Power Outage in Broken Bow, NE

A Cooperative Observer located 2 miles west of Broken Bow reported freezing drizzle preceding 1 inch of snowfall overnight. Snowfall amounts ranged from 1 to 2 inches across Custer County. Strong northwest winds of 30 to 40 mph with a few gusts up to 65 mph during the afternoon and into the evening hours caused 30 power poles and power lines to be downed and 350 customers without power.

Cooperative observers near Anselmo and Callaway reported blizzard conditions soon after 4 pm CST in Custer County. Some vehicles became stranded on highway 92, including a semi truck which was blown over during the early evening hours. Several hundred customers were also without power during the evening and overnight hours. Total snowfall amounts of 3 to 6 inches were reported by Saturday morning. Moderate to heavy snow developed early Friday afternoon as northwest winds increased to 30 to 40 mph with gusts from 50 to 60 mph, resulting in blizzard conditions. These strong winds and blizzard conditions continued Friday night into Saturday afternoon. Some area roads became closed or very difficult to travel by late Friday afternoon, Friday night into Saturday. Snow drifts of 2 to 4 feet were reported throughout Custer County.

General public located 5 miles west of Merna reported 8 inches of snowfall. Snowfall amounts ranged from 6 to 8 inches across Custer County. With north winds of 25 to 40 mph, some power outages and downed tree limbs were reported across Custer County. A portion of highway 92 between Arnold and Merna was closed during the evening and overnight hours.

Strong winds downed power lines and produced extensive tree damage in Broken Bow. Additional damage included overturned center pivots east of town and in Callaway. Visible wind damage covered a 40 mile path from Callaway to Comstock.

Strong winds downed large trees and power lines. Roofs were blown off buildings with one roof estimated 30 to 40 yards away from a house.

Downburst winds up to 70 mph caused extensive tree damage and loss of power to half the city of Broken Bow. Reports of wind damage extended through west central Custer County to include Callaway and Arnold, where fallen tree limbs caused damage to homes, parks and power lines.

The strong thunderstorm winds snapped a traffic light pole and broke off 10 to 15 inch diameter tree limbs. Some of the tree limbs fell on homes and power lines. A large part of Broken Bow was without power for a period of time.

Blizzard conditions began across Custer County by 4pm CST on April 4th. Snowfall amounts ranged from 4 to 8 inches. Strong north winds of 30 to 40 mph with gusts to around 50 mph caused blizzard conditions and power outages across portions of the county. Two power poles actually snapped from the strong winds. Snow drifts up to 6 feet high closed roads. Some newborn calves died in the storm.

Snowfall accumulations of 5 to 8 inches occurred across northwest Custer County during the early morning hours of October 23rd. Northwest winds of 30 to 40 mph caused local visibilities to fall to as low as a quarter mile with some blowing and drifting. The wind and snow brought down large trees and power lines causing power outages for about 4 hours.

Some freezing rain preceded the snow with ice accumulations up to a quarter inch in southeast Custer County. This caused some downed power lines and tree branches. Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 5 to 12 inches. The snow combined with winds of 15 to 30 mph causing blowing and drifting. |

Ice accumulations of a quarter to half inch caused broken tree branches and snapped power lines with prolonged power outages reported. A CO-OP observer in Arnold reported several large tree limbs down. Snowfall amounts of 6 to 8 inches followed.

Strong thunderstorm winds up to 60 knots knocked down power lines and numerous trees around Broken Bow. Property damage included windows broken out of cars, business signs broken or knocked down, and a metal shed overturned.

Trees and power lines down.

The persistent stationary front, which led to severe storms June 3rd through the 6th, tracked south as a cold front on the 7th. As this front moved into western and southwestern Nebraska, strong to severe storms occurred. Hail up to tennis ball size and wind gusts to 75 MPH were reported. Power poles were reported down just north of Ansley in Custer county.

A powerful upper level low lifted across the central and northern Rockies on May 23rd into May 24th. Thunderstorms developed across eastern Wyoming during the afternoon of May 23rd along a surface trough of low pressure. As the storms tracked east, they became severe with large hail and damaging wind gusts. Hail up to the size of baseballs and thunderstorm wind gusts to 60 MPH were reported.

A powerful storm system caused blizzard conditions and high winds across portions of north central and central Nebraska. Northwest winds of 30 to 40 mph gusting to 60 mph combined with snow to create blizzard conditions during the early morning through the early afternoon hours. Visibility was reduced to near zero at times and caused numerous road closures. Snowfall amounts ranged from 2 to 5 inches.

A winter storm brought heavy snow and blowing snow beginning during the morning hours on April 30th, continuing into the late evening hours. Snowfall amounts ranged from 5 to 9 inches in portions of Frontier and Custer County, with 5 to 10 inches from portions of Loup, Garfield, and Holt County. Some blowing and drifting from north winds of 25 to 40 mph caused the closure of a portion of highway 92 in western Custer County, and also power outages to some customers in Frontier County and at least 500 customers in Custer County.

A warm front across central Nebraska became the focus for supercell thunderstorm development. The severe storms produced six tornadoes and large hail. The first tornado occurred in far northeast Custer County and the last occurred in southeastern Garfield County. Three of the six tornadoes in Garfield County were rated EF-2, where tornado damage included large tree trunks snapped, wooden power poles snapped, center irrigation pivots overturned, a small outbuilding overturned and street signs damaged.

A powerful winter storm moved out of the Rockies into the Southern Plains early on the 31st. Snow started early in the morning and continued till late afternoon as a deformation zone developed across Eastern Frontier and Southeastern Custer Counties. Accumulations varied widely especially across Custer and Frontier Counties. In Southern portions of Frontier County...6 inches fell at Red Willow Dam...and 6.5 inches fell at Medicine Creek Dam in extreme Southeastern Frontier County. Across Southeastern Custer County...6 inches fell at Mason City...while only an inch fell at Arnold in Northwestern Custer County. Storm totals for other locations included: 5 inches at Comstock...3 inches at Taylor and Burwell...4 inches at Ericson...1.6 inches at the National Weather Service Forecast Office in North Platte...and an inch at Stapleton.