June 2015: Weather/Climate Review and Extremes for the NWS Hastings Coverage Area

°(Click on the links in the gray box below to quickly jump to sections located farther down the page)

* Please Note: All climate data presented here are preliminary and have not undergone final quality control by the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). Therefore, these data are subject to revision. Final and certified climate data can be accessed at: WWW.NCDC.NOAA.GOV. 

 June 2015 Weather/Climate Web Stories
(Click HERE for archive to all web stories)

June 2015 Climate And Weather Review For South Central Nebraska
And Portions Of North Central Kansas

...Temperatures averaged within 1º of normal across most of the area...
...Rainfall was above normal to well-above normal for at least 80-85% of the local area, with the limited below normal areas primarily found west of the Highway 281 corridor in North Central Kansas...

The following narrative focuses on climate and weather highlights for the month of June 2015 across the NWS Hastings coverage area, encompassing 24 counties in south central and central Nebraska, and 6 counties in north central Kansas. Click here for a map of this coverage area. The temperature and precipitation data presented here are largely based on the NWS Cooperative Observer network, along with data from a handful of automated airport sites. All climate averages and "normals" presented here are based on the official NCDC 1981-2010 normals.

- TEMPERATURES...(According to 30-year averages, "normal" June high temperatures in South Central Nebraska gradually climb from the upper-70s early in the month to the mid-upper 80s by month's end. In North Central Kansas, highs gradually warm from near 80 to the low-90s.  Low temperatures across the area generally climb from the low or mid-50s early in the month to the low or mid-60s by month's end)

• Based on the monthly average temperature (resulting from averaging together the daily highs and lows), temperatures for the month of June 2015 as a whole were actually not all that "newsworthy" across the local 30-county area, as most places averaged within 1° of the 30-year normal for the month. The main exception to this existed within primarily Rooks, Phillips and Osborne counties of North Central Kansas, where readings generally averaged 1-3° above normal for the month
   
• As can be seen in the temperature extremes listings below, most of the local area experienced its hottest day of the month on the 9th or the 24th, while most places experienced the coolest low temperatures on the morning of the 16th. Per NWS cooperative observers and automated airport sites, the hottest high temperature of the month was 103° near Alton and Plainville KS on the 24th, while the coolest low temperature of the month was 49° at Greeley on the 16th.
   
• Among the official Nebraska Tri-Cities airport temperature stations, the hottest June high temperature featured 96° at Grand Island on the 9th, while the coolest low temperature consisted of 53° at Kearney on the 16th. Please refer to this story for specific June 2015 details for the Tri-Cities.

(Please look farther down the page for more information on June 2015 temperatures and extremes, including detailed breakdowns for Grand Island, Hastings, Kearney and Ord.)


- PRECIPITATION/FLOODING...(According to 30-year averages, "normal" June rainfall across the NWS Hastings coverage area is fairly uniform, with nearly all locations expected to receive somewhere between 3.50-4.50 inches, although the lower half of this range favors counties in North Central Kansas and southwest portions of South Central Nebraska...)

• June was truly a "tale of two months" across the majority of the 30-county area, with the first half featuring several heavy rainfall events and notable flooding, while the second half was much drier overall. Focusing first on the wet first half, the heaviest amounts targeted mainly the southeast quadrant of South Central Nebraska. More specifically, flooding of various degrees primarily impacted Clay, Nuckolls, Fillmore Thayer, York, southern Hamilton, southern Hall and northern Adams counties. Within these areas, some of the most significant flooding of all occurred along the West Fork Big Blue River and its tributaries, including severe flooding in the McCool Junction area of York County not seen in 50+ years. Please refer to this story for much more detail on the early-month heavy rainfall and flooding.
   
• As can be seen in the rainfall extremes listings and rainfall total graphics farther down this page, much of the aforementioned soaked areas received anywhere from 6" to locally 12+" of rain for the month, highlighted by notable Thayer County totals such as 15.10" near Alexandria and nearly 13" in Gilead. Among NWS cooperative observer sites, Bruning featured one of the top totals of 12.12", resulting in the 2nd-wettest June on record out of 117 years.
   
• Based on dozens of NWS Cooperative Observer reports and a few automated airport gauges, and also incorporating radar-derived estimation, at least 80-85% of the 30-county area had above normal monthly rainfall, with many aforementioned Nebraska areas exceeding 200% to locally 300% of normal. Of the roughly 15-20% of the area that likely fell short of normal June rainfall, most of this was largely concentrated within portions of Phillips, Rooks, Smith and Osborne counties in North Central Kansas, and also parts of Greeley and Valley counties in Nebraska. Within these areas, totals less than 3" were common, highlighted by a rather paltry total of only 0.85" four miles west-northwest of Plainville KS.
   
• Among the official Nebraska Tri-Cities airport precipitation stations, Hastings led the way with 8.05", followed by Kearney with 7.08" and Grand Island with 5.67". At Hastings, more than half of the monthly total (4.74") fell in one day on the 4th. Not only did this set a new June record for highest daily rainfall amount, but it was the 3rd-highest daily total for any day of the year. Please refer to this story for specific June 2015 details for the Tri-Cities.
   
