Less than 48 hours after a line of damaging winds marched across much of South Central Nebraska, another widespread round of severe weather targeted primarily the southwest quadrant of the area on this Wednesday, mainly south of Interstate 80 and west of state Highway 10 in the vicinity of a surface warm front. Duration-wise, this was one of the most prolific severe weather events of the 2011 season, with convective warnings in effect for parts of the area for over 9 straight hours from around 4 PM to 130 AM CDT. Storm report highlights included numerous instances of large hail from quarter to baseball size, an estimated wind gust to 80 MPH, and a brief EF0 tornado west of Lexington. Many areas also measured 1-2 inches of rain in a short time, with one storm sending a few inches of water running through an Elm Creek grocery store.
This event essentially consisted of multiple, splitting supercell storms developing and tracking over the same areas.  The first supercells developed just west and southwest of the area around 4 PM CDT and soon pushed into Dawson and Furnas Counties. These and other storms pounded the area for a few hours into the early evening, featuring the brief tornado near Lexington, and baseball size hail near Cozad. Following a brief lull in areal coverage of severe storms, considerable redevelopment took place between 8 PM and 10 PM CDT, with these storms also remaining severe as they evolved over the next few hours. Although most activity weakened or moved out of the area by midnight, one last supercell dropped golf ball size hail in northern Buffalo County shortly before 1 AM CDT.
Although the mesoscale environment was supportive of severe weather, the long-lasting nature of this event was somewhat unexpected given a lack of large-scale forcing. The mid-levels featured only subtle, weak shortwave energy, well downstream from a powerful trough centered along the Pacific Northwest coast. However, deep-layer vertical wind shear around 40 knots, in combination with high mixed-layer CAPE values of 2500-4000 J/kg at the onset of the event made for a very conducive supercell environment. The primary instigator for multiple rounds of supercells was a persistent southerly low-level jet impinging over the north side of an effective surface warm front stretched from southwest Nebraska to east central Kansas. Winds along the nose of this jet at the 850-millibar level accelerated to 50 knots during the evening. This created very strong low-level wind shear and a mesoscale environment quite favorable for tornadoes. A review of radar data suggests that multiple storm-scale interactions, along with the outflow-dominant nature of some supercells likely spared South Central Nebraska from a more significant tornado threat.

Hail in DAWSON, NEBRASKA
From 01-JUN-11 15:48:00 to 01-JUN-11 15:48:00 (CST-6)
Location: DARR
Magnitude: 1.00 
Property damage: 15.00K
Crop damage: 250.00K
Reported by: Storm Chaser

The hail covered the ground.

Hail in FURNAS, NEBRASKA
From 01-JUN-11 15:50:00 to 01-JUN-11 15:50:00 (CST-6)
Location: PRECEPT
Magnitude: 1.75 
Property damage: 25.00K
Crop damage: 250.00K
Reported by: Public

Hail in FURNAS, NEBRASKA
From 01-JUN-11 15:58:00 to 01-JUN-11 15:58:00 (CST-6)
Location: HOLLINGER
Magnitude: 1.00 
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Hail size was mostly 0.75 in diameter but there was some quarter size hail.

Hail in FURNAS, NEBRASKA
From 01-JUN-11 16:11:00 to 01-JUN-11 16:11:00 (CST-6)
Location: OXFORD
Magnitude: 1.00 
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Hail in FURNAS, NEBRASKA
From 01-JUN-11 16:12:00 to 01-JUN-11 16:12:00 (CST-6)
Location: HOLLINGER
Magnitude: 1.75 
Property damage: 25.00K
Crop damage: 250.00K
Reported by: Public

Hail in DAWSON, NEBRASKA
From 01-JUN-11 16:24:00 to 01-JUN-11 16:24:00 (CST-6)
Location: DARR
Magnitude: 1.00 
Reported by: Storm Chaser

Hail in DAWSON, NEBRASKA
From 01-JUN-11 16:30:00 to 01-JUN-11 16:30:00 (CST-6)
Location: (CZD)COZAD MUNI ARPT
Magnitude: 1.00 
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Hail in DAWSON, NEBRASKA
From 01-JUN-11 16:34:00 to 01-JUN-11 16:39:00 (CST-6)
Location: DARR
Magnitude: 1.00 
Property damage: 15.00K
Crop damage: 250.00K
Reported by: Storm Chaser

Hail lasted for at least 5 minutes.

Hail in DAWSON, NEBRASKA
From 01-JUN-11 16:45:00 to 01-JUN-11 16:45:00 (CST-6)
Location: (CZD)COZAD MUNI ARPT
Magnitude: 2.75 
Property damage: 50.00K
Crop damage: 250.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Hail in PHELPS, NEBRASKA
From 01-JUN-11 17:00:00 to 01-JUN-11 17:00:00 (CST-6)
Location: WESTMARK
Magnitude: 0.88 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 250.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winds were estimated at 50 mph at the time of the hail.

