‘23 severe weather season on horizon

    Chase County residents will take part in the annual statewide tornado drill next Wednesday, March 29.
    It’s part of the events during Nebraska’s Severe Weather Awareness Week, March 27-31.
    County Emergency Manager Duane Dreiling is getting ready for the severe weather season, and said all six sirens throughout Chase County will be sounded for next week’s drill at 9 a.m. MT.
    Residents are encouraged to have a plan of action and be prepared in case of severe weather in the area.
    Dreiling is crossing his fingers as the severe weather season nears, noting “it’s been pretty quiet the past couple of  years.”
    Chase County didn’t have a confirmed tornado in 2022, following the trend statewide.
    As in the past, Dreiling will rely again on spotters throughout the county who go out and observe conditions when threatening weather nears.
    Other spotters with Dreiling are Kelsey Weiss, Josh Burke, Earl Loop, Craig Loeffler, Mark Berry, Tanner Bardsley and Bobby Goings.
    Twenty-six tornadoes were reported across Nebraska last year, according to the National Weather Service, down considerably from the 30-year average of 49.
    April had the most tornadoes with 10, with June coming in second with 9.
    The first severe weather in southwest Nebraska arrived April 22 as a strong system brought high winds, a dust storm and two rounds of severe weather that continued overnight.
    Wind gusts up to 82 mph were clocked across Dundy, Hitchcock and Red Willow counties.
    A major impact from the winds was the Road 702 wildfire, which began in northwest Kansas and traveled north into Red Willow and Furnas counties, eventually burning a 28-mile swath involving 44,024 acres.
    Red Willow was estimated to have had roughly 28,000 acres burned and also saw temporary evacuations in Bartley and Indianola. Persistent blowing dust made fighting the fire difficult with personnel exceeding 100 at times over the seven days the fire burned.
    Cause of the fire remains unknown.
    Another grass fire the same time impacted Benkelman, causing a temporary evacuation of the east side of the town along Highway 34. That fire was extinguished after a few hours without damage to any structures.
    The month of May was fairly quiet with only 14 storm reports from thunderstorm winds, quarter sized hail, high winds and two dust events. Near-zero visibility was observed during a dust storm on May 12 in the extreme southwest corner of the state.
    June was a more active month with 33 storm events reported.
    To start the month, the region was impacted by back-to-back large hail events June 3-4-5.
    Chase County suffered damage in an early June hailstorm which dropped 2 to 3-inch hailstones and flooded streets, damaged roofs and tore up gardens.
    On June 5, two storms moved south over the region bringing nickel-sized hail in Dundy County. However, the most notable reports came from Red Willow County where hail up to the size of a grapefruit (4”) fell just south of the city of McCook.
    The only tornado in southwest Nebraska reported in the 2022 season was a brief landspout June 24, north of Benkelman, and just west of Highway 61.