HOLDREGE — Two confirmed tornadoes occurred in Phelps County during the evening hours of Friday, May 3. The National Weather Service – Hastings confirmed two other tornadoes on Saturday afternoon.
South central Nebraska was under a slight risk, a two out of five, risk for severe thunderstorms. The expectation was for a line of convection to develop to the west of the area and progress through the area during the early evening hours.
The line of storms began to move into south central Nebraska around 8 p.m. A bow echo began to form, which occurred as the result of strong focused wind flow at the rear of the system.
Tornadoes can occasionally take place on the north or south end of the bow, where the circulation wraps around.
Around 9:30 p.m., a tornado warnings were issued for southern Phelps County and another for Harlan, Phelps and Kearney counties.
Jeremy Wesely, NWS Hastings lead meteorologist, said that two tornadoes were confirmed to have taken place west of Atlanta and north of Holdrege. These sites were being surveyed to determine the extent of the damage and to assign an EF rating.
By Saturday afternoon, NWS Hastings had confirmed two other tornadoes one two miles west northwest of Ragan and another six miles north of Guide Rock.
The Guide Rock tornado caused tree damage and a barn was shifted off its foundation
Wesley said the full findings of the damage surveys will be released either this evening or Sunday morning.
Friday, May 3 Thunderstorm Photos
