Back-to-Back Pacific Storms to Impact the West Coast; Heavy Snow in the Central Appalachians

Back-to-back powerful Pacific storm systems to impact the Pacific Northwest and northern California through the end of this week with heavy rain, flooding, strong winds, and higher elevation mountain snow. A strong, long-duration atmospheric river will accompany the Pacific storms, bringing excessive rainfall and flash flooding to southwest Oregon and northwest California through the week. Read More >

Overview

The days surrounding (and including) Memorial Day 2019 will be remembered as a particularly stormy and wet period, featuring multiple rounds of rain and severe weather within the NWS Hastings coverage area. Sunday (May 26) saw widespread rain with embedded lines of thunderstorms. These storms primarily produced very heavy rainfall amounts of 2-4", which caused areas of flooding in lowlands, rivers and streams. However, two brief tornadoes also developed, one during the evening near Upland, NE (Franklin County) and the second one near Tipton, KS (Mitchell County) on the very early AM of the 27th. The tornado near Upland was rated EF-1 and the tornado near Tipton, KS was rated EF-0. Both tornadoes caused damage to residences and outbuildings/garages. Behind the line of storms, a wake low developed in north central KS which produced wind gusts up to 70 mph that downed trees and damaged a carport.

On Memorial Day (May 27), thunderstorms redeveloped during the evening, producing another round of heavy rain and severe weather, including a brief tornado in Superior (Nuckolls County). This weak tornado, rated EF-0, destroyed a detached garage and damaged a nearby fence and trees. The following day (Tuesday the 28th) featured intense supercell storm development along a sharp warm front in north central KS. One of these storms produced the most intense tornado of all three days within our local area, an EF-2 that first touched down in extreme northern Russell County (near Waldo) before tracking northeast for 22 miles across rural portions of southeastern Osborne and southwestern Mitchell counties before lifting near Tipton. The tornado was witnessed by several storm chasers, county officials and local residents. It caused damage at primarily three farmsteads, including: destroying a grain bin and several outbuildings.
See below for more details regarding each of the aforementioned tornadoes, including path maps, damage photos etc.


Radar Loop: 3:30 PM May 26th - 7:00 AM May 27th	Radar Loop: 7:00 PM May 27th - 6:00 AM May 28th	Radar Loop: 3:45 PM - 11:00 PM May 28th

Tornado
Photos
Storm Reports
Rainfall

Tornadoes:

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Tornado #1 - Near Upland
FRANKLIN COUNTY, NE

Date	Sunday, May 26th
Time (Local)	7:21 PM - 7:32 PM
EF Rating	EF-1
Est. Peak Winds	100 MPH
Path Length	2.25 mi
Max Width	500 yds
Injuries/Deaths	0 / 0
Summary: This tornado was embedded within a fast moving line of storms. It only lasted a few minutes, but resulted in the destruction of a detached garage and minor damage to at least 1 home. There was also tree damage and an overturned pivot along and near the path.

Track Map

Tornado #2 - Near Tipton
MITCHELL COUNTY, KS

Date	Monday, May 27th
Time (Local)	1:13 AM - 1:14 AM
EF Rating	EF-0
Est. Peak Winds	79 MPH
Path Length	0.01 mi
Max Width	25 yds
Injuries/Deaths	0 / 0
Summary: This brief tornado caused minor roof damage to a home just north-northeast of Tipton. Attic insulation was plastered onto the home and an outside vehicle. A small number of siding planks were ripped off and two small trailers were overturned.

Track Map

Tornado #3 - Superior
NUCKOLLS COUNTY, NE

Date	Monday, May 27th
Time (Local)	10:45 PM - 10:46 PM
EF Rating	EF-0
Est. Peak Winds	81 MPH
Path Length	0.06 mi
Max Width	75 yds
Injuries/Deaths	0 / 0
Summary: This brief tornado touched down in Superior and severely damaged a detached garage. Shingle and gutter damage was also noted at the adjacent house. Fence and tree damage was common in the neighborhood.

