Considering that intense/damaging storms are fairly rare in South Central Nebraska during the pre-dawn hours, what happened in Howard County on this Thursday morning was rather noteworthy. During a 20-30 minute period centered either side of 4 a.m. CDT, a brief-but-powerful severe storm swept from northwest-to-southeast across mainly the southern half of the county, yielding a nasty combination of copious amounts of hail (mostly at-or-below quarter size, but up to golf ball size) and damaging winds estimated up to 75 MPH. In a few spots, hail drifts were reportedly ankle to knee high. Needless to say, significant crop damage occurred from around Farwell, southeastward through areas between St. Paul and Dannebrog, and on toward St. Libory. One spotter reported at least 1000 acres destroyed just in their local area, with corn shredded to knee-high. In addition to crop destruction, several irrigation pivots were flipped over, large tree limbs downed, and grain bins damaged, including one near Farwell that was blown off its foundation. Furthermore, emergency management reported at least 12 power poles damaged or snapped, and at a residence two miles east-southeast of Farwell, a carport was destroyed and a barn door was ripped off (in addition to tree damage).
This particular storm was far from the only one to affect mainly northern portions of South Central Nebraska during the late night/early morning hours, as several others roamed areas north of Interstate 80 between midnight and sunrise, most remaining innocuous . However, this storm (for whatever reason) just happened to reach severe levels. It first started showing signs of becoming a problem over the Valley-Sherman County line around 3:30 a.m. CDT. During the ensuing hour, it rapidly dove southeastward, causing the aforementioned damage in Howard County as radar signatures morphed into a mini-bow echo. However, as quickly as this storm intensified, it weakened almost as abruptly, dropping below severe limits by the time it crossed into southwestern Merrick and far northeastern Hall counties by 4:30 a.m. CDT. In the mid-upper levels, forcing was evident, as the local area resided along the southern periphery of a compact/vigorous low pressure system churning along the Nebraska-South Dakota border. While the intensity of this storm was a bit of a surprise given the typically-unfavorable time of day (especially for damaging winds), the seasonably-strong upper forcing, in tandem with around 1000 J/kg of most-unstable CAPE and at least 30-40 knots of deep-layer wind shear, proved sufficient to yield such a surprise.

Hail in HOWARD, NEBRASKA
From 16-AUG-18 02:55:00 to 16-AUG-18 03:15:00 (CST-6)
Location: FARWELL
Magnitude: 1.75 
Property damage: 325.00K
Crop damage: 4.00M
Reported by: Trained Spotter

The combination of hail up to the size of golf balls and wind gusts of 60-75 MPH resulted in damage across central/southern Howard County. Most of the hail reports were dime to quarter size, with one report of golf ball hail north of Dannebrog, but a common theme was the copious amounts of hail. In a few spots, hail drifts were ankle-knee high. There were many reports of significant crop damage extending from around Farwell southeastward into the St. Paul and St. Libory areas. One spotter reported at least 1000 acres were destroyed just in their local area, with corn knocked down to just knee-high. Several irrigation pivots were tipped over, large tree limbs downed, and grain bins damaged, including one east-southeast of Farwell that was blown off its foundation. Emergency management reported that at least 12 power poles were damaged or snapped. At a residence 2 miles east-southeast of Farwell, a carport was destroyed and a barn door was ripped off (in addition to tree damage).

Thunderstorm Wind in HOWARD, NEBRASKA
From 16-AUG-18 02:55:00 to 16-AUG-18 03:15:00 (CST-6)
Location: FARWELL
Magnitude: 65.00 EG
Property damage: 325.00K
Crop damage: 4.00M
Reported by: Emergency Manager

The combination of hail up to the size of golf balls and wind gusts of 60-75 MPH resulted in damage across central/southern Howard County. Most of the hail reports were dime to quarter size, with one report of golf ball hail north of Dannebrog, but a common theme was the copious amounts of hail. In a few spots, hail drifts were ankle-knee high. There were many reports of significant crop damage extending from around Farwell southeastward into the St. Paul and St. Libory areas. One spotter reported at least 1000 acres were destroyed just in their local area, with corn knocked down to just knee-high. Several irrigation pivots were tipped over, large tree limbs downed, and grain bins damaged, including one east-southeast of Farwell that was blown off its foundation. Emergency management reported that at least 12 power poles were damaged or snapped. At a residence 2 miles east-southeast of Farwell, a carport was destroyed and a barn door was ripped off (in addition to tree damage).