Top 5 Weather Events for 2006
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...WINTRY WEATHER AND BRUSH FIRES WERE ONLY A
SAMPLE OF SIGNIFICANT WEATHER WHICH IMPACTED WESTERN AND NORTH
CENTRAL NEBRASKA DURING 2006. THE FOLLOWING IS A SUMMARY OF THE FIVE
MOST SIGNIFICANT WEATHER EVENTS OF 2006 IN WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA.
...JANUARY 2006 WAS THE WARMEST ON RECORD...
JANUARY 2006 SAW THE WARMEST TEMPERATURES FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY
EVERY TO BE RECORDED ACROSS THE HIGH PLAINS.
AT NORTH PLATTE...THE MONTHLY AVERAGE MEAN TEMPERATURE FOR JANUARY
WAS 37.0 DEGREES...A WHOPPING 13.8 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL 23.3
DEGREES. THIS BROKE THE ALL TIME RECORD PREVIOUSLY SET IN 1914 BY
3.0 DEGREES. THE MONTHLY AVERAGE MEAN TEMPERATURE WAS ACTUALLY 0.5
DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE. THE MONTHLY
AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR JANUARY 2006 WAS 54.5 DEGREES...A
STAGGERING 18.0 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL...AND AN ASTONISHING 6.7
DEGREES ABOVE THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 47.8 DEGREES SET IN 1906. NORTH
PLATTE ALSO RECORDED TEN DAYS WHEN THE HIGH TEMPERATURE REACHED OR
SURPASSED 60 DEGREES...BREAKING THE OLD RECORD OF SIX DAYS...WHICH
HAS HAPPENED THREE TIMES IN RECORDED HISTORY. FOUR OF THOSE TEN 60+
DEGREE DAYS SET OR TIED DAILY RECORDS.
AT VALENTINE...THE MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR JANUARY WAS
ALSO ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS. THE AVERAGE MEAN TEMPERATURE WAS 36.5
DEGREES...WHICH WAS 15.7 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL OF 20.8 DEGREES.
THIS AGAIN SHATTERED THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 31.7 DEGREES...SET IN
1990 BY ALMOST FIVE DEGREES. LIKEWISE...THE AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE
OF 50.5 DEGREES WAS AN UNPRECEDENTED 16.7 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL
OF 33.8 DEGREES.
BOTH NORTH PLATTE AND VALENTINE DID NOT RECORD A SINGLE DAY DURING
THE ENTIRE MONTH OF JANUARY 2006 WHEN THE DAILY MEAN TEMPERATURE WAS
BELOW NORMAL.
...WINTER STORM OF MARCH 18 THROUGH 20...
A MASSIVE WINTER STORM BROUGHT RECORD BREAKING SNOWS TO WESTERN AND
NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA. ON THE 18TH OF THE MONTH...LIGHT FREEZING
PRECIPITATION BEGAN ACROSS THE REGION. THIS CHANGED TO SNOW AFTER UP
TO ONE HALF OF AN INCH OF ICE ACCUMULATED ACROSS HAYES AND FRONTIER
COUNTIES. FURTHER NORTH...SNOW BEGAN ACCUMULATING MUCH SOONER. AFTER
SNOW FINALLY TAPERED OFF ON THE 20TH...10 TO 25 INCHES OF SNOW HAD
FALLEN ACROSS THE AREA.
THE MOST SNOW REPORTED CAME FROM CHAMBERS...IN HOLT COUNTY...AS 29.0
INCHES WAS TALLIED AT THAT LOCATION...SETTING A THREE DAY SNOWFALL
RECORD. A TWO DAY RECORD WAS ALSO SET AT CHAMBERS...WITH 24.0 INCHES
RECORDED.
MASON CITY...IN CUSTER COUNTY...BROKE A ONE DAY SNOWFALL RECORD WITH
12.0 INCHES MEASURED. TAYLOR...IN LOUP COUNTY...BROKE A THREE DAY
SNOWFALL RECORD WITH 23.5 INCHES REPORTED.
AS A RESULT OF THE STORM...PORTIONS OF INTERSTATE 80...HIGHWAY 30
AND HIGHWAY 83 WERE CLOSED. MINOR TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS WERE REPORTED.
NO FATALITIES WERE REPORTED...HOWEVER OVER ONE DOZEN NEWLY BORN
CALVES PERISHED AS A RESULT OF THE COLD AND SNOW.
...RUSHVILLE TORNADO OF JUNE 20 2006...
