May 11 (Mother's Day), 2014: 8 Tornadoes Confirmed - Including 2 Rated EF3 In Fillmore County

Event Summary:

The first round of active Mother's Day weather started up already during the very early morning hours of Sunday, May 11, 2014, as a line of strong to severe thunderstorms quickly developed near the Nebraska/Kansas state line around 3 a.m.  This line gradually shifted north during the remainder of the overnight hours, dropping some large hail and bringing portions of the area their first round of heavy rainfall.  Hail ranging from quarter to ping pong ball size was reported in portions of the area, and it's likely other locations saw hail as well, but the time of night was not favorable to get many reports.

This first round of severe weather tapered off to an end around sunrise, and the rest of the morning into early afternoon was relatively quiet. A cold front started working its way into the area from the west, while a warm front was pushing north out of Kansas. The position of these fronts resulted in a large temperature gradient across the NWS Hastings coverage area, with afternoon temperatures ranging from around 50 degrees in the northwest to near 90 in the southeast.  When the mid afternoon hours arrived, thunderstorms began to develop in the Hastings area. Instability had been building all afternoon and deep layer shear was sufficient for thunderstorms to quickly become severe. While other thunderstorms did develop, the initial one that popped up southeast of Hastings started to work its way east, becoming anchored along the eastward extending warm front.  As it moved into the Clay, northern Fillmore and southeastern York County areas, a number of tornado reports were received.  Other thunderstorms were also responsible for large hail up to the size of hen eggs, damaging wind gusts and heavy rain.  Though shower and thunderstorm activity continued well into the overnight hours, the brunt of the activity had shifted into eastern Nebraska by late evening.

Some much-needed rainfall was also observed across the area, with several locations seeing rainfall amounts in excess of 1 inch.  Locations across portions of Adams county, Clay county, Hamilton county and York county in south central Nebraska saw some of the heaviest rainfall on Sunday afternoon...with rain amounts of two to three inches common through many locations. The combination of rain that fell early Sunday morning along with that which fell Sunday afternoon into Sunday night totaled as high as 5-7", primarily in parts of York County. This resulted in minor flooding of several creeks and streams in the area.
 

The following is information regarding confirmed tornadoes that struck the area. No additional details are expected to be added to the story unless new information warrants changes.  All of this information is considered preliminary and subject to change pending final review of the event and publication in NCDC StormData.

Tornado #1:  8.4 miles south of Glenvil (Clay County)
Rating: EF-0
Estimated Peak Wind Speed: 70 mph
Time: 3:26 to 3:27 p.m. CDT
Path Length: Less than 1/4 mile
Max Path Width: 150 yards
Fatalities/Injuries: 0 / 0

This tornado was photographed by a local resident. The condensation funnel is not on the ground, however, the photos suggest the wind field likely reached the ground for a short time. No damage was reported with this tornado. The time and location were determined from the report and radar imagery.

Brief touchdown near Glenvil.

Storm Relative Velocity Data of this tornado from the KUEX Radar located near Blue Hill, NE.

Base Reflectivity Data of this tornado from the KUEX Radar located near Blue Hill, NE.

Irrigation pipe damage south of Saronville.	Grain bin damage southeast of Saronville.	Damage north of Sutton.

Damage north of Sutton.	Damage northeast of Sutton.	Damage northeast of Sutton.

Outbuilding destroyed near Sutton. Photo courtesy of Clay County News.	Downtown Sutton. Photo courtesy of Bryce Kintigh.	Tree damage in Sutton. Photo courtesy of Tara Nielsen.

Track of the EF3 tornado near Sutton.

Tornado #3:  1.1 miles southeast of Grafton (Fillmore County)
Rating: EF-0
Estimated Peak Wind Speed: 75 mph
Time: 4:25 to 4:26 p.m. CDT
Path Length: Less than 1/4 mile
Max Path Width: 100 yards
Fatalities/Injuries: 0 / 0

This tornado location was determined from video and chaser reports. An experienced meteorologist and others have reported that this tornado rotated anti-cyclonically, or the opposite direction most tornadoes rotate. Radar imagery and video suggest the anti-cyclonic circulation could have occurred, although the rotational direction could not be confirmed via field survey. No damage was reported with this tornado.

Brief touchdown near Grafton.

Base Reflectivity Data of this tornado from KUEX Radar located near Blue Hill, NE.

Storm Relative Velocity Data of this tornado from KUEX Radar located near Blue Hill, NE.

Damage from NW to N to NE of Grafton.

Track of the EF2 tornado near Grafton.

Base Reflectivity and Storm Relative Velocity data showing the anti-cyclonic tornado.

Damage just north of Fairmont.

Track of the EF1 tornado near Fairmont.

Storm Relative Velocity Data of this tornado from the KUEX Radar located near Blue Hill, NE.

Base Reflectivity Data of this tornado from the KUEX Radar located near Blue Hill, NE.

Damage from northeaster of Exeter.

Track of the EF3 tornado near Exeter.

Radar data from the KUEX Radar located near Blue Hill, NE.

Track of the EF1 tornado near Exeter.

A few of the other severe weather highlights from the early morning event:

• Ping pong ball size (1.5") hail was reported in Orleans and Long Island, KS

• Quarter size (1") hail was reported in Juniata and Hastings.
   

A few of the other severe weather highlights from the afternoon/evening event:

• Hen egg size (2") hail was reported just to the east-southeast of Hastings.

• Golf ball size (1.75") hail was reported approximately 6 miles south of Hastings as well as in Natoma, KS.

• Ping pong ball size (1.5") hail was reported 2 miles southwest of Henderson, 1 mile south of Ayr, in Hastings and in Glenvil.

• Half dollar size (1.25") hail was reported 5 miles west-southwest of Burr Oak, KS

• Quarter size (1") hail was reported 4-6 miles south of Aurora, 3 miles southwest of Giltner and in Smith Center, KS.

• Wind gusts estimated near 60 MPH were reported in Osborne, KS.

• Heavy rain, with over 3 inches of rain reported across portions of York County. The resulting heavy rain resulted in some flooding, with a portion of the north bound lanes of Highway 281 south of Blue Hill covered by water and the closure of numerous country roads across York County.
   

  Preliminary storm reports (click image)

Here is an image of radar-estimated rainfall from the afternoon of the 11th through the early morning hours of the 12th. Note the narrow band of higher amounts that runs from near Hastings through York and into Seward County.

Below is a table which includes some of the highest 24-30 hour rain amounts reported to the National Weather Service in Hastings.  These rain amounts are a combination of rain during the TWO main rounds of storms (the first early morning on the 11th and the second the afternoon of the 11th into early morning of the 12th).

Here are a few photos of the storms as they crossed portions of the area:

Multi-vortex tornado east of Clay Center. Photo courtesy of Dale Byrkit.	Tornado near Sutton. Photo courtesy of Philip Lueking.	Tornado near Exeter. Photo courtesy of Brett Wright.

Hail that fell around 3:45 a.m. in Orleans. Photo courtesy of Chris Malone.	Hail in Smith Center, KS. Photo courtesy of Corrina Abney.	Hail 5 miles south of Hastings. Photo courtesy of Randy Gronewold.

Large hail near Duncan Field in Hastings. Photo courtesy of Zach Boden.	Large hail in Sutton. Photo courtesy of Janie Flores Bautista.