Hail in Lancaster County, Nebraska

A very destructive hailstorm was centered on Firth Nebraska. The path of destruction was 6 to 8 miles wide and 20 to 30 miles long beginning near Sprague in Lancaster county and continuing to near Sterling in extreme northwest Johnson county. In Firth, hail up to the size of baseballs was driven by 50 mph winds. 148 out of 200 houses and businesses in town were heavily damaged with almost every north facing window broken out. Siding damage was also extensive. In Lancaster county, crop losses included around 20 percent of 10 thousand acres of corn, 30 percent of 6 thousand acres of soybeans and 10 percent of 2 thousand acres of sorghum. From southern Lancaster county into extreme northern Gage and northwest Johnson counties a total of 34 thousand acres of corn, 36 thousand acres of soybeans and 14 thousand acres of sorghum were heavily damaged. The Farm Service Agency estimated that the damaged fields in Gage county amounted to 36 thousand acres with losses around 65 percent for corn and soybeans and 45 percent for sorghum.