Eastern Nebraska residents should not put away their weather apps this week. A multi-day severe storm pattern is setting up across the region, and forecasters are flagging Tuesday and Friday as the two most dangerous days — with Omaha and Lincoln squarely in the crosshairs both times.
What’s happening right now — Tuesday
Confidence is high in a significant severe weather threat for Tuesday, April 14, as a strengthening storm system pushes a dangerous corridor of severe storms from the Southern Plains northeastward through the Midwest. Scattered to numerous severe storms will be capable of damaging winds, large hail, and tornadoes across a large and heavily populated region.
The SPC has outlined a 15% severe weather probability zone covering a large north-to-south corridor from Texas through Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois — and eastern Nebraska sits at the northern edge of that risk zone. The Omaha World-Herald confirmed a very active weather pattern is flowing through eastern Nebraska this week, bringing multiple chances for strong to severe thunderstorms Tuesday and Friday, followed by a dramatic cooldown this weekend.
The primary hazards today are large hail, damaging wind gusts, and an isolated tornado threat. Storms are expected to fire in the late afternoon and push through the metro area into the evening hours.
Friday — the second round
After a brief mid-week lull, the pattern reloads. An upper trough over the western US is expected to develop eastward toward the High Plains Friday, with increasing southwesterly flow overriding a moist and unstable air mass. A lee low will deepen over the central and southern High Plains, creating another round of severe potential…