For several hours between the mid-afternoon and late-evening on this Wednesday, a few supercell storms affected portions of South Central Nebraska. The majority of severe weather focused in two separate areas, one north of Interstate 80, and the other, more significant zone, south of Interstate 80 and west of Highway 281. Although large hail, damaging winds and locally heavy rainfall were the main issues, a pair of brief EF0 tornadoes occurred near Upland in northern Franklin County, with no damage reported. A few of the more notable hail and wind reports included golf ball size hail in southwest Furnas County and estimated 65 MPH winds in the Franklin area, with the roof of a storage shed peeled back just north of town. Rainfall wise, some of the heaviest downpours targeted Howard and Franklin Counties. Observers in the Dannebrog and St. Paul areas reported nearly 3 inches of rain, while in Franklin, 3.43 inches fell in a short time, resulting in localized flooding. After sunrise the next morning, the Thompson Creek at Riverton briefly exceeded flood stage of 10 feet.
Focusing on timing and evolution, storms south of Interstate 80 first blossomed around 530 PM CDT as a supercell formed over Furnas County. The second and most noteworthy supercell in this southern area took shape over Kearney County around 7 PM CDT, before making a right turn southeast into Franklin County and producing the brief tornadoes. The storms north of Interstate 80 developed earlier on, first becoming strong in Howard and northern Hall Counties around 4 PM CDT. Additional storms continued to regenerate over this area, with one small supercell eventually tracking east into Merrick County around 7 PM CDT, dropping quarter size hail. All storms in South Central Nebraska weakened considerably or faded away altogether by midnight CDT.
There were both pros and cons regarding the risk for severe weather on this day. Working against a viable threat was overall weak large-scale forcing and strong capping, with only subtle shortwaves aloft rippling through west-southwest flow between a ridge dominating the southern states and a trough centered over the Pacific Northwest. On the other hand, the mesoscale environment became increasingly supportive of severe storms as the afternoon wore on, with the dominant supercells south of I-80 focused along an east-west surface front draped near the Nebraska-Kansas border. As easterly surface winds pooled considerable moisture and instability north of this boundary, mesoscale parameters during the mid-evening hours featured around 3000 J/kg MLCAPE, but only around 30 knots of deep-layer vertical wind shear. However, the surface front enhanced low level shear and resultant brief tornado development, with 0-1 kilometer storm relative helicity increasing to over 200 m2/s2.

Hail in FURNAS, NEBRASKA
From 13-JUL-11 17:14:00 to 13-JUL-11 17:14:00 (CST-6)
Location: WILSONVILLE
Magnitude: 1.25 
Property damage: 25.00K
Crop damage: 2.00M
Reported by: COOP Observer

Hail in MERRICK, NEBRASKA
From 13-JUL-11 18:10:00 to 13-JUL-11 18:10:00 (CST-6)
Location: CHAPMAN
Magnitude: 1.00 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Hail in KEARNEY, NEBRASKA
From 13-JUL-11 18:37:00 to 13-JUL-11 18:37:00 (CST-6)
Location: AXTELL
Magnitude: 1.50 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Fire Department/Rescue

Hail in FRANKLIN, NEBRASKA
From 13-JUL-11 21:47:00 to 13-JUL-11 21:47:00 (CST-6)
Location: FRANKLIN
Magnitude: 0.88 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Storm Chaser

Hail in FRANKLIN, NEBRASKA
From 13-JUL-11 21:50:00 to 13-JUL-11 21:50:00 (CST-6)
Location: FRANKLIN
Magnitude: 1.00 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Storm Chaser

Tornado in FRANKLIN, NEBRASKA
From 13-JUL-11 19:43:00 to 13-JUL-11 19:44:00 (CST-6)
Location: UPLAND
Tornado F-scale: EF0
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Fire Department/Rescue

A brief touchdown was reported approximately 4 miles southwest of Upland.  No damage was reported from this tornado.

Tornado in FRANKLIN, NEBRASKA
From 13-JUL-11 20:04:00 to 13-JUL-11 20:05:00 (CST-6)
Location: UPLAND
Tornado F-scale: EF0
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Fire Department/Rescue

A second brief touchdown was reported approximately 5 miles southeast of Upland.  No damage was reported from this tornado.

Thunderstorm Wind in FRANKLIN, NEBRASKA
From 13-JUL-11 19:59:00 to 13-JUL-11 19:59:00 (CST-6)
Location: UPLAND
Magnitude: 52.00 EG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

Wind gusts were estimated at 60 MPH.

Thunderstorm Wind in FRANKLIN, NEBRASKA
From 13-JUL-11 21:48:00 to 13-JUL-11 21:52:00 (CST-6)
Location: FRANKLIN
Magnitude: 56.00 EG
Property damage: 75.00K
Crop damage: 1.00M
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Wind gusts estimated at 65 MPH resulted in a roof being partially peeled back on a shed north of town and tree damage in Franklin.  One tree in Franklin fell and landed on a building.

Heavy Rain in FRANKLIN, NEBRASKA
From 13-JUL-11 05:00:00 to 14-JUL-11 05:00:00 (CST-6)
Location: FRANKLIN
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

A storm total rainfall over the past 24 hours of 3.43 inches was reported.

Hail in FURNAS, NEBRASKA
From 13-JUL-11 17:13:00 to 13-JUL-11 17:13:00 (CST-6)
Location: WILSONVILLE
Magnitude: 1.75 
Property damage: 25.00K
Crop damage: 2.00M
Reported by: Law Enforcement