameters did generate a bit of low level instability (CAPE 500 J/KG), such conditions favored high-based convection, which would typically produce more wind than rain. As the showers started to collapse, evaporative cooling helped to steepen low-level lapse rates and provided for an increasingly favorable environment for the gusty wind aloft to reach the surface.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1240495. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.