The weather on Christmas 2016 was so significant and unusual that it's probably a safe bet to categorize it as once in a lifetime Christmas weather for this 24-county South Central Nebraska area. While past Christmases (such as 2009) are remembered for more traditional significant winter weather such as heavy snow/blizzards, this one will go down in the record books for spring-like severe thunderstorms with damaging winds and the first three December tornadoes in Nebraska since 1975, followed by an intense damaging wind event during the evening hours featuring sustained values of 30-50 MPH and peak gusts generally 55-75 MPH. All things considered, the evening high winds were actually more impactful to the area as a whole than the daytime thunderstorms, given that fierce speeds persisted as long as two to three hours in most locations. These winds resulted in widespread, mainly minor damage to trees, power lines (promoting several power outages) and some structures, and also flipped over numerous irrigation pivots. In reality, the official convective and non-convective storm/damage reports documented here only capture a portion of all significant weather/damages observed within South Central Nebraska.
Focusing more detail on the thunderstorms and tornadoes, the culprit was a narrow, strongly forced squall line that steadily advanced across the entire local area from west-southwest to east-northeast. Timing-wise, this was a fairly early show as convection first entered far southwestern local counties such as Furnas/Gosper between 10:30-11:30 AM, swept through central areas including the Tri Cities between 12 PM and 1:30 PM and eventually exited far northeastern counties such as Polk/Nance between 2-3 PM. While most locations experienced sub-severe winds up to around 50 MPH, brief heavy rain and perhaps small hail with the passage of these storms, there were several transient small-scale bowing segments and circulations embedded within the line, resulting in pockets of damaging winds and three confirmed, short-track tornadoes. These tornadoes (two rated EF-0, one EF-1) all occurred between 11:45 AM-12:30 PM and lasted only a few minutes. The first tornado, near Funk, destroyed several large power poles. The second tornado produced minor damage at a farm southeast of Minden, and the third destroyed an outbuilding at Blue Sky Estates northwest of Gibbon. A few of the most significant damage reports not directly attributed to tornadic circulations included: construction trailers blown over and a barn destroyed on the west side of Kearney; and machine shed and tree damage southeast of Bruning.
Even though the day had already featured highly-unusual and locally-damaging Christmas weather, for many places the worst was yet to come in the form of the widespread evening damaging wind event, which largely unfolded under clear skies due to strong subsidence on the backside of an intense low pressure system. At nearly any given affected location, there were at least a few peak gusts of 60-75 MPH from the west-southwest, along with two to perhaps three hours of sustained speeds 30-50 MPH. Timing-wise, high winds rapidly overspread most of South Central Nebraska from southwest-to-northeast, with severe-criteria gusts first measured in counties such as Furnas/Harlan shortly after 5 PM, central locations such as Grand Island/Hastings between 6-7 PM and far northern counties such as Valley by 8 PM. Finally, between 9:30 and 10:30 PM, winds eased below High Wind Warning criteria for the night. Based on dozens of reports from automated sensors, only the southeastern fringe of South Central Nebraska (generally southeast of a Red Cloud-Geneva line) was spared widespread damaging winds. Meanwhile, across the rest of the area, just a sampling of peak measured wind gusts included: 76 MPH at Aurora airport, 75 MPH at Grand Island airport and near Oxford, 73 MPH near Franklin, 72 MPH in Osceola and 71 MPH at the NWS office in Hastings. Needless to say, these evening winds resulted in fairly widespread, mainly minor damage to trees, power lines and some structures, and also flipped over numerous irrigation pivots. Forecast-wise, while gusty winds were anticipated to move in behind the departing low, the ferocity of this event exceeded expectations.
Closing with an examination of the meteorological setup, it certainly was more reminiscent of March or April in South Central Nebraska than late-December. In the mid-upper levels, a powerful, negatively-tilted vorticity maximum deepened over the course of the day as it emerged from the Central Rockies, reaching north central Nebraska by early evening. Just to the southeast of the mid-level low center, a formidable upper jet streak of 120+ knots migrated overhead. At the surface, it was a classic setup for low-topped, severe convection as a deep low pressure system intensified to around 986 millibars in far northeast CO by noon, allowing a warm front to surge northward across South Central Nebraska. Despite considerable cloud cover, temperatures rising into the 50s F and dewpoints climbing into the mid-40s to low-50s F allowed mixed-layer CAPE to reach a few hundred J/kg. Combined with strong deep-layer wind shear of generally 60-80 knots and exceptional low-level shear of 50-60 knots, even this relatively meager instability proved sufficient for damaging winds and brief tornadoes. By early evening, the intense surface low pressure center reached north central Nebraska, placing the local area behind an occluded Pacific cold front and within a zone of deep atmospheric subsidence. In tandem with other factors such as steadily-rising pressures and increased vertical mixing, this allowed very strong west-southwest winds within a few thousand feet of the surface to mix downward, driving the evening damaging wind event.

