Hail in Knox County, Nebraska

Trained spotter report of hail nearing tennis ball-size from chaser live stream. Time estimated from radar on Highway 14 West of Winnetoon, NE.

On July 7, 2025, a lee surface trough pushed into western Nebraska and South Dakota during the afternoon, initiating scattered thunderstorms across the region. By evening, these storms consolidated into a larger mesoscale convective system (MCS) that tracked into northeast Nebraska before expanding southward across eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa through the night.

Ahead of the main MCS, several discrete supercells developed in northeast Nebraska, producing significant hail. Notable reports included measured 3-inch diameter stones 3 miles west of Obert, NE; hail estimated near tennis-ball size 4 miles west-northwest of Winnetoon, NE; and a measured 1.75-inch stone 3 miles east-southeast of Wynot, NE. As the evening progressed, these initial cells were absorbed into the growing MCS, which transitioned into a primarily damaging wind threat. A swath of measured wind gusts ranging from 58 to 67 mph was reported across much of east-central Nebraska into southwest Iowa.

The convective complex gradually weakened as it approached the northern Kansas and Missouri border. However, widespread heavy rainfall persisted behind the system, leading to flooding concerns'particularly in northeast Nebraska, where emergency management reported water over multiple highways and roadways in Antelope, Boone, and Platte Counties.