County workers Greg Harms, right, and “Boomer” (in cab) remove a downed branch from the courthouse lawn last Thursday after the hailstorm. (Johnson Publications photo)
High winds during the second storm damaged this grain bin belonging to Rod Johnson. (Johnson Publications photo)
Dirk Haarberg’s corn near Grant Street and Highway 6 sustained damage after the hailstorm last week. (Johnson Publications photo)
Large hail, strong winds cause damage in area
Imperial and surrounding areas were hammered with large hail on Sept. 11.
“It started out as some isolated supercells,” said Darren Snively, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service (NWS) in North Platte.
“It kind of started developing all across western and central Nebraska, quickly moving northeast and formed into quite a big cluster of storms up in the Sandhills,” he said.
The first hailstorm hit about 6:30 p.m., followed by a second storm with hail about 8:30. While the hail in the second storm may have been smaller, the winds were stronger, according to local reports.
The largest hail in the area was reported in the western and northern parts of Imperial and Champion.
“It started growing in size and intensity, as it was moving toward Imperial,” Snively added. “That’s when we got the big cluster of golf ball (sized hail) reports.”
Snively said the NWS had reports of golf ball sized hail near Champion, too. Imperial residents saw hailstones of similar size.
Reports also showed wind gusts up to 70 mph, causing several downed and bent power lines in the area.
Public Works Supt. Pat Davison said the city lost nine power poles, seven of them just north and east of the Mid-Plains Community College campus.
Davison said workers from Great Plains Communications were on site to help determine where power lines were as city workers fixed the downed poles. The village of Wauneta also sent a truck both Thursday and Friday to help with repairs, he said.
All but one of the poles had been reset as of Tuesday night.
There was a power outage along West 12th Street that night, Davison said.
Many homes in the area had damage, including broken windows and roof damage.
Cars took a beating, too, ranging from large dents to windows shattered.
Homes and cars weren’t the only damage sustained during the storm. Many farmers in the area reported significant crop damage.
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