May 30, 2008

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night...

Tell me again why I live in Nebraska??

A storm unfolds...

4:59 p.m. -- 2.75-inch diameter hail, Arapahoe

5:03 p.m. -- Tornado, 4 miles south of Elm Creek

5:03 p.m. -- Railroad cars derailed 1 mile east of Odessa

5:12 p.m. -- 2-inch hail, 6 miles west of Elwood

5:20 p.m. -- Tornado, 2 miles west of Kearney

5:20 p.m. -- Tornado, 3 miles south of Odessa

5:25 p.m. -- In Kearney, west side of exhibition building destroyed at fairgrounds; roof torn from apartment; trees and power lines down

5:25 p.m. -- Elm Creek, funnel cloud, strong rotation

5:35 p.m. -- Tornado, 3 miles north of Kearney

5:36 p.m. -- Tornado, 5 miles southwest of Kearney

5:41 p.m. -- Tornado, 7 miles southwest of Overton

6 p.m. -- 1.75-inch hail 4 miles north of Wood River

6:25 p.m. -- Tornado on ground at Stolley Park Road and 110 Road, 5 miles west of Grand Island

6:47 p.m. -- 60 mph wind gusts, 9 miles west of St. Edward

7 p.m. -- Tornado reported 3 miles west of Aurora

7:13 p.m. -- 3 miles south of Aurora, damage to two gas stations

7:32 p.m. -- 1-inch hail, 60 mph wind gusts at York

7:34 p.m. -- 3 miles south of Hampton, semis blown over; debris scattered along I-80; high-voltage utility lines snapped.

8 p.m. -- 3 miles east of Beaver Crossing, brief tornado touchdown

-- National Weather Service

* In Lincoln, about 2,000 Lincoln Electric System customers were without power as of 12:10 a.m. because of strong winds and lightning that had downed power lines and trees, LES spokesman Russ Reno said. Another 3,045 LES customers were without power temporarily because of the storms.

Lincoln Fire and Rescue Deputy Chief Bruce Sellon said he had five units responding to areas where power lines had been blown down at about 10 p.m.

The number of downed lines increased as wind speeds picked up.

At the Lincoln Airport, 69 mph gusts were recorded.

We had similar winds on Sunday night and many trees were lost all over the city. Yet once again, we got lucky and didn't experience an actual tornado. However, I sure could use a few more hours of sleep!

16 comments:

  1. Anonymous5:31 AM

    Hope you guys out there are all right..there were such too many lives already who have perish in last week tornado outbreak in KS and Iowa..Prayers for the community out there to be safe from destructive tornado..

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  2. Yikes! I live about 2 miles south of where the tornado in Hugo, MN wiped out 50 houses on Sunday evening. That was scary enough for me!

    Lezlie

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  3. I can't answer your question. :<) We may have snow, but honestly I don't think I could live with the fear and reality of tornadoes. That said, we have had a couple 'somethings' in the past 35 years. No one would come out and call them tornadoes, but they sure seemed it to me. No funnels, but strong winds that swept through particular areas. I think you might remember the one ten years ago that lasted 5 minutes and we got lots of money from the downed trees?? Here's a dumb question. Do they happen because it is flat? Because there aren't mountains to protect? I know so little of geography and weather but they both fascinate me. Glad you are okay.

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  4. "Tell me again why I live in Nebraska??"

    I guess because we can't ALL move to whatever state has the lowest incidence of tornados, hail, floods, earthquakes, wildfires or volcanoes.

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  5. Good Lord, that's crazy. I'm glad you and your family are safe!

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  6. Me too! J had us down in the basement at 11 p.m. because the wind was so crazy. Today I am TIRED.

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  7. Oh wow! Glad you didn't have a tornado where you are.

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  8. Glad you didn't get an actual tornado and are safe. That is some picture from NOAA! I haven't experienced tornado weather since I was a child in Ohio, but will never forget the sound of the wind and running for the basement. Now I live in earthquake country. Sigh.

    Hope you get some sleep tonight :o)

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  9. My sister lives in Kearney, so that was scary!

