Thunderstorm Wind — Buffalo, Nebraska

2014-07-09 · near Gibbon, Buffalo, Nebraska

Event narrative

Wind gusts were estimated to be at least 70 MPH, with a gust of 68 MPH measured 3 miles south of Gibbon. Accompanied by hail up to the size of golf balls, the combination caused significant crop and tree damage in the area, with many fields reduced to stubble with crops determined to be complete losses. Damage to campers was also reported at the Windmill State Recreation Area near Interstate 80.

Wider weather episode

A large swath of severe crop damage occurred on this Wednesday evening. Isolated thunderstorms occurred through the afternoon over the Sandhills, generally dissipating as they moved southeast into South Central Nebraska. However, by late afternoon thunderstorms intensified with supercells and high-end multicells becoming dominant. The most intense storm of this event produced a prolific swath of significant severe weather. This storm formed over Loup County around 4 p.m. CDT and subsequently tracked south-southeastward through Valley, Sherman, eastern Buffalo, Adams and Webster counties. By 9 p.m. CDT, the storm finally reached the Nebraska-Kansas border. It was responsible for producing hail up to the size of golf balls and winds of 60 to 90 MPH. Hail turned the ground white from Loup City to Ravenna to Gibbon. Combined with the severe winds, tremendous damage occurred to many homes with vinyl siding in these areas. Windows were even broken. The hail and wind caused severe crop damage as well, stripping the corn of its leaves and leaving little but shredded stalks. The scar from damaged crops remained visible, in even relatively low-resolution GOES satellite imagery, the rest of the summer. A semi-tractor trailer was blown on its side on Interstate 80, just southeast of Kearney. Winds were measured as high as 85 MPH in the town of Norman. Other storms became severe over the Sandhills and affected other portions of Valley, Greeley, Howard and Sherman counties during the early to mid-evening hours. These storms also produce hail up to the size of golf balls. Scattered thunderstorms continued to develop into the late evening and even the overnight hours from Broken Bow southward to Beaver City. Winds were estimated between 60 and 70 MPH with some of these storms, along with hail up to the size of ping pong balls.

These storms all developed in an upslope flow regime, north of a quasi-stationary front, with high pressure over the Midwest. The front extended from northwest to southeast across Nebraska and bisected South Central Nebraska, separating temperatures in the 80s to near 90 from rain cooled air in the 60s and 70s, during the late afternoon hours. Aloft, subtropical high pressure was over New Mexico with a low amplitude ridge over the Rockies and a trough over the eastern United States. These storms formed on the eastern fringe of the instability gradient. Poor mid-level lapse rates and cool surface temperatures, resulting in innocuous MLCAPE of 500 to 1500 J/kg. Deep layer shear was between 40 and 50 knots.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (40.7611, -98.8653)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 536059. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.