Flash Flood — Adams, Nebraska

2005-05-11 to 2005-05-12 · near Countywide, Adams, Nebraska

Wider weather episode

Though well predicted, the severe weather and flooding on the night of May 11 was even worse than imagined. Thunderstorms ravaged a large part of south central Nebraska with hail, high winds, a tornado and catastrophic flooding.During evening and early morning hours, 4 to 12 inches of fell from Dawson County east to York County. At Kenesaw and Wood River, over 11 inches of rain was measured. The city of Grand Island set a rainfall record for a single event with 7.21 inches of rain. Statically, this event was a 100 year rain and flood event for the area. In Wood River, 12 people were evacuated due to rising water. It was estimated every structure in Wood River sustained some sort of storm damage and wave after wave of severe thunderstorms pounded the town. Twelve homes sustained severe damage. The Wood River crested at 9 feet in town and flooding most streets. Thirty-six homes were evacuated in the city of Grand Island as flooding was rampant over the west and north part of the city. The city's sewer system handled about 75 million gallons of water, or about 6 times the normal amount during the storm. Many parts of the business and residential districts sustained flood damage as the Prairie, Silver and Moores Creeks flooded. The Wood River near Alda, which had been dry for three years, tied a record with a crest of 12.2 feet early on the 12th. Elsewhere, three miles of roads were washed out in Kearney County and 15 miles of roads were damaged in Merrick County. Ten bridges were damaged in Merrick County as well. In York County, emergency rescues, one by helicopter and one by air boat, were made to retrieve stranded people trapped by flood waters southeast of Waco and near McCool Junction. Water was over Highway 81 north of Fairmont at the height of the event. In Fillmore and York counties, 5 to 8 inches of rain fell. Further west, a section of Highway 40 was washed out near Miller. Flood damage was in the tens of millions of dollars, with 12 to 15 million dollars in damage in Hall County alone. As flooding rains soaked the region, large hail, high winds and one tornado pounded the area. Hastings was particularly hard hit as baseball size hail and high winds belted the city for about 20 minutes. Literally, thousands of vehicles and homes sustained damage, especially on the east side of town, including downtown. Damage was estimated at 40 million, and that may be conservative and insurance agencies processed claims. State Farm Insurance was expecting to process 3,000 claims alone. Thirty-three people left their homes for shelter provided by the city. In Wood River, a tornado clipped the south side of town. In Merrick County, two Union Pacific trains derailed due to high winds and a tower for KMMJ radio was blown down north of town. A communications tower was also destroyed in Buffalo County by high winds. There were widespread, though brief, power outages in the area. At one point, about 60 percent of the city of Lexington was without power. Twelve center pivot irrigation systems were damaged in Fillmore County. High winds destroyed a barn southeast of Gothenburg and grain binds south of Darr in Dawson County. Officials estimate, 2800 homes and businesses had damaged in Grand Island. Both Hall and Adams Counties were declared Federal Disasters Areas.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5453161. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.