Power Outage in Indianola, NE

Report of soft nickel sized hail 3 miles of west McCook, NE. Power is out.

The peak wind gust was reported at the McCook airport. The high winds also caused a power line to be blown down that lead to a fire in a tree.

The high winds caused a piece of metal roofing to touch an overhead power line, igniting the fire three miles northwest of McCook. The high winds pushed the fire in a southerly direction, burning 212 acres. Evacuations were ordered for the northwest part of McCook totaling 446 people. McCook elementary school students were moved to the high school. Sixteen people were treated for burns and smoke inhalation. The only severe burn victim was a transient living in a canyon. One home on the north edge of McCook was destroyed by the fire.

Multiple vehicle slide-offs were reported across the county. Numerous power poles were snapped across the county, with greatest number of poles snapped along Highway 89 from Marion to Lebanon. During the worst of the storm roughly two-thirds of the county had no power. Snowfall amounts ranged from around 4 inches in the far northern part of the county to close to 20 inches south of Highway 89. A federal disaster was declared by President Donald J. Trump.

Freezing rain resulted in 3/4-1 inch of ice accumulation throughout the county, producing widespread tree and utility pole damage and widespread power outages across the area. Damage estimated are a rough approximation based on reports of tree and power line damage in newspaper accounts.

A powerful winter system tracked across Southwest Nebraska on March 19th, bringing with it high wind gusts over 60 mph as well as reduced visibility from brief heavy snowfall.

A lightning strike from a night time thunderstorm struck the KNGN radio tower in McCook, Nebraska, damaging the main and backup power sources and knocking the station off the air for several days.

A powerful spring storm produced a wide variety of extreme weather, including severe thunderstorms across southwest Nebraska, high wind with gusts to near 60 mph, and moderate to heavy snow with blizzard conditions. Several reports of marginally severe hail occurred with fast-moving thunderstorms during the early afternoon hours across southwest Nebraska.

An intense, slow-moving, winter-like storm moved across the Central High Plains on April 14-15. The storm produced a round of high winds with numerous gusts over 60 mph, in addition to wet, heavy snow. Blizzard conditions occurred in some areas with power outages and state highways closed. Many residents were without power for periods of time ranging from 12 to 48 hours.

A winter storm brought freezing rain which accumulated 3/4-inch of ice on trees and power lines. In some areas, 2-4 inches of snow also fell on top of the ice.