Track Map

Tornado #4 - Waldo/Tipton
OSBORNE & MITCHELL COUNTIES, KS

Date	Tuesday, May 28th
Time (Local)	5:23 PM - 6:03 PM
EF Rating	EF-2
Est. Peak Winds	118 MPH
Path Length	22.1 mi
Max Width	880 yds
Injuries/Deaths	0 / 0
Summary: This tornado touched down in Russell County, moving northeast through Osborne County before lifting in Mitchell County. This at-times-large tornado was observed by spotters, chasers and the public. This tornado destroyed several power poles, snapped and uprooted trees and overturned a grain cart. Three farmsteads sustained damage, including a destroyed grain bin, outbuildings and sheds.

Track Map

The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:

EF0 Weak 65-85 mph	EF1 Moderate 86-110 mph	EF2 Significant 111-135 mph	EF3 Severe 136-165 mph	EF4 Extreme 166-200 mph	EF5 Catastrophic 200+ mph

Photos

Upland Tornado (Franklin County) May 26, 2019


Debris tossed by tornado Photo by NWS Hastings	Destroyed garage Photo by NWS Hastings	Debris and tree damage Photo by NWS Hastings	Building damage Photo by NWS Hastings

Tipton Tornado (Mitchell County, KS) May 27, 2019


Trailer displaced by tornado Photo by Rick Horn	House damage from tornado Photo by Rick Horn	Roof damage from tornado Photo by Rick Horn	Roof damage from tornado Photo by Rick Horn

Superior Tornado (Nuckolls County) May 27, 2019


Garage destroyed Photo by Nick Elledge	Branch wedged into windmill Photo by Nick Elledge	Tree branch lofted into powerlines Photo by Nick Elledge	Broken tree branches & debris Photo by Nick Elledge

Tipton/Waldo Tornado (Osborne, Mitchell Counties, KS) May 28, 2019


Tornado near Luray, KS Photo by Connor McCrorey	Tornado near Paradise, KS Photo by Braydon Morisseau	Tornado near Tipton, KS Photo by Matt Coker	Tornado near Tipton, KS Photo by Peyton Capute


Overturned grain cart, 2S Tipton Photo by NWS Hastings	Damaged outbuilding, 5SW Tipton Photo by NWS Hastings	Tree damage 5SW Tipton Photo by NWS Hastings	Power line damage 1NW Waldo Photo by NWS Hastings

Flooding


Camp Katari near McCool Junction Photo by Steve Green	Jay Bros Truck Stop at I-80 Overton Exit Photo by Lexington Clipper-Herald	Prairie Dog Creek Photo by Todd Christensen	School Creek in Sutton Photo by Clay County News

Hail


Aurora - May 23rd Photo by @sRugan	Minden - May 24th Photo by Tim Reith	Kearney - May 27th Photo by Ashley Weesner	North of Zurich, KS - May 27th Photo by Joe Hageman

Storm Reports

Below is an image of all of the storm reports across the area from May 26th through May 28th. Clicking on the image will take you to a new web page where more detailed information about each report can be found. Following the image is a table of a few of the more notable non-tornado storm reports that were received.

Local Storm Reports From May 26-28th.
Click On Image For More Detailed Information.

Location	Report	Date
3 E Codell, KS	3.0" Hail	5/28/19
1 NNW Zurich, KS	2.50" Hail (tennis ball)	5/27/19
2 NNE Kearney, NE	2.0" Hail (hen egg)	5/27/19
Gothenburg	1.75" Hail (golf ball)	5/27/19
Willow Island	1.75" Hail (golf ball)	5/27/19
2 SSW Bruning	65 mph Wind Gust	5/27/19

Rainfall

The image below shows an estimation of the rainfall that occurred across the area over a 7-day period, ending Wednesday morning, May 29th. See the photos tab for an idea of the flooding that affected portions of the area.

Sources for the rainfall map: NCEP Stage IV Precipitation Analysis & National Weather Service AHPS

7-day Precipitation Map
Ending Wednesday Morning, May 29th.
Click on image for larger version.

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Back-to-Back Pacific Storms to Impact the West Coast; Heavy Snow in the Central Appalachians

May 26-28, 2019: Tornadoes on 3-Consecutive Days! (including an EF-2 in KS)