Hail in BUFFALO, NEBRASKA
From 01-JUN-11 17:10:00 to 01-JUN-11 17:10:00 (CST-6)
Location: ELM CREEK
Magnitude: 1.75 
Property damage: 25.00K
Crop damage: 125.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Hail in BUFFALO, NEBRASKA
From 01-JUN-11 19:28:00 to 01-JUN-11 19:28:00 (CST-6)
Location: KEARNEY ARPT
Magnitude: 1.00 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Hail in HARLAN, NEBRASKA
From 01-JUN-11 20:35:00 to 01-JUN-11 20:35:00 (CST-6)
Location: ORLEANS
Magnitude: 1.00 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Hail in HARLAN, NEBRASKA
From 01-JUN-11 20:38:00 to 01-JUN-11 20:38:00 (CST-6)
Location: ORLEANS
Magnitude: 1.75 
Property damage: 25.00K
Crop damage: 250.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Hail in FRANKLIN, NEBRASKA
From 01-JUN-11 21:07:00 to 01-JUN-11 21:07:00 (CST-6)
Location: BLOOMINGTON
Magnitude: 0.88 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Hail in PHELPS, NEBRASKA
From 01-JUN-11 21:11:00 to 01-JUN-11 21:11:00 (CST-6)
Location: BERTRAND
Magnitude: 1.00 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Heavy rainfall with near zero visibility was reported at the time of the hail.

Hail in HARLAN, NEBRASKA
From 01-JUN-11 21:40:00 to 01-JUN-11 21:40:00 (CST-6)
Location: RAGAN
Magnitude: 1.75 
Property damage: 50.00K
Crop damage: 500.00K
Reported by: Storm Chaser

Winds of 60 to 70 mph were reported at the time of the hail.

Hail in HARLAN, NEBRASKA
From 01-JUN-11 21:48:00 to 01-JUN-11 21:48:00 (CST-6)
Location: RAGAN
Magnitude: 1.75 
Property damage: 50.00K
Crop damage: 500.00K
Reported by: Storm Chaser

Winds of 60 to 70 mph were reported at the time of the hail.

Hail in HARLAN, NEBRASKA
From 01-JUN-11 21:51:00 to 01-JUN-11 21:51:00 (CST-6)
Location: RAGAN
Magnitude: 0.88 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 250.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Winds were estimated at 60 mph as well.

Hail in HARLAN, NEBRASKA
From 01-JUN-11 21:55:00 to 01-JUN-11 21:55:00 (CST-6)
Location: RAGAN
Magnitude: 1.25 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 250.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Hail in HARLAN, NEBRASKA
From 01-JUN-11 21:58:00 to 01-JUN-11 21:58:00 (CST-6)
Location: RAGAN
Magnitude: 1.00 
Property damage: 5.00K
Crop damage: 150.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Hail covered the ground.

Hail in BUFFALO, NEBRASKA
From 01-JUN-11 23:53:00 to 01-JUN-11 23:53:00 (CST-6)
Location: PLEASANTON
Magnitude: 1.75 
Property damage: 50.00K
Crop damage: 250.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Tornado in DAWSON, NEBRASKA
From 01-JUN-11 17:22:00 to 01-JUN-11 17:23:00 (CST-6)
Location: LEXINGTON ARPT
Tornado F-scale: EF0
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Storm Chaser

A brief rope tornado was reported in the Darr interchange area. No damage was reported.

Thunderstorm Wind in HARLAN, NEBRASKA
From 01-JUN-11 21:50:00 to 01-JUN-11 21:50:00 (CST-6)
Location: RAGAN
Magnitude: 70.00 EG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 125.00K
Reported by: Fire Department/Rescue

Three center pivot irrigation systems and 2 power poles were damaged northwest of Ragan.

Flood in DAWSON, NEBRASKA
From 01-JUN-11 19:41:00 to 01-JUN-11 20:11:00 (CST-6)
Location: OVERTON
Flood cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: 8.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Heavy rain in the Elm Creek area caused minor flooding in town. Foster's Family Foods, the local  grocery store, reported water on the floor of the business, but little damage was incurred.

Hail in PHELPS, NEBRASKA
From 01-JUN-11 16:56:00 to 01-JUN-11 16:56:00 (CST-6)
Location: HOLDREGE
Magnitude: 1.75 
Property damage: 25.00K
Crop damage: 250.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

The hail fell while the officer was driving on U.S. Highway 183.