This Wednesday was only an opening act to many markedly windy days across South Central Nebraska during April 2022 (per analysis of Grand Island airport data this was the overall-windiest April since 1951). Primarily between the mid-morning and late afternoon hours, sustained northwesterly winds were commonly at least 30-40 MPH with frequent gusts 45-55 MPH, and there were a handful of measured High Wind Warning criteria gusts ranging from 58-62 MPH. The Hastings airport ASOS featured the highest official peak gust of the day (59 MPH), while a few peak unofficial gusts from area mesonets included: 62 MPH near Cozad, 60 MPH near Cairo and 59 MPH near Norman. Although there were no known reports of notable wind damage, the combination of strong gusts and ongoing drought conditions promoted fairly widespread areas of blowing dust, reducing visibility to one mile or less in various locations. The most concentrated plumes of dust focused within far west-southwest local counties (Dawson/Gosper/Phelps/Furnas/Harlan).
In the mid-upper levels, the main player in what would end up being a two-day high wind event for the local area (along with the 7th) was a powerful/deep closed low churning over the northern Minnesota/Wisconsin region. At the surface, a nearly co-located intense low pressure center bottomed out around 988 millibars across MN/WI during the day. This placed the state of Nebraska in a favorable environment for high winds within the southwest quadrant of the large-scale low. At mid-day (18Z), an impressive west-to-east pressure gradient of around 16 millibars was noted across the state (ranging from 1004 millibars in far northeast NE to 1020 millibars in the western Panhandle). Furthermore, steep low-level lapse rates allowed efficient downward momentum transfer from aloft during the daylight hours, with wind speeds in the 850-700 millibar layer averaging 45-55 knots.

High Wind in KEARNEY, NEBRASKA
From 06-APR-22 09:00:00 to 06-APR-22 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 51.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Along with periods of sustained northwesterly speeds near 40 MPH, stronger gusts also occurred. The peak measured gust from a mesonet station located two miles north-northeast of Norman was 59 MPH at 12:56 PM CDT.

High Wind in YORK, NEBRASKA
From 06-APR-22 09:00:00 to 06-APR-22 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 52.00 EG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Along with periods of sustained northwesterly speeds near 40 MPH, stronger gusts of 50-60 MPH also likely occurred, based on surrounding area observations.

High Wind in DAWSON, NEBRASKA
From 06-APR-22 09:00:00 to 06-APR-22 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 54.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Along with periods of sustained northwesterly speeds near 40 MPH, stronger gusts also occurred. The peak measured gust from a mesonet station located one mile north-northeast of Cozad was 62 MPH at 11:45 AM CDT.

High Wind in HARLAN, NEBRASKA
From 06-APR-22 09:00:00 to 06-APR-22 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 52.00 EG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: AWOS

Along with periods of sustained northwesterly speeds near 40 MPH, stronger gusts of 50-60 MPH also likely occurred, based on surrounding area observations.

High Wind in ADAMS, NEBRASKA
From 06-APR-22 09:00:00 to 06-APR-22 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 51.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Along with periods of sustained northwesterly speeds near 40 MPH, stronger gusts also occurred. The peak measured gust from the Hastings Airport ASOS was 59 MPH at 2:58 PM CDT.

High Wind in FRANKLIN, NEBRASKA
From 06-APR-22 09:00:00 to 06-APR-22 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 52.00 EG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: AWOS

Along with periods of sustained northwesterly speeds near 40 MPH, stronger gusts of 50-60 MPH also likely occurred, based on surrounding area observations.

High Wind in BUFFALO, NEBRASKA
From 06-APR-22 09:00:00 to 06-APR-22 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 50.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Along with periods of sustained northwesterly speeds near 40 MPH, stronger gusts also occurred. The peak measured gust from a mesonet station located three miles east-southeast of Kearney was 58 MPH at 10:34 AM CDT.