Tornado in BUFFALO, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 12:24:00 to 25-DEC-16 12:28:00 (CST-6)
Location: CENTENNIAL ARPT
Tornado F-scale: EF0
Property damage: 225.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

This tornado started just west of Ravenna Road northwest of Gibbon and upset a couple of irrigation pivots before entering the east end of Blue Sky Estates. One outbuilding was destroyed with debris carried one-quarter mile north-northwest of the site. Aside from the building destroyed, the tornado moved through an area of the subdivision generally void of buildings or trees. The maximum wind speed was estimated to be 85 MPH.

Thunderstorm Wind in KEARNEY, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 12:21:00 to 25-DEC-16 12:22:00 (CST-6)
Location: NORMAN
Magnitude: 65.00 EG
Property damage: 225.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: NWS Storm Survey

An old outbuilding had collapsed walls. Nine sections of center pivot were blown over and tin from outbuildings was wrapped around trees.

Thunderstorm Wind in ADAMS, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 12:30:00 to 25-DEC-16 12:31:00 (CST-6)
Location: HOLSTEIN
Magnitude: 65.00 EG
Property damage: 150.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: NWS Storm Survey

A center pivot was blown over in 3 sections.

Hail in FRANKLIN, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 12:10:00 to 25-DEC-16 12:10:00 (CST-6)
Location: FRANKLIN
Magnitude: 0.75 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Thunderstorm Wind in ADAMS, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 12:57:00 to 25-DEC-16 12:57:00 (CST-6)
Location: HASTINGS
Magnitude: 54.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

A peak wind gust of 62 MPH was measured by a home station on the north side of town. Small tree limbs were downed.

Tornado in PHELPS, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 11:50:00 to 25-DEC-16 11:53:00 (CST-6)
Location: SACRAMENTO
Tornado F-scale: EF1
Property damage: 375.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

This tornado touched down just south of the town of Funk. Along its short path, at least 6 power poles and 4 irrigation pivots were damaged. The maximum wind speed was estimated to be 100 MPH.

Thunderstorm Wind in FRANKLIN, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 12:07:00 to 25-DEC-16 12:08:00 (CST-6)
Location: MACON
Magnitude: 70.00 EG
Property damage: 50.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: NWS Storm Survey

An overturned center pivot occurred from straight-line winds.

Thunderstorm Wind in FRANKLIN, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 12:08:00 to 25-DEC-16 12:08:00 (CST-6)
Location: UPLAND
Magnitude: 65.00 EG
Property damage: 50.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: NWS Storm Survey

Straight-line thunderstorm winds blew over a center pivot.

Thunderstorm Wind in BUFFALO, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 12:10:00 to 25-DEC-16 12:10:00 (CST-6)
Location: KEARNEY
Magnitude: 70.00 EG
Property damage: 2.00M
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Wind gusts estimated to up to 80 MPH caused damage in the Kearney area. Around 10 pine trees were blown down, as were a few irrigation pivots. Construction trailers were blown over near Kearney High School and a barn lean-to was damaged on 46th Avenue.

Tornado in KEARNEY, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 12:16:00 to 25-DEC-16 12:18:00 (CST-6)
Location: NORMAN
Tornado F-scale: EF0
Property damage: 5.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

This tornado briefly touched down in rural portions of Kearney County southeast of Minden. Minor damaged occurred at a farmstead. The maximum wind speed was estimated to be 75 MPH.

Thunderstorm Wind in KEARNEY, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 12:17:00 to 25-DEC-16 12:23:00 (CST-6)
Location: NORMAN
Magnitude: 65.00 EG
Property damage: 100.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: NWS Storm Survey

Large tree limbs were blown down, along with some overturned pivots.

Thunderstorm Wind in WEBSTER, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 12:30:00 to 25-DEC-16 12:30:00 (CST-6)
Location: BLADEN
Magnitude: 61.00 EG
Property damage: 100.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: NWS Storm Survey

Multiple outbuildings were damaged with major loss of roof panels, and a pivot was overturned.

Thunderstorm Wind in THAYER, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 13:47:00 to 25-DEC-16 13:47:00 (CST-6)
Location: HEBRON
Magnitude: 60.00 EG
Property damage: 2.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Damage occurred to an unused barn just north of Hebron.

