June 5, 2010: Baseball Size Hail Falls In Valley And Greeley Counties

Thunderstorms developed after dark the evening of June 4th and reached south central Nebraska after midnight on June 5th. The intense thunderstorms grew to heights of 50,000 feet and produced very large hail of golf ball to baseball size, ranging from 1.75 inches to at least 2.75 inches in diameter! In addition to hail, some of these storms also produced damaging winds in excess of 60 MPH, with several reports of wind damage near Shelby in Polk County. The storms affected locations mainly north of Highway 92 in central and east central Nebraska. The radar loop below shows the track of the storms, and also the warning polygons and large hail reports.

The storm reports are shown on the map below. Click on the image for further information.

The following photos, courtesy of Adam Lassen, show hail to at least the size of baseballs in the Cotesfield area (Howard County). This hail fell at approximately 1 AM, June 5th. Click Photos To Enlarge

Rainfall:
The graphic below depicts an approximation of 24-HOUR RAINFALL totals ending around 7 AM on the morning of June 5, 2010. The highest known gauge readings within the area were from Polk County, including 1.57 inches six miles southwest of Columbus (NeRAIN observer), and 1.18 inches three miles northeast of Shelby County (NWS Cooperative Observer).

Current Rainfall Map