For the third consecutive night, this time from the evening of Thursday the 4th into the early morning of Friday the 5th, several rounds of thunderstorms rumbled across much of the 24-county South Central Nebraska area. And for the second straight night, the majority of storms concentrated within the southeastern half of the area. Although the first few hours of evening convection yielded several hail reports up to mainly quarter size within Hall, Hamilton, Merrick and York counties, by far the biggest story of the night, and for some places for the next several days thereafter, was heavy rainfall and resultant flooding. During the 24-hour period ending around sunrise on the 5th, widespread rainfall of 2-4 drenched several counties, primarily including: Adams, Clay, Fillmore, York, Nuckolls, Thayer, southern Hall and southern Hamilton. Combined with as much as 1.50-3.00 that fell across some of these same areas during the preceding night, the net result was 36-hour rain totals of generally 3-7, with the overall-highest concentration of 5-7 impacting a fairly narrow, roughly 10-mile wide corridor extending through southeast Hall, northeast Adams, southern Hamilton, northern Clay and western Fillmore counties. As just a few specific examples of 36-hour measured totals ending around sunrise on the 5th: 6.44 at Harvard and 5.28 four miles west of Geneva (NeRAIN observers). For the calendar days of June 3rd-5th, Hastings airport totaled 5.39, of which 4.74 fell on the 4th. This total set a new Hastings daily record for June rainfall, and was the third-highest daily total for any day of the year. Needless to say, widespread flooding of creeks, streams and primarily rural roadways was well-underway in the aforementioned counties by daybreak on the 5th. Adams county Emergency Management issued a press release alerting citizens that some roads are impassable and dangerous due to standing water and possible unknown damage in the northeast part of the county. Earlier on, during the initial stages of heavy rain on the evening of the 4th, significant street flooding impacted many communities including Grand Island, where several city streets were closed for a few hours. Also near Grand Island on the evening of the 4th, the Platte River (which had already been slightly above flood stage for a few weeks) briefly rose far enough out of its banks to overflow Locust Street near the Interstate 80 exit 314 interchange. Getting back to the daytime hours on the 5th, although flooding of roads and small streams began to very slowly subside, issues began ramping up on larger creeks and rivers. Most notably, this included the West Fork Big Blue River, which was centered almost directly under the narrow axis of heaviest rain and experienced historic flooding over the next several days (please refer to the separate paragraph below for more details regarding West Fork Big Blue River flooding).
Taking a closer look at the timing and evolution of local thunderstorm activity from the afternoon of the 4th into the early morning of the 5th...there were several different rounds. Following a brief lull in the wake of widespread activity during the early morning of the 4th, the next round of mainly non-severe storms affected counties primarily along/north of Interstate 80 through most of the afternoon hours. These storms yielded only one severe weather report: quarter size hail near Pleasanton. Following another brief lull during the late afternoon and early evening, a narrow swath of hail and torrential rain-producing severe storms blew up between 7-9 p.m. CDT along an axis from near Grand Island and Central City, eastward to near Stromsburg and York. Between 9-11 p.m. CDT, this vigorous line of convection gradually weakened as it sank southward toward the Kansas border, but continued dumping heavy rain. Beyond 11 p.m., the next several hours featured widespread, persistent development of non-severe-but-heavy-rain producing convection over most counties along and south of Interstate 80, largely driven by convergence/lift along the nose of a nocturnal, 30-40 knot low level jet. Finally, between 3-6 a.m. CDT on the 5th, storms steadily diminished in intensity and ended from north-to-south, leaving only lingering light rain over the Nebraska-Kansas border area by sunrise. Turning to the synoptic and mesoscale setup: this was a fairly similar situation to the night before, as a quasi-stationary composite surface front/outflow boundary remained in place near the Nebraska-Kansas border. Although the primary large scale mid-upper trough remained well to the west along the California coast, a series of downstream low-amplitude disturbances passed through the Central Plains in quasi-zonal flow, interacting with an unstable and very moist airmass to trigger vigorous convection. Around the time of the initial evening hail-producing storms, the mesoscale environment featured around 2000 J/kg mixed-layer CAPE and 30-40 knots of 0-6 kilometer deep-layer wind shear.
June 5th-12th Summary of Historic Flooding Along the West Fork Big Blue River from near the Adams/Clay County line downstream through southeastern York County...deemed to be the worst flooding in 50-80 years: As detailed in the first paragraph above, 36-hour rainfall totals averaged 5-7 along much of the local stretch of the West Fork Big Blue River between the evening of June 3rd and the morning of June 5th. As a result, significant flooding commenced along the river and its smaller tributaries on the 5th, with the primary flood crest initially working its way across the northern Clay and southern Hamilton County area. By the daylight hours on Saturday the 6th, the seriousness of the flooding situation became more apparent for downstream communities such as McCool Junction. Residents in southern Hamilton County were already calling it the worst flooding they had witnessed in 50-80 years, as the crest reached the Lushton area of York County by late morning. Around this time, officials in McCool Junction began evacuations of several homes on the east side of town along the rising river, along with sandbagging operations. Around 12:30 p.m. CDT, water entered a church camp just south of town, cutting off access to it. The West Fork Big Blue crested in the immediate McCool Junction area that evening, but only a few homes suffered significant flooding. It was reported that at least five homes were saved due to advance notice of the approaching crest and resultant sandbagging. By daylight on Sunday morning June 7th, water levels had receded 1-2 feet at McCool Junction, as the crest worked downstream to near the York/Seward County line. Over the next few days, a welcomed-stretch of warm and dry weather allowed the river to slowly recede back within its banks over southern York County, and the initial multi-day Flood Warning was allowed to expire on Wednesday, June 10th. However, Mother Nature soon threw one last curveball at the McCool Junction area, as yet another round of heavy rain on the order of 1.50-3.00 fell into much of the West Fork Big Blue basin on the evening of the 10th into the morning of Thursday the 11th. As a result, a secondary, less-severe round of flooding was reported at McCool Junction by 10 a.m. CDT on the 11th, with the river reported to be one foot out of its banks. This second round of primarily minor flooding persisted into the daytime hours on Friday, June 12th, but largely abated by sunset that evening, finally ending over one week of flooding issues along the West Fork Big Blue River in eastern portions of South Central Nebraska.

