Thunderstorm Wind in Fillmore County, Nebraska

A swath of relatively-weaker winds affected the southern half of Fillmore County compared to the northern half. A wind gust of 61 MPH was measured by mesonet stations located three miles northwest of Shickley and one mile northeast of Geneva. A few other gusts of 58 to 60 MPH were measured near and along this path. A few power outages were reported in the area.

A frontal boundary draped from southeast Nebraska to central Kansas became the focal point for an eventual high wind event that stretched across several counties. Initial winds gusts near 60 mph were reported in the Holdrege area and parts of Kearney county shortly after midnight. As the storms gained momentum, a 69 mph wind was recorded at a mesonet station near Bladen. A grain bin was damaged in northern Webster county near Blue Hill. The storms continued marching east-northeast with several reports of 60 mph winds from eastern Adams county across Clay county. Quarter-size hail also fell near Fairfield and Saronville in Clay county.

As the thunderstorm complex moved into Fillmore county, the county was basically divided from north-to-south based upon the strength of the wind. The southern part of the county experienced wind gusts in the 60 mph range in general. There were a few power outages reported in the Shickley area. Windspeeds increased dramatically to the north. A gust of 91 mph was measured 3 miles southeast of Fairmont; 86 mph southeast of Exeter and 75 mph southeast of Sutton. Tree damage was widespread. Several enter-pivot irrigation systems were overturned and some grain bins were damaged. At least one semi-truck was blown over.

A cold front had pushed into south central Nebraska earlier in the day and basically stalled southeast of Hastings. A broad upper trough approaching along with a side-swiping 100 knot jet streak in eastern Wyoming spread broad upper difluence across eastern Nebraska by the late evening hours. Steep mid-level lapse rates of 9 C/km reflected a very unstable environment aloft. The combination of the approaching trough and jet dynamics, fueled by surface dewpoints in the 70s and a developing low-level jet, helped intensify the thunderstorms and sustain them as they rolled east across south central Nebraska and into eastern Nebraska overnight.