Thunderstorm Wind in THAYER, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 13:55:00 to 25-DEC-16 13:55:00 (CST-6)
Location: ALEXANDRIA
Magnitude: 60.00 EG
Property damage: 25.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Part of a machine shed and some trees were damaged at a farmstead near mile marker 113 on Highway 4, east-southeast of Bruning.

High Wind in FURNAS, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 17:00:00 to 25-DEC-16 19:30:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 59.00 MG
Property damage: 1.00M
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

The highest wind gust of 68 mph was measured at 5:12 p.m. by a mesonet site 5 miles north-northwest of Oxford. Strong sustained winds around 40 MPH or higher continued for a few hours across the area.

High Wind in HARLAN, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 17:00:00 to 25-DEC-16 19:30:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 65.00 MG
Property damage: 1.00M
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

The highest wind gust of 75 mph was measured at 5:29 p.m. by a mesonet site 4 miles southeast of Oxford. A wind gust of 60 mph was also recorded six miles east-southeast of Oxford at 5:17 p.m. Strong sustained winds around 40 MPH or higher continued for a few hours across the area.

High Wind in PHELPS, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 17:00:00 to 25-DEC-16 19:30:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 53.00 MG
Property damage: 1.00M
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: AWOS

The highest wind gust of 61 mph was measured at 5:55 p.m. by the Holdrege airport AWOS. Other gusts that occurred between 5-6 p.m. included 59 mph measured 8 miles north of Funk and 56 mph measured 6 miles north-northwest of Holdrege and in Loomis. Strong sustained winds around 40 MPH or higher continued for a few hours across the area.

High Wind in DAWSON, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 17:00:00 to 25-DEC-16 19:30:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 56.00 MG
Property damage: 1.00M
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

The highest wind gust of 65 mph was measured at 5:56 p.m. by a mesonet site 3 miles west of Sumner. Other wind gusts measured during this period included 63 mph three miles west of Lexington and 59 and 62 mph at the Lexington Airport AWOS. Strong sustained winds around 40 MPH or higher continued for a few hours across the area.

High Wind in KEARNEY, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 17:00:00 to 25-DEC-16 19:30:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 63.00 MG
Property damage: 1.00M
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

The highest wind gust of 73 mph was measured at 6:19 p.m. by a mesonet site 2 miles north of Norman. Other wind gusts during this period included 67 mph four miles north-northwest of Hildreth, 60 mph two miles east of Axtell and 57 mph six miles northwest of Minden. Strong sustained winds around 40 MPH or higher continued for a few hours across the area.

High Wind in FRANKLIN, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 17:00:00 to 25-DEC-16 19:30:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 63.00 MG
Property damage: 1.00M
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

The highest wind gust of 73 mph was measured at 5:48 p.m. by a mesonet site 2 miles north of Franklin. Other wind gusts included 66 mph at Hildreth, 65 mph seven miles south-southeast of Wilcox and 64 mph three miles south-southwest of Naponee. A 30 to 35 foot tower on top of the four-story court house in Franklin was blown down sometime around 6 p.m. Strong sustained winds around 40 MPH or higher continued for a few hours across the area.

High Wind in BUFFALO, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 17:00:00 to 25-DEC-16 19:30:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 61.00 MG
Property damage: 1.00M
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

The highest wind gust of 70 mph was measured at 5:58 p.m. by a mesonet site in Pleasanton. Other wind gusts included 66 mph at the Kearney airport, 64 mph two miles east-northeast of Kearney, 63 mph seven miles east-northeast of Kearney and 59 mph at Ravenna and two miles east-northeast of Kearney. Strong sustained winds around 40 MPH or higher continued for a few hours across the area.

High Wind in GOSPER, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 17:00:00 to 25-DEC-16 19:30:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 59.00 MG
Property damage: 1.00M
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Based on observations from neighboring counties such as Furnas and Dawson, a significant high wind event impacted Gosper County for roughly two hours, likely featuring peak gusts of generally 60-70 MPH and sustained speeds 40-50 MPH.

High Wind in FURNAS, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 17:00:00 to 25-DEC-16 19:30:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 59.00 MG
Property damage: 1.00M
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

The highest wind gust of 68 mph was measured at 5:12 p.m. by a mesonet site 5 miles north-northwest of Oxford. Strong sustained winds around 40 MPH or higher continued for a few hours across the area.

High Wind in GREELEY, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 19:00:00 to 25-DEC-16 21:30:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 56.00 MG
Property damage: 1.00M
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Based on observations from neighboring counties such as Valley and Howard, a significant high wind event impacted Greeley County for over two hours, likely featuring peak gusts of generally 60-70 MPH and sustained speeds 40-50 MPH.