Hail in BUFFALO, NEBRASKA
From 04-JUN-15 12:05:00 to 04-JUN-15 12:05:00 (CST-6)
Location: PLEASANTON
Magnitude: 1.00 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Mostly nickel size hail fell, with a few quarter size hail stones mixed in.

Hail in HALL, NEBRASKA
From 04-JUN-15 18:50:00 to 04-JUN-15 18:50:00 (CST-6)
Location: GRAND IS
Magnitude: 1.00 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

Quarter size hail was reported by the public at a few different locations in the city of Grand Island, including near the intersection of Highway 281/Highway 2.

Hail in MERRICK, NEBRASKA
From 04-JUN-15 19:04:00 to 04-JUN-15 19:04:00 (CST-6)
Location: CENTRAL CITY
Magnitude: 1.00 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Quarter size hail occurred 2 miles southwest of Central City on Highway 30.

Hail in HALL, NEBRASKA
From 04-JUN-15 19:20:00 to 04-JUN-15 19:20:00 (CST-6)
Location: GRAND IS
Magnitude: 1.00 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Amateur Radio

This report was received on HAM radio.

Hail in MERRICK, NEBRASKA
From 04-JUN-15 19:10:00 to 04-JUN-15 19:10:00 (CST-6)
Location: CENTRAL CITY
Magnitude: 1.00 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Social Media

Hail in YORK, NEBRASKA
From 04-JUN-15 19:32:00 to 04-JUN-15 19:35:00 (CST-6)
Location: BENEDICT
Magnitude: 1.00 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

A public report of one inch diameter hail was reported 5 miles southwest of Benedict, and also 5 miles north-northwest of York from a trained spotter.

Hail in HALL, NEBRASKA
From 04-JUN-15 19:55:00 to 04-JUN-15 19:55:00 (CST-6)
Location: DONIPHAN
Magnitude: 0.75 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Penny size hail was falling at the Quality Inn at the Interchange of Interstate 80 and Highway 281.

Hail in HALL, NEBRASKA
From 04-JUN-15 18:47:00 to 04-JUN-15 18:47:00 (CST-6)
Location: GRAND IS
Magnitude: 1.00 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Amateur Radio

Heavy Rain in HALL, NEBRASKA
From 04-JUN-15 06:00:00 to 05-JUN-15 06:00:00 (CST-6)
Location: DONIPHAN
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

A 24-hour rainfall total of 3.30...most of which fell during the evening of the 4th into the early morning of the 5th. Two-day rainfall totals of 3-7 were common within much of Adams, Clay, Fillmore, Nuckolls, Thayer, southern Hall, southern Hamilton and southern York counties, resulting in significant flooding across parts of the area.

