Severe wind gusts occurred with a line of thunderstorms across portions of south central Nebraska and north central Kansas on the evening of July 2nd. Fairly typical summertime weather pattern occurred on this day in which scattered thunderstorms developed over the High Plains during the late afternoon, posing a tornado and large hail threat, then organized into a quasi-linear convective system (QLCS) as they shifted eastward through the evening into an increasing moist, and unstable environment. As is often the case with QLCS events in this part of the country during this time of year, severe wind gusts were the primary threat. Thunderstorm mergers over extreme southwest Nebraska and northwest Kansas promoted the development of a significant pool of cold air which caused a segment of thunderstorms, within the broader line of thunderstorms, to quickly accelerate eastward into western portions of the County Warning Area (CWA) between 7-8pm CDT. By the time this activity arrived it already had a history of producing widespread 60-70mph wind gusts, and even isolated 70-80+mph wind gusts in the vicinity of Hill City, Kansas. The bowing line of thunderstorms continued to produce a swath of severe winds as it moved through the southern half (or so) of the CWA through the late evening hours. For south central Nebraska, severe reports were confined to areas mainly along and south of Highway 6 in Furnas and Harlan Counties, though a Cooperative Observer in Gosper County estimated up to 70mph wind gusts. Damage to trees and power lines were the main impacts of the severe wind. The strongest thunderstorm cores, on the leading edge of the QLCS, exited the area to the southeast by around midnight. Trailing stratiform rain lingered for a couple more hours.
As mentioned above, the meteorological conditions were quite typical for this area for early July. A warm and moist air mass and steep mid level lapse rates supported very strong instability (MLCAPE 4000-5000 J/kg) across a large portion of the Central Plains. A broad upper level ridge axis was in place from the southern Plains into the Upper Mississippi River Valley, resulting in weak southwesterly flow aloft. Because of the upper ridging, deep layer wind shear was weak at less than 30 knots, with much of the shear owing to veering of wind direction in the low to mid levels. This indicates that primarily mesoscale features such as an MCV and a strong cold pool were the main factors that supported severe wind in this event, and not synoptic scale features. Downdraft CAPE values in excess of 1500 J/kg were indicative of the strong potential for cool pool development.

Thunderstorm Wind in GOSPER, NEBRASKA
From 02-JUL-20 19:19:00 to 02-JUL-20 19:19:00 (CST-6)
Location: ELWOOD
Magnitude: 61.00 EG
Property damage: 2.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Wind gusts were estimated to be near 70 MPH. A tree approximately 10 inches in diameter was snapped.

Thunderstorm Wind in FURNAS, NEBRASKA
From 02-JUL-20 18:51:00 to 02-JUL-20 18:51:00 (CST-6)
Location: HOLBROOK
Magnitude: 56.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Storm Chaser

Thunderstorm Wind in FURNAS, NEBRASKA
From 02-JUL-20 18:56:00 to 02-JUL-20 18:56:00 (CST-6)
Location: HENDLEY
Magnitude: 63.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Storm Chaser

Thunderstorm Wind in FURNAS, NEBRASKA
From 02-JUL-20 19:10:00 to 02-JUL-20 19:10:00 (CST-6)
Location: EDISON
Magnitude: 52.00 EG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Wind gusts were estimated to be near 60 MPH.

Thunderstorm Wind in HARLAN, NEBRASKA
From 02-JUL-20 19:22:00 to 02-JUL-20 19:22:00 (CST-6)
Location: OXFORD
Magnitude: 53.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet