Sunday the 29th and Monday the 30th were two of the windiest consecutive days of spring 2018 within South Central Nebraska, especially in terms of SOUTH winds. On both days, primarily the afternoon featured several hours of sustained speeds commonly 25-35 MPH (isolated 40 MPH) and frequent gusts to around 50 MPH, along with isolated severe-criteria gusts of 58+ MPH. Also on both days, the combination of recent dry conditions and recently-tilled fields promoted a number of localized dust storms, causing drastic visibility reductions over short distances. Specifically on the afternoon of the 30th, dust blowing across Interstate 80 led to another multi-vehicle pileup, but this one occurred just east of the local South Central Nebraska area in Seward County, and was not quite as severe as the one the previous day in Hamilton County. Although strong south winds and blowing dust were clearly the main stories on the 30th, the far northern fringe of the local area (northwestern Valley County) was brushed by a line of strong to severe thunderstorms mainly between 9-11 PM CDT, yielding a report of quarter size hail west-southwest of Elyria, along with nearly 3 inches of rain.
As for measured winds from a variety of official and unofficial sources, some peak gusts on the 30th featured: 60 MPH near Bradshaw (mesonet), 58 MPH near Nelson and Davenport (mesonets), and 57 MPH at Grand Island airport. Like the preceding day, gusts largely eased below 40 MPH after dark. Turning to the meteorological background, this was a classic recipe for prolonged, strong south winds across the Central Plains. In the mid-upper levels, an expansive, large-scale trough gradually deepened over the western CONUS, only edging slowly eastward. This in turn promoted strengthening surface low pressure across the Central High Plains, averaging around 998 millibars in eastern Colorado. This low pressure, in concert with sprawling high pressure centered over the eastern CONUS, set up a healthy pressure gradient. Looking a bit closer at the severe storm that affected Valley County during the evening, this activity evolved eastward from convection that initially formed just west of the local area along a slow-moving cold front. Mesoscale parameters in the area featured mixed-layer CAPE at least 1000 J/kg and deep-layer wind shear around 40 knots.

High Wind in YORK, NEBRASKA
From 30-APR-18 12:58:00 to 30-APR-18 12:58:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 52.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

A mesonet near Bradshaw gusted to 60 MPH.

High Wind in THAYER, NEBRASKA
From 30-APR-18 12:46:00 to 30-APR-18 12:46:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 50.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

A mesonet at Davenport gusted to 58 MPH.

High Wind in YORK, NEBRASKA
From 30-APR-18 14:13:00 to 30-APR-18 14:13:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 52.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

A mesonet near Bradshaw gusted to 60 MPH.

High Wind in NUCKOLLS, NEBRASKA
From 30-APR-18 10:58:00 to 30-APR-18 10:58:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 50.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

A mesonet station near Nelson gusted to 58 MPH.

Hail in VALLEY, NEBRASKA
From 30-APR-18 20:23:00 to 30-APR-18 20:23:00 (CST-6)
Location: ELYRIA
Magnitude: 1.00 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

Dust Storm in YORK, NEBRASKA
From 30-APR-18 11:00:00 to 30-APR-18 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 100.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

For the second straight day, sustained southerly winds of at least 30 MPH and frequent gusts over 40 MPH resulted in an extended period of blowing dust out of freshly tilled fields. This dust again crossed portions of Interstate 80, resulting in quickly changing visibility, down to zero at times. Around noon CST, an 11-vehicle pileup occurred on Interstate 80 near Goehner in western Seward County, only a few miles east of the local South Central Nebraska area.