Flood in HAMILTON, NEBRASKA
From 04-JUN-15 20:30:00 to 07-JUN-15 19:00:00 (CST-6)
Location: GILTNER
Flood cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: 250.00K
Crop damage: 2.00M
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Multiple rounds of heavy rainfall totaled generally 4-7 across primarily southern Hamilton County between the 3rd-6th, with the majority of this rain falling on the 4th-5th. Localized road flooding was initially reported across parts of the county on the evening of the 4th. Over the next few days, the main story turned to the West Fork Big Blue River and its smaller stream tributaries in the southern part of the county, as the cumulative effects of multiple rounds of heavy rain resulted in significant flooding, mainly on the 5th-6th. Reports indicated that this may have been some of the worst flooding observed along the river in 50-80 years. A few days of warm and dry weather settled in from June 7-9, allowing flood waters to largely recede.

Hail in YORK, NEBRASKA
From 04-JUN-15 19:50:00 to 04-JUN-15 19:50:00 (CST-6)
Location: WACO
Magnitude: 1.50 
Property damage: 50.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Flood in FILLMORE, NEBRASKA
From 04-JUN-15 22:00:00 to 12-JUN-15 11:00:00 (CST-6)
Location: GRAFTON
Flood cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: 250.00K
Crop damage: 2.00M
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Multiple rounds of heavy rainfall totaled generally 4-7 across much of Fillmore County between the 3rd-6th, with the majority of this rain falling on the 4th-5th. The cumulative effects of multiple heavy rains resulted in significant flooding along the West Fork Big Blue River and its smaller stream tributaries in the northern part of the county, mainly on the 6th-7th. Reports indicated that this may have been some the worst flooding observed along the river in 50-80 years. A few days of warm and dry weather settled in from June 7-9, allowing flood waters to largely recede. However, another focused area of 1.50-3.00 of heavy rain targeted the York and northern Fillmore counties area on the night of the 10th into the morning of the 11th. This again pushed the West Fork Big Blue River out of its banks in the McCool Junction area from the 11th into the 12th, before this multiple-day flooding event finally came to a close.

Heavy Rain in CLAY, NEBRASKA
From 04-JUN-15 07:00:00 to 05-JUN-15 07:00:00 (CST-6)
Location: CLAY CENTER
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

A 24-hour rainfall total of 3.00 in Clay Center...most of which fell during the evening of the 4th into the early morning of the 5th. Also within Clay County, NeRAIN observers reported 24-hour total of 3.75 in Harvard and 3.34 four miles southwest of Sutton. For the 36-hour period ending around sunrise on the 5th, Harvard totaled an impressive 6.44. Two-day rainfall totals of 3-7 were common within much of Adams, Clay, Fillmore, Nuckolls, Thayer, southern Hall, southern Hamilton and southern York counties, resulting in significant flooding across parts of the area.

Flood in MERRICK, NEBRASKA
From 04-JUN-15 20:30:00 to 05-JUN-15 07:00:00 (CST-6)
Location: CHAPMAN
Flood cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: 911 Call Center

Water covered parts of Bismarck Road, near the Hall county line.

Heavy Rain in NUCKOLLS, NEBRASKA
From 04-JUN-15 06:00:00 to 05-JUN-15 06:00:00 (CST-6)
Location: LAWRENCE
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

A 24-hour rainfall total of 3.86...most of which fell during the evening of the 4th into the early morning of the 5th. Also in Nuckolls County, 3.88 was reported 3 miles northwest of Oak. Two-day rainfall totals of 3-7 were common within much of Adams, Clay, Fillmore, Nuckolls, Thayer, southern Hall, southern Hamilton and southern York counties, resulting in significant flooding across parts of the area.

Flash Flood in ADAMS, NEBRASKA
From 04-JUN-15 22:00:00 to 05-JUN-15 06:00:00 (CST-6)
Location: HASTINGS
Flood cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: 125.00K
Crop damage: 1.00M
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Multiple rounds of heavy rainfall totaled generally 4-7 across primarily northern Adams County between the 3rd-6th, with the majority of this rain falling on the 4th-5th. Road flooding was initially reported across parts of the county on the evening of the 4th. On the morning of the 5th, the Adams County Department of Roads reported that many roads (paved and gravel) were closed due to severe flooding, especially within the northeast quadrant of the county. Just as one example of these road closures, paved Showboat Road from 12th Street to 26th Street was barricaded on the east side of Hastings for several hours on the 5th. The flooding situation gradually improved over the following 24 hours.

