Power Outage in Auburn, NE

Public report via mping of 3-inch tree limbs broken; power poles broken.

Rain changed to a wet heavy snow during the predawn hours of November 16th. Snowfall rates through mid morning reached an inch or so per hour as visibilities dropped to a quarter mile or less. Total snowfall was around 3 to 6 inches across most of the county, with the heaviest along the southern border. The heavy wet snow caused a few accidents and power losses in the morning as the weight of the snow downed large tree limbs which fell on power lines causing them to fall. However, by afternoon the snow had mostly melted on roads.

A thunderstorm gust front, which preceded the rain from the storm, brought winds estimated at over 60 mph. These strong winds continued until well after the rain had started which, according to local newspaper reports, lasted for at least 15 minutes. The winds uprooted several big trees and snapped trees and limbs all over town. The downed trees and limbs caused house and vehicle damage, blocked streets and downed power lines. The downed power lines caused an hour and half power outage in Auburn and a 4 to 5 hour loss for rural areas surrounding town. A few transformers in the Auburn area were also damaged and a trailer was blown off of Highway 75 four miles south of town. This was the second wind storm within a week to hit the Auburn area, the other was on Aug. 4th, although this one was deemed much worse by local emergency management.

Freezing rain accumulated between 1/2 and 1 inch across the county causing widespread minor to moderate tree damage, especially across the eastern and southern ends of the county. Signifcant tree damage was noted in Auburn and Peru and along the Steamboat Trace Trail between Peru and Brownville, which caused the trails closure for over a week. A few power lines were downed and other damage was also noted in a few locations.

The winds were estimated by a trained weather spotter and they caused roof damage to a house and downed several large tree limbs and power lines near Auburn.

A second thunderstorm to hit Auburn within an hour downed trees and power lines "everywhere" in the southwest part of town according to a law enforcement official. The winds were estimated at well over 60 mph.