High Wind in VALLEY, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 19:00:00 to 25-DEC-16 21:30:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 56.00 MG
Property damage: 1.00M
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

The highest wind gust of 64 mph was measured at 8:03 p.m. by the ASOS at the Ord Airport. The ASOS also recorded a gust of 62 mph at 7:53 p.m. Strong sustained winds around 40 MPH or higher continued for a few hours across the area.

High Wind in NANCE, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 18:00:00 to 25-DEC-16 20:30:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 63.00 MG
Property damage: 1.00M
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Based on observations from nearby counties such as Howard and Polk, a significant high wind event impacted Nance County for over two hours, likely featuring peak gusts of generally 60-75 MPH and sustained speeds 40-50 MPH.

High Wind in MERRICK, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 18:00:00 to 25-DEC-16 20:30:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 65.00 MG
Property damage: 1.00M
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Based on observations from neighboring counties such as Hall and Hamilton, a significant high wind event impacted Merrick County for over two hours, likely featuring peak gusts of generally 60-75 MPH and sustained speeds 40-50 MPH.

High Wind in SHERMAN, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 18:00:00 to 25-DEC-16 20:30:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 61.00 EG
Property damage: 1.00M
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Wind gusts were estimated to be near 70 mph in Loup City. In Ashton, a large tree fell onto a house and punched a hole in the roof/attic. Strong sustained winds around 40 MPH or higher continued for a few hours across the area.

High Wind in YORK, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 18:00:00 to 25-DEC-16 20:30:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 69.00 MG
Property damage: 1.00M
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

The highest wind gust of 79 mph was measured at 7:10 p.m. by a mesonet site near the Fillmore County line north of Exeter. A wind gust of 72 mph was measured by a mesonet 4 miles west-southwest of Bradshaw at 7 p.m. Strong sustained winds around 40 MPH or higher continued for a few hours across the area.

High Wind in HOWARD, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 18:00:00 to 25-DEC-16 20:30:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 52.00 EG
Property damage: 1.00M
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: NWS Employee

The highest wind gust estimated at 60 mph was reported at 7:00 p.m. by an off-duty NWS employee 6 miles west of St. Paul. Strong sustained winds around 40 MPH or higher continued for a few hours across the area.

High Wind in POLK, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 18:00:00 to 25-DEC-16 20:30:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 63.00 MG
Property damage: 1.00M
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

The highest wind gust of 72 mph was measured at 7:32 p.m. by a mesonet site in Osceola. Other wind gusts included 67 mph nine miles west-northwest of Osceola, 65 mph one mile east-northeast of Shelby and 60 mph six miles west of Stromsburg. Strong sustained winds around 40 MPH or higher continued for a few hours across the area.

High Wind in HAMILTON, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 18:00:00 to 25-DEC-16 20:30:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 66.00 MG
Property damage: 1.00M
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: AWOS

The highest wind gust of 76 mph was measured at 7:15 p.m. by the AWOS at the Aurora airport. A wind gust of 60 mph was measured by a mesonet site 7 miles northeast of Phillips at 6:32 p.m. Strong sustained winds around 40 MPH or higher continued for a few hours across the area.

High Wind in HALL, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 18:00:00 to 25-DEC-16 20:30:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 65.00 MG
Property damage: 1.00M
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

The highest wind gust of 75 mph was measured at 6:35 p.m. by the ASOS at the Grand Island Central Nebraska Regional Airport. Other wind gusts included 65 mph one mile south of Wood River, 63 mph four miles west-southwest of Wood River and 60 mph five miles southwest of Grand Island. Grand Island utilities reported short-term power outages to over 2,300 customers. Strong sustained winds around 40 MPH or higher continued for a few hours across the area.

High Wind in CLAY, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 18:00:00 to 25-DEC-16 20:30:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 53.00 MG
Property damage: 1.00M
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

The highest wind gust of 61 mph was measured at 6:26 p.m. by a mesonet site 6 miles south of Glenvil. Strong sustained winds around 40 MPH or higher continued for a few hours across the area.

High Wind in ADAMS, NEBRASKA
From 25-DEC-16 18:00:00 to 25-DEC-16 20:30:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 63.00 MG
Property damage: 1.00M
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

The highest wind gust of 73 mph was measured at 6:01 p.m. by a mesonet site 1 mile northeast of Juniata. Other wind gusts included 72 mph one mile west-northwest of Hastings, 71 mph at the NWS office four miles north of Hastings, 70 mph three miles south of Hastings, 65 mph two miles southwest of Roseland, 64 mph one mile south of Prosser and 63 mph at the Hastings airport ASOS. These winds resulted in roof and tree damage in portions of Hastings. Strong sustained winds around 40 MPH or higher continued for a few hours across the area.