Power Outage in Seward, NE

Public reported power lines down and power out.

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.

A storm survey observed power poles snapped in this area and center pivot irrigation system overturned.

This tornado crossed into Seward county from York county and was from a trailing supercell thunderstorm that followed the storm that produced an EF3 tornado just to the south a little earlier. This tornado was responsible snapping several power poles as it entered into Seward County along 476th street. The tornado continued northeast producing occasional tree damage, tipping over center pivot irrigation equipment, and outbuilding damage.

This tornado developed rapidly after the Beaver Crossing tornado as the supercell continued to move northeast. The tornado quickly strengthened to EF2 and completed destroyed several large outbuildings as it crossed Pioneers and Van Dorn Roads. The tornado turned more northeast as it crossed A street downing power lines and snapping trees. The tornado crossed Interstate 80 about a half mile west of the of the Highway 15 interchange where a semi tractor trailer was overturned. The tornado weakened and turned east as it moved north of the Interstate and produced mainly minor tree and power line damage.

This tornado crossed into Seward county from York county and was the most intense tornado during this outbreak with a track of around 14 miles in Seward county. The tornado moved just north of the city of Cordova crossing State Highway 76A. Here the tornado impacted several rural residents. High end EF2 damage was done to one brick home where the roof was completely removed and some external walls were knocked down. The tornado continued northeast crossing Yankee Hill Rd less than a mile from State Highway 76A, and this is where the most significant damage occurred. Here a well built brick home had the roof completely removed, exterior walls knocked down, and a couple of interior walls downed as well. The tornado continued northeast while widening, but generally decreasing in intensity as it crossed Denton and Old Cheney Roads. The tornado reached its maximum width to the southwest of Beaver Crossing before moving directly into town. Widespread damage was observed in Beaver Crossing with nearly every structure in town sustaining some damage. In the city scattered EF2 damage was noted with several structures having thier roofs removed. Otherwise most of the damage was tree, power line and outbuildings being destroyed. The tornado exited Beaver Crossing and moved northeast while decreasing in width and intensity eventually dissipating less than 1 mile south of Interstate 80.

Snowfall of 7 to 12 inches fell across Seward county with around 12 inches near Milford and 9 inches in Seward among the highest. The heavy wet snow caused some scattered tree damage and power outages in the county.

A prolonged winter storm/blizzard hit the area closing many rural roads and some highways for a few days. Snowfall from the storm began Christmas Eve morning and lasted well into the 26th with substantial blowing and drifting snow and occasional periods of accumulating snow finally tapering off around midnight on the 27th. Northwest winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts over 40 mph occurred for an extended period during the height of the storm. Total snowfall from the storm was estimated at 10 to 14 inches over the county based on observations from surrounding towns. Around 1000 residents of Milford lost power for a while Christmas day when the strong winds shorted power lines that were coated in ice from an ice storm a few days prior.

An estimated 1/4 to 3/4 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 and tree limbs fell on power lines causing scattered power outages over the region. At least 1,000 customers in the county, especially in the Milford area, lost power from the storm a few days after the fact after winds increased during the Christmas blizzard that followed the ice storm.

Freezing rain accumulated around a quarter of an inch over much of the county. The freezing rain was mixed with sleet which provided a total freezing rain and sleet accumulation of around 1/2 inch. The sleet helped limit the amount of icing that accumulated on trees and power lines.

Freezing rain accumulated around 1/4 of an inch over much of the county. The icing downed tree limbs and caused scattered power outages.

A mix of rain, freezing rain and sleet changed over to snow during the morning hours on 2/6/05. Snowfall of around 6 inches fell in a relatively narrow band from around Seward to near the NWS office in Valley which is in extreme west central Douglas county. The snow was preceeded by ice accumulations that approached 1/4 inch, although tree damage or power line damage was minimal due to only moderate winds and temperatures that were around freezing during the event.