Thunderstorm Wind in Richardson County, Nebraska

Fall City, Nebraska Airport ASOS (KFNB) measured wind gust of 68 mph.

During the late afternoon and evening of April 11th, 2026, a strong mid-level shortwave trough moving out of the west resulted in the development of a surface low pressure system over the western Dakotas. This system lifted a surface boundary and a plume of moisture back into the eastern Nebraska, causing dew points to increase into the low-to-mid 60s. Simultaneously, a secondary shortwave over northwest Kansas and southwest Nebraska ejected northeastward toward the area.

An unstable environment characterized by convective available potential energy (CAPE) values of 1,500 to 2,000 J/kg, coupled with 30 to 35 knots of deep-layer wind shear (0-6 km bulk shear), provided sufficient fuel and organization for severe weather. Although initially conditional on storms overcoming atmospheric capping to develop and sustain themselves, a few strong to severe thunderstorms successfully formed and tracked into southeast Nebraska. As these storms moved through, an Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) located at Brenner Field in Falls City, NE measured a severe wind gust of 68 mph at 7:21 PM CST.