    Glad you're okay, too.

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  10. You live in Nebraska so that you can run to a basement and at least have some hope of safety. But, tornadic weather is scary no matter where you are and whether or not you have a safe place to duck. I've never lived anywhere without tornadoes. Maybe that should be a life goal -- get out of tornado territory, some day. Or, at least move somewhere that we could hide out in a basement! :)

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  11. Oh my goodness! I couldn't teach in such a state; imagine all the tornado drills one would have to endure! I'm so glad to hear you're all okay, including the house, dog, garden...

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  12. Thank goodness your okay! I remember Minnesota tornados and storms well and must say I don't miss them. Well, I do sometimes miss the thunderstorms, I like the light show. We get the occasional thunderstorm here, but their short and the light show isn't nearly as good. As far as tornados go, I don't miss them at all.

    We're suppose to be getting a big earthquake sometime in the future. Seattle WA had one about 5years ago and we could feel it here in Vancouver BC. Luckly we didn't get any of the damage they did in Seattle.

    Stay safe!

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  13. Oh, geez, that picture scares me! I spent the entire year we lived in Kansas petrified of those things. I'm much more used to hurricanes.

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  14. wxman - Thanks for stopping by with your comment. We were very fortunate this time around. Others weren't quite so lucky, but the communities are wonderful, lending help and support as needed.

    Lezlie - 2 miles is far too close for comfort! Glad you're ok.

    Nan - I think the lack of mountains has a lot to do with it, but I can't state that as a fact. Just seems to make sense, especially since "tornado alley" is in the Great Plains where there aren't a whole lot of mountains.

    Janet - Yeah. I can't really think of anything too terrible about living in the San Juan Islands (in the Pacific Northwest). I suppose they could get an earthquake or tsunami, but the likelihood is pretty slim.

    Andi - Thanks. Me, too!

    Hoyden - Yay! I'm glad to hear someone else dragged their spouse to the basement. ;) That wind was amazing. A bit reminiscent of the '93 straight-line winds we had. I hope you got some sleep.

    Nat - You and me both! I've never seen one, but I've seen the destruction (in person) both here in Nebraska and in Texas (downtown Fort Worth). Scary stuff.

    Terri B. - I used to live in earthquake country (San Diego). I think I'd prefer an earthquake over a tornado, but then I've never personally experienced the damage from either. I'd just as soon avoid both!

    3M - I hope your sister's ok! The pictures in our local paper (and on the news) are amazing.

    Nancy - There is that. I'm glad we have a basement. I remember hunkering down in the bathtub in my apartment in Fort Worth a few years back and it sure didn't feel quite as safe as our basement does here.

    Bellezza - Yep, the kids have tornado drills here, but I guess that beats the drive-by-shooting drills they teach in Southern California!

    Teddy Rose - I didn't used to like thunder & lightning, but now I enjoy watching a nice light show, as long as I'm in safe area. Nothing scarier than being out on a soccer field (watching a game), only to have a storm pop up without much warning. Pretty terrifying! I hope you never experience an earthquake.

    Katya - The first year we lived here (after moving from San Diego), I pretty much spent the entire summer looking up at the sky, wondering if I would know what a tornado looked like. Sometimes, when they're rain-wrapped, it's impossible to actually see if it's a tornado. But from what I hear, the sound is so distinct and you'd pretty much know one was close by.

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  15. Yep, bathtubs and hallways and closets. Not fun. I loved our year in Ann Arbor for the basement. The alarms went off one time and I grabbed a pillow and Daniel (who was sleeping) and ran down the stairs. Daniel was 4 or 5 and solid, so I just grabbed him around the middle and tucked him under one arm, the pillow under the other. Halfway down to the basement, Daniel woke up and, in a very matter-of-fact voice asked, "Where are we going?" It was hilarious.

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  16. Nancy - Cute story! I remember one year when we had a tornado warning, I dragged our outdoor dog (Sidney) down to the basement with me, my husband and our daughter. We went into our darkroom and Amy & Sid crawled into one of the cupboards. I wish I had thought to take a picture. It was pretty cute.

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