I think this is a record so far this summer? if Iam not mistakin? 2 days and no weather watches and warnings. But believe me there's other stuff keeping me busy in the weather center.
As you all know, especially reading this in Nebraska, It's been a crazy spring and summer and the excitment pretty much for the most part started with the St. Patricks Day Snowstorm followed by another snowstorm 2 weeks later on the last day of March. Then it was blizzard that brought Colorado, Nebraska and South Dakota to a stand still on April 10th. Then when you think that winter was over, the suprise may blizzard on the 2nd hit with 65mph winds and 4-8 inches of snow.
The snowstorms turned into tornados. First tornado warning for the 08 severe weather season was on April 16th for Custer County and they've been going pretty steady through the end of July with the North Platte and Maxwell brief tornado hop skip and jump.
I can't break down each severe weather event, but I will go through a few of the events.
First off what comes to mind was a strong storm system that pulled into the central plains on May 22nd staled and then moved east on May 24th. Southwest Nebraska had a few tornado warnings Including Hayes, Red Willow, Hitchcock and Frontier counties. North of there is was the heavy heavy rainfall as a state of emergency was declared on Saturday Morning May 24th. Frontier, Gosper and Dawson counties where underwater waste to chest high on a normal full grown human. News 2 trueview radar indicated up to 12 inches of rain in Frontier county and parts of Dawson county. Cozad and Eustis took the hardest hit, as the towns were impassable. In face 98% of Froniter county was under water at one point on Saturday. As most county roads were closed.
The next one and I think the biggest severe weather event of the year was the Eustis, Lexington, Overton, Kearney, Grand Island, Aroura and York Nebraska Tornado on May 29th. Yes that's 8 towns, yes thats one tornado. The worst feeling was that the tornado picked to roar down I-80 from about Lexington to York (over 200 Miles) that this storm was putting down a tornado, including EF-3 damage in Kearney, and EF-2 Damage in Aroura. At some points during the severe weather event. I-80 was closed from Lexington to York Nebraska. As Cars were fliped over and semis were overturn. Billboards were tornin to peices and farm sprinkers were throwin back on the expressway. How anyone didn't die is beyond me. Severe weather coverage that day began pretty much at 4pm and went through the early evening, along with the other 2 news stations, as a tornado was spotted near Eustis Nebraska and and headed northeast towards Lexington and then eastward.
June 3rd and 4th is our next stop, as another strong moving storm system moves into the area, 4 supercell t-storms effected southern Nebraska, including a tornado warning for the lexington area. That was the first tornado supercell, the next 3 rolled out of Colorado and into Southwest Nebraska. All taking the same path and all droping tornados at some point along there trips through Chase, Hayes, Southern Lincoln, Frontier, Gosper and Dawson Counties, including one tornado being an EF-1. I had to walk a thin line that night, as it was game 6 of the stanley cup finals. And we did have extended tornado coverage as the tornado warning was going on for Lexington. But we only pre-emputed NBC nightly news, and Whell. I timed the cut in's right as we only broke into network commerical breaks, covered up the intermission reports, and the perfect timed cut in was during a timeout in the 3rd period. I will go over weather cut'ins at the end. Another round of storms developed during the overnight, needless to say not to much sleep that night nebraska rocked and rolled all night with large hail, tornados and heavy rain. By 6am another round of storms fired up in Northwest KS and moved into Nebraska. By this time iam dead tired but iam still going at 7am the next AM. A Tornado Warning was issued for Hayes county and then set it's eyes on North Platte. By the time it got to North Platte, the storm became a hail producer, producing golf ball size hail in town and baseball south of North Platte. The station's news director sent me home as the storms moved into Northern Nebraska for a much need 3 hour nap, but it was back at it around 2pm as more storms developed, Hayes, Frontier and Lincoln counties were slapped with Tornado Warnings as a Tornado developed just east of Hayes center. And skipped through Eastern Hayes, Frontier and southeast lincoln county. Later that evening, the severe storms turned into a Threat to a flooding threat, the ground allready wet and the storm drains in North Platte at the brink, additional storms fired up right over the city, putting most of North Platte under water.
Here's a story that didn't make national news, on June 10th a storm developed in eastern Hooker county and moved right along hwy 2. In the path of this tornado was youth camp in Halsey, Nebraska by the time this storm got to Blaine County. The camp had underground shelters and no one was hurt. The next night on June 11th, another camp wasn't so lucky and a supercell t-storm and a tornado formed in Eastern Nebraska, moved north of Omaha and into western Iowa, taking aim at a boy scout camp in Little Sioux Iowa. That camp did not have underground shelters. That story quickly made national news, as 2 scouts were killed and numerious were injuried.
Thursday June 28th saw a Severe Line blow through Nebraska, including producing creepy lookin wall and shelf clouds, 80mph winds were clocked at the station. And there was wide spread damage all over the state.
The week of July 14-18th... It never fails and when our stations main director Pete goes on vaction, all severe weather hell breaks loose. leaving Jenny to the gates of hell. It happend last summer and once agian it happend agian! Monday July 14th had Tornado warnings for Keith and Perkins counies with 2 sperate super cells. Then merged into a line, producing 70mph winds in North Platte at the station. Numerious tree and power line damage in the city of North Platte. Tuesday saw another round of severe weather, including a Tornado touchdown near Arthur, and more Severe T-Storms across the area. Wednesday and Thursday saw many severe storms with heavy rainfall and flooding, some areas picking up 5-7 inches of rain. Then the show shifted north to the sandhills Friday night. Making a complete severe weather sweep.
Finally one, more was last Thursday July 24th. As a supercell t-storm formed in Western Cherry County and moved south and east producing wind and hail damage from Merriman Nebeaska to Maxwell Nebraska. This storm had a few tornado warnings with it, including one that hit a little close for comfort. As the storm moved closer to the station, I was outside watching the storm and a noticed a low hanging cloud maybe about a half mile north of me moving south and east towards the station, I went back inside to look at the velocity mode, meaning the winds with in this storm and it was roatating! So I went back outside and noticed that it was a funnel cloud. Went back inside to get ready to go on the air becuase I just had a hunch that a tornado warning was going to be issued on this storm at anytime. And it did, once that happened a couple station employees came running in saying that the tornado was on the ground and heading south, unfortanlly towards North Platte. We went on the air for a 50 min weather cut in as the storm was a threat for the east side of North Platte and Maxwell. The storm did hop skip and jump a tornado from the station just north of North Platte to Around the Maxwell. An hour later, a squall line pushed through the area producing 60-70mph winds.
That's the severe wrap up so far, Now to weather cutin's. We get calls at the station asking why I was interupting programming. The truth is I put safety before any NBC program or Ellen. So just to get you a back round on our policy on weather cuttin's let me say that Tara, Brittany and I will do what we can not to interupt you shows, but if we feel that safety is on the line, we don't care whats on, we will break in.
Tornado warning, im don't care what county it is, im breaking in. If its a tornado warning for Cherry or Lincoln County im breaking in. If a tornado is threating a popualted area I will stay on the air until the danger is over, I don't care if it's Stockville or North Platte.
Severe T-storm warning, most of the time will run information at the bottom of the screen if its in rural areas, unless it's going to effect North Platte, Ogallala, Lexington and Broken Bow. Our 4 biggest populated towns. Then we will break in, but mostly over non-programming. Like network commerical breaks and promos
I have a very short temper on people who don't so respect for other towns besides theres. Ill get into that on the next blog.
T!
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