Flood in ADAMS, NEBRASKA
From 05-JUN-15 06:01:00 to 06-JUN-15 07:00:00 (CST-6)
Location: HASTINGS
Flood cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: 125.00K
Crop damage: 1.00M
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Multiple rounds of heavy rainfall totaled generally 4-7 across primarily northern Adams County between the 3rd-6th, with the majority of this rain falling on the 4th-5th. Road flooding was initially reported across parts of the county on the evening of the 4th. On the morning of the 5th, the Adams County Department of Roads reported that many roads (paved and gravel) were closed due to severe flooding, especially within the northeast quadrant of the county. Just as one example of these road closures, paved Showboat Road from 12th Street to 26th Street was barricaded on the east side of Hastings for several hours on the 5th. The flooding situation gradually improved over the following 24 hours.

Flood in YORK, NEBRASKA
From 04-JUN-15 20:30:00 to 12-JUN-15 11:00:00 (CST-6)
Location: BRADSHAW
Flood cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: 500.00K
Crop damage: 3.00M
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Multiple rounds of heavy rainfall totaled generally 4-7 across much of York County between the 3rd-6th, with the majority of this rain falling on the 4th-5th. Localized road flooding was initially reported in the York area on the evening of the 4th. Over the next few days, the main story turned to the West Fork Big Blue River in the southern part of the county, as significant flooding worked its way downstream, reaching the McCool Junction area on Saturday the 6th. Parts of McCool Junction were closed off due to flood waters and at least two homes were flooded. However, at least five homes were saved due to sandbagging efforts. All county roads crossing the river in southern York County were blocked off. Reports indicated that this may have bee some the worst flooding observed along the West Fork Big Blue in 50-80 years. Among other impacts, flood water entered Camp Kateri and the camp area was evacuated. A few days of warm and dry weather settled in from June 7-9, allowing flood waters to largely recede. However, another focused swath of 1.50-3.00 of heavy rain targeted the York and northern Fillmore counties area on the night of the 10th into the morning of the 11th. This again pushed the West Fork Big Blue River out of its banks in the McCool Junction area from the 11th into the 12th, before this multiple-day flooding event finally came to a close (see episode narrative for more details).

Flood in CLAY, NEBRASKA
From 04-JUN-15 22:00:00 to 07-JUN-15 19:00:00 (CST-6)
Location: TRUMBULL
Flood cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: 250.00K
Crop damage: 3.00M
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Multiple rounds of heavy rainfall totaled generally 4-7 across much of Clay County between the 3rd-6th, with the majority of this rain falling on the 4th-5th. Localized road flooding was initially reported across parts of the county on the evening of the 4th. Over the next few days, the main story turned to the West Fork Big Blue River and its smaller stream tributaries in the northern part of the county, as the cumulative effects of multiple rounds of heavy rain resulted in significant flooding, mainly on the 5th-6th. Reports indicated that this may have been some the worst flooding observed along the west fork Big Blue in 50-80 years. A few days of warm and dry weather settled in from June 7-9, allowing flood waters to largely recede.

Flood in HALL, NEBRASKA
From 04-JUN-15 19:00:00 to 04-JUN-15 22:00:00 (CST-6)
Location: GRAND IS
Flood cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Several intersections were flooded in Grand Island due to heavy rain. This included several locations along Broadwell Avenue and 17th Street. Also, water from the Platte River south channel near Schultz Road covered South Locust St. for a time.

Heavy Rain in ADAMS, NEBRASKA
From 04-JUN-15 00:00:00 to 05-JUN-15 00:00:00 (CST-6)
Location: (HSI)HASTINGS ARPT
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

The daily rainfall total for June 4th at the National Weather Service office was 5.10 inches (some of this fell in the morning but most of it fell in the evening). Total Hastings NWS office rainfall from June 3rd-5th was 6.05. Two-day rainfall totals of 3-7 were common within much of Adams, Clay, Fillmore, Nuckolls, Thayer, southern Hall, southern Hamilton and southern York counties, resulting in significant flooding across parts of the area.

Heavy Rain in ADAMS, NEBRASKA
From 04-JUN-15 00:00:00 to 05-JUN-15 00:00:00 (CST-6)
Location: (HSI)HASTINGS ARPT
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

The official June 4th rainfall total for Hastings airport was 4.74 inches. The total includes 1.90 inches in the morning, and 2.84 inches in the evening. This is the third highest daily total on record at Hastings for any day of the year, and is the highest daily total on record for the month of June. Total Hastings airport rainfall from June 3rd-5th was 5.39. Two-day rainfall totals of 3-7 were common within much of Adams, Clay, Fillmore, Nuckolls, Thayer, southern Hall, southern Hamilton and southern York counties, resulting in significant flooding across parts of the area.