ON JUNE 20TH A SEVERE...TORNADO PRODUCING STORM OCCURRED NEAR THE
COMMUNITY OF RUSHVILLE IN SHERIDAN COUNTY. THIS STORM WAS NOT A
TYPICAL TORNADO PRODUCING STORM HOWEVER. MOST ROTATING SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE TURN CYCLONIC...OR
COUNTER-CLOCKWISE. THIS PARTICULAR STORM WAS ROTATING
ANTICYCLONIC...OR CLOCKWISE. EVEN MORE RARE WAS THE FACT THAT
THIS STORM PRODUCED A SHORT LIVED TORNADO THAT WAS ALSO ROTATING
ANTICYCLONIC. THERE HAVE ONLY BEEN 4 OR 5 DOCUMENTED CASES IN
MODERN METEOROLOGICAL HISTORY OF A STORM LIKE THE RUSHVILLE TORNADIC
THUNDERSTORM.
THE ANTICYCLONIC ROTATING TORNADO DESTROYED ONE HOUSE JUST SOUTH
OF RUSHVILLE BEFORE LIFTING. STRONG STRAIGHT LINE THUNDERSTORM WINDS
AND LARGE HAIL ALSO CAUSED EXTENSIVE DAMAGE IN THE COMMUNITY OF
RUSHVILLE ITSELF. THE NORTH PLATTE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STAFF IS
CURRENTLY RESEARCHING THE UNUSUAL EVENTS THAT CAUSED THIS VERY RARE
TORNADO PRODUCING STORM.
...BIG ROCK FIRE NORTH OF VALENTINE...JULY 16 2006...
ON JULY 16TH...A WILDFIRE STARTED ON THE NORTHERN EDGE OF VALENTINE.
AIDED BY WINDS AND TEMPERATURES ABOVE 110 DEGREES...EXPLOSIVE FIRE
GROWTH OCCURRED. THE FIRE WAS A RESULT OF SPARKS GENERATED BY TREES
RUBBING AGAINST POWER LINES. THE FIRE STRUCK THE NORTHERN EDGE OF
VALENTINE AND A LARGE PORTION OF VALENTINE HAD TO BE EVACUATED.
NUMEROUS AGENCIES FROM AROUND THE STATE RESPONDED TO THE
FIRE...WHICH WAS FINALLY CONTAINED ON JULY 20TH. THE FIRE DESTROYED
10 HOMES...BURNED 3100 ACRES...AND PRODUCED 1.3 MILLION DOLLARS IN
DAMAGE.
...ONGOING DROUGHT ACROSS WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA...
THE MULTIYEAR DROUGHT ACROSS WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA
CONTINUED FOR YET ANOTHER YEAR IN 2006. VERY DRY CONDITIONS TOOK
HOLD IN MAY AS MANY LOCATIONS HAD ANYWHERE FROM 5 TO 40 PERCENT OF
THEIR NORMAL MONTHLY RAINFALL. BROKEN BOW TOTALED 0.19 INCHES FOR
THE MONTH WHICH BECAME THE DRIEST MAY ON RECORD. VALENTINE DIDN`T
FARE MUCH BETTER AS PRECIPITATION TOTALED A MEAGER 0.26 INCHES FOR
MAY...WHICH WAS NEARLY 3 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. IMPERIAL AND NORTH
PLATTE HAD PRECIPITATION TOTALS NEARLY 2 INCHES BELOW NORMAL FOR
MAY.
DROUGHT INTENSIFIED NORTH OF INTERSTATE 80 INTO THE SUMMER MONTHS.
IN JULY...VALENTINE REPORTED 0.28 INCHES OF RAINFALL...WHICH WAS
NEARLY 3 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. BROKEN BOW REPORTED 1.75 INCHES OF
RAINFALL...WHICH WAS NEARLY 2 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. FOR THE
YEAR...PRECIPITATION WAS NEAR NORMAL FOR NORTH PLATTE...WHILE
IMPERIAL AND VALENTINE ENDED THE YEAR 4 TO 5 INCHES BELOW NORMAL.
BROKEN BOW TALLIED 14.47 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR WHICH
WAS 8.56 INCHES BELOW NORMAL.
AS OF THE END OF DECEMBER...ACCORDING TO THE DROUGHT MONITOR...ALL
OF WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA WAS EXPERIENCING MODERATE TO
EXTREME DROUGHT. MODERATE DROUGHT CONDITIONS WERE GENERALLY SOUTH OF
INTERSTATE 80 AND EAST OF HIGHWAY 183 FROM BASSETT TO ANSLEY. SEVERE
TO EXTREME DROUGHT CONDITIONS WERE NORTH AND WEST OF INTERSTATE 80
AND HIGHWAY 183.
