Nebraska dodges worst of storms sweeping across the plains with hurricane-force winds

[Omaha Steve]

Marta and I stayed in the basement for 3/4 of an hour for the tornado warning. No bad damage in our area.

By Nancy Gaarder , Jessica Wade Dec 15, 2021 Updated 28 min ago

Ten days before Christmas, powerful spring-like storms screamed across Nebraska into Iowa, spinning out hurricane-strength winds, dropping tornadoes, delivering sideways rain and sending people scrambling for shelter.

The National Weather Service described the Wednesday storms as “rare” and “unprecedented,” while an AccuWeather Inc. meteorologist summed it up as simply “weird.”

The rough weather combined sustained strong winds with a fast-moving line of tornadic storms. As an indication of how dangerous and fast-moving the line of storms was, the National Weather Service reported it moved across the state at 75 to 85 mph.

However, for all the storms’ fury, Nebraska appeared to have escaped disaster. Reports of wind damage were widespread but scattered. While there were numerous tornado warnings and several touchdowns, no Nebraska towns appeared to have taken a direct hit. And despite the high fire danger, no large fires took hold in Nebraska, but a large blaze developed in Kansas and was visible via satellite.

FULL story AND updates: https://omaha.com/news/state-and-regional/nebraska-dodges-worst-of-storms-sweeping-across-the-plains-with-hurricane-force-winds/article_21c65da8-5dd0-11ec-8154-ef8c252c093c.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

[crickets]

1. Glad to hear you're okay and that your area avoided heavy damage! nt