• FLOODING: As mentioned above, the "big story" of June 2015 flooding-wise was the very significant event that focused along the West Fork Big Blue River and its tributaries, mainly within southern Hamilton, southern York and northern Fillmore Counties, including at McCool Junction where some homes had to be evacuated during the worst of the event over the weekend of June 5-7. Although not as impactful, it's also worth noting that generally minor, lowland flooding persisted nearly the entire month along much of the Platte River through the local area, mainly between Gothenburg and Grand Island. While some of this Platte River flooding was exacerbated by heavy rain that fell directly over the central/western Nebraska area, the majority of it was driven by significant amounts of snowmelt in the river's source region of the Colorado Rockies. After several weeks of minor flooding that began during the latter half of May, all automated river gauges along the Platte in South Central Nebraska finally dropped below official flood stages during the final few days of June.

(Please look farther down the page for more information on June 2015 precipitation/snowfall and extremes, including rankings of wettest and driest locations, percent-of-normal plots, and a detailed breakdown for Grand Island, Hastings, Kearney and Ord. In addition, the link on the far upper right of this page contains an archive of monthly/annual precipitation and snowfall totals for around 70 locations.)


- DROUGHT STATUS (see images at bottom of page)...

• Given that near-to-above normal rainfall occurred across the majority of the 30-county area during June, the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor indicated no drought categories whatsoever within the vast majority of the area at month's end. The only exceptions consisted of small areas of category D0 Abnormally Dry conditions (considered to be one category better than “true” drought) found within primarily Rooks/Phillips counties in Kansas and Greeley County Nebraska.
   

- SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS/HIGH WINDS (for all official/finalized storm reports please refer to NCDC Storm Data)...

• Although June featured its fair share of severe thunderstorms with large hail and damaging winds across various portions of the local area, overall it was a fairly "average" month severe-weather wise by June standards, and was not nearly as active as last year in June 2014 (see number-of-warnings comparison below). 
   
• The only three confirmed tornadoes of the month within the local area (two rated EF-1 and one EF-0) occurred after dark on the evening of June 3rd near Tipton KS. Please refer to this story for more details.

- Number of Severe Thunderstorm Warning polygons issued by NWS Hastings in June 2015: 69 (81 less than June 2014)
- Number of Tornado Warning polygons issued by NWS Hastings in June 2015: 3 (13 less than June 2014) 
- Number of confirmed tornadoes within the NWS Hastings coverage area in June 2015: 3 (all near Tipton KS) (5 less than June 2014)

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Click on the link below for June 2015 climate summaries specifically for Grand Island, Hastings, Kearney and Ord
 

Grand Island - Hastings - Kearney - Ord

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Various graphs and tables depicting June 2015 climate data for
South Central Nebraska and North Central Kansas:

* Please Note: These data are preliminary and have not undergone final quality control by the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). Therefore, these data are subject to revision. Final and certified climate data can be accessed at WWW.NCDC.NOAA.GOV

Click Image For Larger Version

Grand Island Temperature Summary: Observed daily maximum and minimum temperatures are connected by blue bars. Area between normal maximum and minimum temperatures is shaded green. Red bars connect record high temperatures. Blue bars connect record low temperatures.	Hastings Temperature Summary: Observed daily maximum and minimum temperatures are connected by blue bars. Area between normal maximum and minimum temperatures is shaded green. Red bars connect record high temperatures. Blue bars connect record low temperatures.

Grand Island Precipitation Summary: Green line indicates cumulative observed precipitation for June 2015. Brown line indicates "normal" May precipitation based on 30-year data from 1981-2010.	Hastings Precipitation Summary: Green line indicates cumulative observed precipitation for June 2015. Brown line indicates "normal" May precipitation based on 30-year data from 1981-2010.

 Most of the following images depicting June 2015 Precipitation and Temperatures are courtesy of the High Plains Regional Climate Center:

* Please note: These maps are a "best-approximation" of actual measured values, and data reflected on these maps may not exactly match actual values due to the effects of interpolation and "smoothing" used to create the maps. In addition, some "bullseyes" may be a result of missing data.

Click Images For Larger Version

Nebraska: June 2015 Measured Precipitation (Inches)	Kansas: June 2015 Measured Precipitation (Inches)
Nebraska: June 2015 Percent of Normal Measured Precip.	Kansas: June 2015 Percent of Normal Measured Precip.
NWS Hastings Area: June 2015 Total "Observed" Precipitation Based On AHPS Precipitation Analysis Including Radar Data
	While the precipitation images above are based strictly on gauge-measured data, this image on the left utilizes an "Observed" multisensor approach created by River Forecast Centers. Hourly precipitation estimates from WSR-88D NEXRAD radar are compared to ground rainfall gauge reports, and a bias (correction factor) is calculated and applied to the radar field. For much more information on these types of images, and to create your own precipitation maps, please visit the following site: https://water.weather.gov/precip/
Nebraska: June 2015  Temperature Departure  from Normal (F)	Kansas: June 2015 Temperature Departure  from Normal (F)

The following drought category images, current as of June 30, 2015, are courtesy of the
U.S. Drought Monitor (see narrative above for more details):

Click Images For Larger Version

Nebraska - U.S. Drought Monitor as of June 30, 2015	Kansas - U.S. Drought Monitor as of June 30, 2015

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For more climate related information, check out the following websites:

This page was composed by the staff at the National Weather Service in Hastings, Nebraska.