Power Outage in Bellevue, NE

Emergency management reported tress and power lines down in Bellevue, La Vista, and Papillion. Some homes were damaged by trees.

Winds gusted up to 62 mph. Up to 1000 people were without power due to downed lines.

A NWS storm survey confirmed a large area of intense wind damage across the eastern half of Sarpy County with numerous trees down, power lines down, and roof damage.

A NWS storm survey confirmed a large area of intense wind damage across the eastern half of Sarpy County with numerous trees down, power lines down, and roof damage.

Periods of freezing rain produced ice accumulations around a quarter of an inch. This resulted in some tree damage, as well as isolated power outages.

Isolated power outages were caused by downed power lines due to the strong winds.

Based on surface observations from AWOS the area experienced wind speeds of up to 52 mph. The strong winds combined with falling and blowing snow to reduce visibilities to less than a quarter of a mile, especially in rural areas. The combination of the winds and snow lead to scattered power outages across the county.

A bowing segment of a line of thunderstorms produced areas of tree damage, some structural and vehicle damage and power outages from the south part of Omaha into Papillion and Bellevue. At Offutt Afb, a thunderstorm wind gust of 77 mph was measured at 500 am CDT and some home weather equipment in the area measured gusts over 60 mph. Around 10,500 homes lost power from the storm in southern Omaha and in Sarpy county. According to the Omaha World Herald, the worst damage occurred in an area bounded roughly from 25th to 48th streets south of Highway 370, though trees were downed or damaged in many areas of Bellevue. The Bellevue Medical Center sustained outside panel damage which allowed rain water to get inside the northwest side of the structure damaging 20 rooms and forcing 5 patients to move to different rooms.

Snowfall of around 9 inches fell across much of Sarpy county with 9.5 inches measured near Gretna and 9 inches in Bellevue among the highest reported in the county. The heavy wet snow caused some tree damage and also sporadic power outages across the county.

Blizzard conditions developed over Sarpy county a little after noon of Dec. 11. Although snowfall over the county was generally 1 to 3 inches, the snow combined with with northwest winds of 35 to 40 mph with gusts to 50 mph causing visibilities to frequently drop below 1/4 mile and to near zero at times. Offutt AFB recorded a wind gust of 48 mph at 548 pm. The winds downed numerous tree limbs and cut power to a little over 6,000 OPPD customers in the metro. The snow began around 7 am and light snow or significant visibility restrictions in blowing snow lasted until around 10 pm.

The Automated weather sensor at Offutt AFB measured a thunderstorm wind gust of 74 mph. The winds downed numerous tree limbs and large trees with the Olde Towne area especially hard hit where at least 4 streets were blocked and several power poles were broken along with downed power lines. Some damage to homes and vehicles also occurred in this area. Around 1,700 people lost power for a while.

The Automated weather sensor at Offutt AFB measured a thunderstorm wind gust of 74 mph. The winds downed numerous tree limbs and large trees with the Olde Towne area especially hard hit where at least 4 streets were blocked and several power poles were broken along with downed power lines. Some damage to homes and vehicles also occurred in this area. Around 1,700 people lost power for a while.

Thunderstorm winds estimated at close to 60 mph downed trees and power lines forcing several streets to be barricaded by police.

Thunderstorm winds estimated at close to 60 mph knocked down tree limbs in the Bellevue area causing some power outages.

A wet micro-burst thunderstorm knocked down trees and limbs which downed power lines on the north side of Bellevue.

Thunderstorm gusts were measured at 68 mph by Awos at Offutt Afb. The strong winds caused scattered power outages in the Bellevue area.

Thunderstorm gusts were measured at 68 mph by Awos at Offutt Afb. The strong winds caused scattered power outages in the Bellevue area.

Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at over 70 mph downed several large trees and some power lines at a Salvation Army Camp south of Offutt AFB.

This was the first touchdown of 2 tornadoes that hit the Omaha metro area this night. Tornado number 1 started just southeast of 232ND and West Angus Road about a mile west of Gretna. A garage was demolished at this point, suggesting EF1 damage. The tornado moved east northeast at 45 mph and produced scattered EF0 damage in Gretna with tree and shingle damage noted. From there tornado number 1 continued northeast to near 156th and Giles Road. EF 2 damage was noted just southwest of that point with major roof damage to a home. The tornado then crossed over into the Millard area of Douglas county where it continued for about 3 more miles before merging with tornado number 2. Tornado 1 also caused EF2 damage in Douglas county with much of it concentrated in the vicinity of 137th and Y Streets.||The tornadoes spun up on the leading edge of a bow echo that gathered strength as it raced through the Omaha metropolitan area. More than 500 homeowners reported damage from the storm and OPPD reported that 13,800 customers lost power.

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 downed a few trees in town causing power outages.

A powerful upper level low pressure system moved quickly across the central Plains during the day on November 11th. As low pressure moved from Kansas into eastern Nebraska during the day, warm and moist air was pushed northward into the region. This unseasonably warm and moist air led to increasing instability during the afternoon over western Iowa and southeast Nebraska. This combined with the strong wind field associated with the low produced an atmosphere ripe for severe weather. Thunderstorms developed along the cold front in eastern Nebraska by early afternoon, and then increased in coverage and intensity as they tracked east into western Iowa during the early afternoon. Large hail and isolated tornadoes were produced by these thunderstorms.

A strong low level jet was aided by weakening and dissipating showers and thunderstorms and produced a large area of strong and occasionally damaging gradient winds. The strong winds first made it into southeast Nebraska at 148 am cdt when the Falls City Asos measured wind speeds of 72 mph. These strong winds blew a mobile home over and destroyed a barn and lawn care equipment north of Falls City. In addition, there was widespread roof and tree damage in and out of Falls City and an insurance agency estimated that claims for damage alone in Falls City came to around $100,000. In Johnson and Pawnee counties the winds were estimated at around 70 mph by Emergency Management, and both counties reported extensive tree damage. Considerable damage was reported around Cook to barns, sheds and other outbuildings in addition to several windows blown out. Several outbuildings were unroofed or sustained heavy damage 2 miles west of Tecumseh. Both of those towns are in Johnson county. Trees were severely damaged or uprooted in Otoe county from around Lorton to Nebraska City at around 215 am cdt with winds estimated at between 60 and 70 mph. The winds were also responsible for a five-vehicle pileup, because of blinding dust, which killed a 54-year-old man. Three cars had stopped along highway 2 outside of Nebraska City because of zero visibility in blowing dust. The cars had thought they had stopped on the shoulder of the highway, but due to the time of the night and poor visibility they had actually stopped in the left lane. Two semi-tractor trailer trucks hit the cars, the first one caused minor damage, but the driver of the second truck was killed when he smashed into the first truck. The strong winds began weakening as they made it north into Cass and Sarpy counties, but not before downing a few trees and power lines in Plattsmouth in Cass county, and giving an estimated wind gust of around 60 mph at Offutt Airforce Base around 315 am cdt.