Wildfire Smoke and Severe Thunderstorms in the East; Monsoon Thunderstorms in the Southwest

Wildfire smoke continues to impact air quality from the Great Lakes region into New England and the Mid-Atlantic today with widespread Air Quality Alerts in effect. Severe thunderstorms are expected across portions of the Ohio Valley and Lower Great Lakes into the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, this afternoon into the evening. Monsoonal thunderstorms may bring areas of flooding to the Southwest. Read More >

Overview

Scattered severe thunderstorms developed during the afternoon of Tuesday, May 1, 2018, near and southeast of a stationary front stretching from northern Kansas, northeast through central and east-central Nebraska. Storms continued through the evening as the front slowly progressed southeast.

Hail was the main hazard from these storms, with some areas seeing large hail up to at least 2" in diameter. Additionally, several small, fairly weak tornadoes were observed across the area (all rated EF-0). This includes brief tornadoes near Doniphan, Phillips, and Chester in Nebraska and rural southern Mitchell County KS.

Thunderstorms lingered across parts of southern Osborne and Mitchell counties well into the evening, leading to very heavy rainfall totals and flooded roadways. Some areas received 3-5" of rain over the course of several hours, including 5.18" at a personal weather station southeast of Tipton.

NWS Radar loop from 3:00-10:45 p.m. on May 1.
The NWS Hastings coverage area is within the orange
outlined area labeled "GID" .

Tornado
Wind & Hail
Flooding
Storm Reports

Tornadoes:

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Path: Points:

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Doniphan, NE
Hall County

Date	Tuesday, May 1, 2018
Time (Local)	4:50PM to 5:00PM CDT
EF Rating	EF-0
Est. Peak Winds	75 MPH
Path Length	1.97 Mile
Max Width	25 Yards
Injuries/Deaths	0
Summary: An EF-0 tornado touched down approximately 2 miles south of Doniphan, tracking north towards town. Most of the damage from this tornado occurred on the south side of Doniphan right before the tornado lifted. One outbuilding was knocked down, and debris from the outbuilding caused minor damage to windows, soffits, and garage doors of surrounding homes.

Radar/Photo

Photo by Terrell Bruce

Photo by KSNB Local4

Photo by Marshall Dolch

Radar/Photo

Destroyed Outbuilding
NWS Damage Survey

Trailer Moved by Tornado
NWS Damage Survey

Dented Garage from Debris
NWS Damage Survey

Roof Damage from Debris
NWS Damage Survey

Track Map

8 Miles West of Aurora, NE
Hamilton County

Date	Tuesday, May 1, 2018
Time (Local)	4:35PM to 4:37PM CDT
EF Rating	EF-0
Est. Peak Winds	70 MPH
Path Length	Brief Touchdown
Max Width	50 Yards
Injuries/Deaths	0
Summary: This was a landspout tornado that was nearly stationary. The only damage that was observed was an overturned center pivot. Several people witnessed this tornado, and there may have been more landspouts in the area, but no significant damage has been reported.

Track Map


West of Aurora Photo By Holly Shada Jensen	Overturned Pivot NWS Damage Survey

2.5 Miles NNE of Chester, NE
Thayer County

Date	Tuesday, May 1, 2018
Time (Local)	5:44PM to 5:54PM CDT
EF Rating	EF-0
Est. Peak Winds	70 MPH
Path Length	6.4 Miles
Max Width	125 Yards
Injuries/Deaths	0
Summary: This was a broad and weak tornado that developed along the leading edge of a bowing line segment. It was witnessed by multiple sources but caused no reported damage. It started in Republic County, KS and passed just south of Chester, NE before dissipating.

Track Map

South of Beloit, KS
Mitchell County

Date	Tuesday, May 1, 2018
Time (Local)	6:09PM to 6:10PM CDT
EF Rating	EF-0
Est. Peak Winds	75 MPH
Path Length	Brief Touchdown
Max Width	25 Yards
Injuries/Deaths	0
Summary: This tornado did not cause any significant damage as it briefly touched down in an open field. A video and picture of this tornado was captured by a storm chaser.

Track Map

Picture By Matt McCune

YouTube Video

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

Wind & Hail:

Hail

Large hail occurred over a large portion of the area. In general, hail was quarter to golf ball size, but there were a few reports as large as 2 inches in diameter. See the Storm Reports Tab for more specific information.


Roseland, NE Photo by Erika Klein	Shelby, NE Photo by Angela Pfannkuch	Hastings, NE Photo by Eric W.	Hastings, NE Photo by Jamy Schultz

Radar/Photo

Hastings, NE
Photo by Jim Iverson

Hastings, NE
Photo by Marty McCune

10 Miles SSW of Beloit, KS
Photo by Mike Jordan

3 Miles East of Pauline, NE
Photo by Ron Pavelka

Wind

While damaging winds were not common, a few areas received damage caused by straight-line winds. The most significant straight-line wind damage appeared to occur over parts of north-central Kansas.


6 Miles NE of Luray, KS NWS Damage Survey	6 Miles NE of Luray, KS â€‹NWS Damage Survey	6 Miles NE of Luray, KS â€‹NWS Damage Survey	6 Miles NE of Luray, KS â€‹NWS Damage Survey

Flooding

Very heavy rain occurred over portions of Osborne and Mitchell counties where thunderstorms lingered late into the evening. 3-5"+ was observed across this area, leading to flooded roads.

Heavy Rain Reports (24-hr)

Location	Amount
4 SE Tipton	5.18 in
13 SW Tipton	4.84 in
2 NNW Hunter	4.50 in
8 NE Victor	3.28 in
5 SSW Scottsville	2.50 in
2 SE Beloit	2.47 in

Storm Reports

Large Hail Reports

(golf ball size and larger)

Location	Size
Roseland	2.00 in
9 NE Victor KS	2.00 in
Hunter KS	1.75 in
Clay Center	1.75 in
Athol KS	1.75 in
3 S Clay Center	1.75 in
3 S Marquette	1.75 in
1 SSE Hordville	1.75 in
12 ESE Natoma KS	1.75 in
1 NW Hastings	1.75 in
4 NNE Rosemont	1.75 in
3 E Pauline	1.75 in
1 SE Campbell	1.75 in
1 N Shelby	1.75 in

Severe Wind Reports

Location	Speed
1 N Hunter	60 MPH
Burr Oak	60 MPH
1 W Burr Oak	60 MPH

Additional information about any reports received can be found HERE.

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Wildfire Smoke and Severe Thunderstorms in the East; Monsoon Thunderstorms in the Southwest

May 1, 2018: First Significant Severe Storms of 2018 Strike Eastern Half of Area...A Few Brief Tornadoes