June 2017: Precipitation/Temperature Summary For Our 30-County Coverage Area (South Central NE/North Central KS)

Recap of June 2017 Weather for the NWS Hastings Coverage Area: 

- Rainfall/Flooding: In the wake of a relatively wet May across most of the local area, things took a noticeable turn toward the drier side in June. The vast majority of the area measured at least slightly below normal rainfall, and likely over half of the area received less-than-half of normal rainfall. Of the 30 counties in the coverage area, some of the outright-driest included: Valley, Greeley, Gosper, Phelps, Furnas and Osborne. As for specific official NWS observer totals, some of the driest included Cambridge (0.18"), Holdrege (0.51") and Ord airport (0.59"). On the flip-side, one of the only small corridors to see slightly above normal June rainfall stretched west-to-east just north of the state line through portions of Franklin-Webster-Nuckolls and southwestern Thayer counties. Within this zone, a few of the highest monthly totals (NWS observer unless specified) included 4 miles east of Red Cloud (6.54", NeRAIN observer), Red Cloud (5.77"), Guide Rock (4.91", NeRAIN observer) and Superior (4.78"). 

Not surprisingly given the overall lack of June rain, flooding issues were held to a minimum across the vast majority of the area. However, a swath of generally 2-4" of rain on the evening of the 13th likely resulted in some minor/short-term flooding issues within southeastern Franklin and southwestern Webster counties. 

- Temperatures: For the month as a whole, the majority of the 30-county area averaged slightly warmer-than-normal (generally 1-3º). However, the first half of the month was noticeably hotter than the second half. In fact, much of the area had a Top 5-10 hottest first-half-of-June on record. The "peak" of the early-month heat in most areas occurred between the 9th-13th, including at Grand Island airport where readings reached at least 90º on all five days. On the flip side, Grand Island experienced a notably cooler stretch during the second half of the month, with highs only climbing between 77-81° between the 23rd-26th. 

As for monthly extremes across the entire coverage area, one of the hottest highs was 103° at Webster Dam KS on the 13th. On the opposite end of the thermometer, most all areas recorded their coolest June lows on the morning of the 24th with widespread 40s, including as chilly as 40° at Greeley. 

- Severe Thunderstorms/Tornadoes: As is typical of June, there were several dozen reports of hail/high winds within the local area, but there were no confirmed tornadoes, which is somewhat unusual. Although severe storms occurred on several days during the month, two of the "premier" events happened on the evenings of the 13th and the 27th. On the 13th, a relatively narrow swath of severe storms raked through mainly central and eastern counties, producing very large hail of tennis ball to baseball size in-or-near Hastings and Grand Island, and also an unofficial wind gust of 92 MPH in western Polk County. On the evening of the 27th, a squall line raced through Nebraska counties mainly along and north of Interstate 80, producing at least minor wind damage in several locations, and reports of somewhat more substantial damage in Genoa, including several downed trees and some building damage. 

2017 Nebraska Cooperative Observer Precipitation Tables (around 45 sites)
2017 Kansas Cooperative Observer Precipitation Tables (around 18 sites)
(for the 2017 tables, data for the previous month usually gets updated by around the 15th of the current month)

2016 Nebraska Cooperative Observer Precipitation Tables (around 45 sites)
2016 Kansas Cooperative Observer Precipitation Tables (around 18 sites)