Hail in Butler County, Nebraska

NWS Employee report of hail measured up to 1.75 in diameter.

On May 19, 2025, a negatively tilted mid to upper-level trough advancing into the central Plains helped spin up a surface low over eastern Colorado, which then progressed into central Nebraska and gradually deepened. Clearing skies and the erosion of earlier convective debris through the afternoon allowed for modest destabilization, with surface-based CAPE values exceeding 2500 J/kg. This was accompanied by strong deep-layer shear exceeding 50 knots, creating a favorable environment for severe storm development.

Thunderstorms initiated in the late afternoon across two main areas: near the surface low in east-central Nebraska and along a warm front positioned across southeast Nebraska. Initial convection took the form of discrete supercells before evolving into more organized clusters as the evening progressed.

In east-central Nebraska, supercells produced hail as large as 2.75 inches in diameter near Schuyler and damaging wind gusts up to 60 mph in Butler County. One of these storms also spawned an EF-1 tornado in Dodge County, which caused damage to campers, mobile homes, and trees. Meanwhile, in southeast Nebraska, another supercell produced hail up to 1.25 inches in diameter southwest of Pawnee City and a brief, intermittent EF-U tornado that tracked across portions of Pawnee and Richardson counties.