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May 19, 2000 Storms Prove Both Blessing, Curse BY VERONICA ROSMAN AND
In general, the rain that fell on both days was good news for the drought-plagued region. But it wasn't widespread enough to alleviate the dryness problem altogether, said Corey Mead, forecaster at the National Weather Service office in Valley.
"It sure helped those parts that got the rain," Mead said. "But the key word here is 'parts.'" The Omaha area, which missed out on the Wednesday night storms, got soaked Thursday. Eppley Airfield recorded 1.85 inches between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. A weather watcher at 32nd and Tucker Streets reported getting 2.5 inches between 9:30 a.m. and noon. But only 0.11 of an inch of rain fell a few miles north, in Blair. Even less rain was reported in extreme southeast Nebraska and southwestern Iowa. Thursday's rain followed thunderstorms that drenched parts of western and northeast Nebraska Wednesday night. Areas north of Norfolk got more than 4 inches of rain, causing some slight problems with flash flooding. Similar rainfall amounts were recorded in the Panhandle, with 4 inches in Lakeside, 2.75 inches in Alliance and 2 inches in Chadron. The thunderstorms that moved through the Omaha area Thursday posed some problems, spawning tornadoes in parts of western Iowa and firing lightning that started a house fire. About 10 a.m., a twister was spotted on the ground about a mile from an elementary school in Greenfield, Iowa, by a teacher who had left the building for a short time, said Lynn Eddy, Adair County's emergency management coordinator, who also does maintenance at the school. "I was loading some chairs at the school when this teacher comes running up to me and says there is a tornado just over the hill," Eddy said. "We weren't even under a tornado watch at the time." In all, officials confirmed at least three tornadoes in the area on Thursday, Eddy said. No damage was reported. In Omaha, a lightning strike is believed to have started a house fire at 5706 Pratt St., causing an estimated $25,000 in damage. Andrienne Falkner, 26, who lives in the home with her mother, Patricia, was the only person home at the time, said Omaha Fire Capt. Ron LaPour. Falkner told firefighters she heard a "loud bang like thunder" around 11:35 a.m. before the electricity went off. Falkner smelled smoke coming from the basement and immediately left the house, LaPour said. The fire is believed to have started in the electrical wiring in the basement. It was not exactly known where the lightning struck the house, he said. "Lightning is very strange," LaPour said. "Just a little can cause a lot of damage." The rain also ruined a field trip to Rosenblatt Stadium for 90 students from Blessed Sacrament School in Omaha. The students saw two innings of the Omaha Spikes baseball game before the heavy rains canceled the game. Principal Sue Moser said the students returned to school after the game was canceled. Another 20 Blessed Sacrament kindergartners attending the Henry Doorly Zoo also returned to school because of the rain. "They had a good time while they were there," Moser said. "Some were more wet than others because they had to wait to get on the buses." The students were given ice cream and started their afternoon classes, Moser said. Meanwhile, residents in western and northeast Nebraska began cleaning up from damage left by Wednesday night's tornadoes, high winds and heavy rains. Six farmsteads were severely damaged in Lincoln County. Deb Bertrand, director of Lincoln County's emergency management agency, told the Associated Press that the damage was "stunning. Every single family that I stopped and talked to was utterly in shock and trying to carry on." "It broke your heart to see the destruction that happened so quickly and so completely," she said. At least four tornadoes touched down Wednesday night near North Platte, said Dave Wert, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in North Platte. The worst damage came from the tornado near Maxwell. That tornado - estimated to be a quarter-mile wide - touched down about 5:25 p.m. near Brady, then traveled northwest for about 20 minutes on the ground, long enough to cover about eight miles. It lifted up about three miles south of Maxwell, a community of about 415 residents. In Saronville, which is in Clay County in south-central Nebraska, lightning struck a privately owned church building on the main street Wednesday night, causing a smoldering fire that broke out Thursday and damaged the building, the AP said. Sutton and Clay Center firefighters battled the blaze, which was brought under control about mid-morning. In northeast Nebraska, at least one tornado was reported near Creston. But no damage was reported, the weather service said. Omaha-Area Rainfall The following are amounts for the 24 hours ending at 9 p.m. Thursday: 32nd, Frederick 1.00
The University of Nebraska, High Plains Climate Center
provides this information as an educational service to the university community.
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Omaha World Herald.
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