High Wind in GREELEY, NEBRASKA
From 06-APR-22 09:00:00 to 06-APR-22 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 52.00 EG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Along with periods of sustained northwesterly speeds near 40 MPH, stronger gusts of 50-60 MPH also likely occurred, based on surrounding area observations.

High Wind in NANCE, NEBRASKA
From 06-APR-22 09:00:00 to 06-APR-22 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 52.00 EG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Along with periods of sustained northwesterly speeds near 40 MPH, stronger gusts of 50-60 MPH also likely occurred, based on surrounding area observations.

High Wind in SHERMAN, NEBRASKA
From 06-APR-22 09:00:00 to 06-APR-22 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 52.00 EG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Along with periods of sustained northwesterly speeds near 40 MPH, stronger gusts of 50-60 MPH also likely occurred, based on surrounding area observations.

High Wind in HOWARD, NEBRASKA
From 06-APR-22 09:00:00 to 06-APR-22 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 52.00 EG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Along with periods of sustained northwesterly speeds near 40 MPH, stronger gusts of 50-60 MPH also likely occurred, based on surrounding area observations.

High Wind in MERRICK, NEBRASKA
From 06-APR-22 09:00:00 to 06-APR-22 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 52.00 EG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Along with periods of sustained northwesterly speeds near 40 MPH, stronger gusts of 50-60 MPH also likely occurred, based on surrounding area observations.

High Wind in HAMILTON, NEBRASKA
From 06-APR-22 09:00:00 to 06-APR-22 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 52.00 EG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Along with periods of sustained northwesterly speeds near 40 MPH, stronger gusts of 50-60 MPH also likely occurred, based on surrounding area observations.

High Wind in CLAY, NEBRASKA
From 06-APR-22 09:00:00 to 06-APR-22 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 52.00 EG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Along with periods of sustained northwesterly speeds near 40 MPH, stronger gusts of 50-60 MPH also likely occurred, based on surrounding area observations.

High Wind in WEBSTER, NEBRASKA
From 06-APR-22 09:00:00 to 06-APR-22 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 52.00 EG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Along with periods of sustained northwesterly speeds near 40 MPH, stronger gusts of 50-60 MPH also likely occurred, based on surrounding area observations.

High Wind in FURNAS, NEBRASKA
From 06-APR-22 09:00:00 to 06-APR-22 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 52.00 EG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Along with periods of sustained northwesterly speeds near 40 MPH, stronger gusts of 50-60 MPH also likely occurred, based on surrounding area observations.

High Wind in GOSPER, NEBRASKA
From 06-APR-22 09:00:00 to 06-APR-22 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 52.00 EG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Along with periods of sustained northwesterly speeds near 40 MPH, stronger gusts of 50-60 MPH also likely occurred, based on surrounding area observations.

High Wind in VALLEY, NEBRASKA
From 06-APR-22 09:00:00 to 06-APR-22 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 52.00 EG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Along with periods of sustained northwesterly speeds near 40 MPH, stronger gusts also occurred. The peak measured gust from the Ord Airport ASOS was 57 MPH at 10:50 AM CDT.

High Wind in PHELPS, NEBRASKA
From 06-APR-22 09:00:00 to 06-APR-22 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 52.00 EG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Along with periods of sustained northwesterly speeds near 40 MPH, stronger gusts of 50-60 MPH also likely occurred, based on surrounding area observations.

High Wind in HALL, NEBRASKA
From 06-APR-22 09:00:00 to 06-APR-22 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 52.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Along with periods of sustained northwesterly speeds near 40 MPH, stronger gusts also occurred. The peak measured gust from a mesonet station located six miles east-southeast of Cairo was 60 MPH, at 11:09 AM CDT.

High Wind in POLK, NEBRASKA
From 06-APR-22 09:00:00 to 06-APR-22 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 52.00 EG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Along with periods of sustained northwesterly speeds near 40 MPH, stronger gusts of 50-60 MPH also likely occurred, based on surrounding area observations.