Power Outage in Beatrice, NE

Fire department reported a car lifted and spun around near US 77 and Nebraska Highway 8. Signs and power lines had been blown down. Also reported part of a roof of a home blown off near Highway 8 and S 67th Road.

The tornado started approximately 7 miles south-southwest of Wymore, NE, doing damage to trees just west of S 23 Rd between E Walnut Rd and Willow Rd. The tornado continued south-southeastward, damaging the roof of a residence and barn, as well as power poles along Willow Rd. The track then turned more southeast, crossing State Line Rd into Marshall County, KS, between 8th Rd and S 36 Rd where damage to farm outbuildings was noted. The tornado continued southeast and caused damage to power poles along US Highway 77 just south of Bison Rd before lifting shortly thereafter.

Public via social media reported a large tree down on power lines with additional trees down in Beatrice.

Emergency manager reported significant tree damage in Wymore including a couple of trees and large limbs fallen on homes. Widespread power outages and crop damage around the area extending west to the Jefferson County line. Damage pattern indicates straight-line winds.

Gage County emergency manager reported power lines blown down.

A NWS storm survey confirms a several mile wide swath of wind damage from eastern Saline across Gage county. One of the most intense damage areas was approximately 3 miles northwest of Blue Springs where a barn was destroyed, the roof of a large shed caved in, several power poles snapped, and significant tree damage occurred. Additional areas of intense wind damage occurred in west Beatrice and southwest Wilber.

A NWS storm survey confirms a several mile wide swath of wind damage from eastern Saline across Gage county. One of the most intense damage areas was approximately 3 miles northwest of Blue Springs where a barn was destroyed, the roof of a large shed caved in, several power poles snapped, and significant tree damage occurred. Additional areas of intense wind damage occurred in west Beatrice and southwest Wilber.

Trees and power lines were blown down by damaging winds on the west part of Beatrice. A professional building lost a small portion of it's roof.

A trained storm spotter measured an 81 mph wind gust 3.5 miles south of Hoag. There was substantial tree and power line damage. Center pivot irrigation systems were flipped and there was half inch diameter hail reported.

Power poles and tree trunks were snapped about 2 miles northwest of the Homestead National Monument.

Periods of freezing rain produced widespread ice accumulations across the county. General ice accumulations of a quarter to as much as a half was reported. This resulted in tree damage, as well as power outages.

The emergency manager reported significant damage in the town of Wymore. Damage included a couple of destroyed garages, widespread tree damage, and downed power lines. Images from the city indicates isolated pockets of winds to near 80 mph. There was also siding and roof damage from the wind driven small hail that drifted to several inches deep.

Thunderstorm winds estimated at over 60 mph downed trees and power lines in the Wymore area causing power outages.

An estimated 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch of ice accumulation fell over much of the county. When the winds picked up during the winter storm/blizzard that followed the ice storm, the ice covered power lines began whipping in the wind causing scattered power outages over the region. Norris Public Power reported that 2500 customers in a 5 county area, including Clatonia in northwest Gage county, lost power from the storm.

Rain changed to a wet heavy snow during the predawn hours of November 16th. Snowfall rates through mid morning reached an inch or two per hour as visibilities dropped to a quarter mile or less. Total snowfall was 6 to 8 inches across most of the central and southern sections of the county. Higher amounts included 6 inches in Wymore and nearly that much in Beatrice. Diller, which is just west of the county line, reported 8 inches. The slushy heavy wet snow caused a few accidents and power losses in the morning but by afternoon it had mostly melted on roads.

Freezing rain accumulated between 1/2 and 3/4 of an inch across the county causing fairly widespread minor to moderate tree damage. More significant tree damage along with downed power lines and other damage was observed south of Beatrice, with some power outages reported. In Wymore most of the trees sustained damage and nearly every street in town was blocked at some point throughout the day.|

Freezing rain accumulated around 1/4 of an inch over much of the county. The icing downed tree limbs and caused scattered power outages, however much of the ice began melting by mid morning as temperatures climbed above freezing.

Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 mph destroyed a metal pole shead, tipped over a horse trailer and downed a few power lines southwest of Beatrice.

Thunderstorm wind gusts downed trees and power lines in Beatrice.

Thunderstorm wind gust of 70 mph was measured by Asos at the Beatrice airport. The strong winds caused scattered power outages in Beatrice, with around 100 customers affected, some were without power for 3 hours.

An area of thunderstorms developed overnight across northeast Nebraska along the nose of a strong low level jet. These storms continued to move southeast across southeast Nebraska. Heavy rain, damaging winds nearing 70 miles per hour and hail were reported across southeast Nebraska. Several trees were uprooted and power lines were down near Adams in Gage county and in Saline county center pivots were damaged and trees downed east of Dorchester.

Warmer and more moist air spread north across eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa in advance of a developing complex winter storm that was lifting out of the southern plains. This produced an ice storm that preceded a Winter Storm and eventual Blizzard that developed across the region. The heaviest ice accumulation, generally between 1/4 and 3/4 of an inch, fell from Beatrice and Fairbury northwest toward Seward and also over western Iowa east through northeast of Omaha. Sections of eastern Nebraska from around Lincoln to Fremont and Omaha experienced some icing, but accumulations were mostly under 1/4 inch across those locations. Several thousand people lost power from the storm a few days late when the Christmas 2009 blizzard struck with 40+ mph winds.

A large upper level low pressure system brought a heavy wet snow to far southeast Nebraska. The precipitation started as rain...mixed with then changed to snow before sunrise on the 16th and then mixed back with rain or changed over to rain later that afternoon. However, before it did visibilities dropped to a 1/4 mile or less and snowfall rates of around 2 inches an hour were briefly reached. Total snowfall of 6 to 10 inches was common along and to about 25 miles north of the Kansas border. Higher amounts included 10 inches in Endicott and 8 inches at Diller and 5 miles northeast of Falls City. The heavy wet snow caused numerous accidents and the weight of the snow downed tree branches onto power lines causing power losses to around 6,200 customers. Schools were canceled or let out early on the 16th and several were still closed on the 17th. Nebraska Emergency Management estimated that the storm caused more than $3.5 million in damages and a federal disaster declaration was approved for the counties involved in the storm.

Freezing rain, mixed at times with sleet, moved across southeast Nebraska and southwest Iowa from late Sunday evening January 2nd into Monday morning the 3rd. Significant icing was reported across this area with accumulations of 1/4 to 1/3 inch common. Although some minor tree damage and power outages were reported, this storm apparently did not cause widespread or significant damage.