Omaha is in the second of four First Alert 6 Weather Days as multiple Flash Flood and Severe Thunderstorm Warnings remain active overnight and more rounds of severe storms are expected after 5 p.m. into Sunday and Monday.
Omaha’s quiet stretch didn’t last long—by late night, warnings were piling up across multiple counties as the region moved into Day 2 of four First Alert 6 Weather Days.
A Flash Flood Warning was in effect for Nemaha, Otoe, and Johnson counties until May 17 3:00AM. People in flood-prone areas were told to seek higher ground immediately.
At the same time, a Severe Thunderstorm Warning covered Richardson, Gage, Nemaha, Johnson, and Pawnee County until May 17 2:00AM, with large hail and damaging winds of at least 60mph possible.
The most urgent language also appeared in other warnings overnight.. One Severe Thunderstorm Warning—spanning Gage. Pawnee. Jefferson. Johnson County until May 17 12:45AM—carried a blunt warning: “THIS IS A DESTRUCTIVE STORM!” Damaging winds of at least 80mph or large hail of at least baseball size was described as likely.
Another Severe Thunderstorm Warning remained active for Gage, Johnson, Saline, Jefferson, and Otoe County until May 17 1:00AM, also pointing to large hail and damaging winds of at least 60mph as possible.
Later updates extended the coverage further.. A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was in effect for Nemaha and Otoe County until May 17 12:30AM. with large hail and damaging winds of at least 60mph possible.. Another Severe Thunderstorm Warning was in effect for Gage. Pawnee. Jefferson. Johnson County until May 17 12:45AM. calling for damaging hail at least the size of golf balls or damaging winds of at least 70mph.
By 11:10PM, a Flash Flood Warning was in effect for Johnson, Otoe, and Gage county until May 17 2:15AM, again with the instruction to seek higher ground immediately.
Even earlier in the night, the storm warnings were already spreading: a Severe Thunderstorm Warning was in effect for Gage and Johnson County until May 16 10:45PM, and large hail and damaging winds of at least 60mph were possible.
Saunders and Lancaster counties were also repeatedly named through the evening. including a Severe Thunderstorm Warning in effect until May 16 11:30PM. with large hail and damaging winds of at least 60mph possible.. Nemaha, Johnson, and Otoe County faced a Severe Thunderstorm Warning until May 16 11:30PM with the same hail and wind thresholds.
Douglas. Sarpy. and Saunders County were included in a Severe Thunderstorm Warning until May 16 10:15PM. with large hail and damaging winds of at least 60mph possible.. Saunders County alone was under another Severe Thunderstorm Warning until May 16 10:00PM. with damaging hail at least the size of golf balls or damaging winds of at least 70mph expected.
A separate tornadic threat sharpened the night even more.. Around 8:30PM, a Tornado warning was issued for a storm capable of producing a tornado 7 miles northwest of Beatrice.. The warning warned that flying debris would be dangerous to those caught without shelter.. It also said mobile homes would be damaged or destroyed. and damage to roofs. windows. and vehicles would occur. with tree damage likely.. The tornadic thunderstorm was expected to remain over mainly rural areas of northwestern Gage County.
Warnings also kept rolling into the evening hours: a Severe Thunderstorm Warning was in effect for Saunders and Butler County until May 16 9:00PM, and for Seward and Saline and Lancaster County until May 16 9:00PM, both citing large hail and damaging winds of at least 60mph as possible.
Other coverage included Fremont County until May 16 8:45PM. and another Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Saline. Gage. Lancaster. and Jefferson County until May 16 8:30PM. with damaging hail at least the size of golf balls or damaging winds of at least 70mph expected.. Butler County was under a Severe Thunderstorm Warning until May 16 8:30PM. with large hail and damaging winds of at least 60mph possible.
Flash flood warnings were not limited to the later-night period either. A Flash Flood Warning was in effect for Montgomery county until May 16 10:00PM, with the same instruction to seek higher ground immediately if in a flood-prone area.
Storm threat names kept expanding through the last hours before midnight.. Platte County was under a Severe Thunderstorm Warning until May 16 7:00PM. with large hail and damaging winds of at least 60mph possible. and Montgomery and Page County were included until May 16 7:00PM with the same thresholds.
Adams, Adair, and Cass County were covered by a Severe Thunderstorm Warning until May 16 6:15PM.. Montgomery and Pottawattamie County were also included until May 16 6:15PM. and Montgomery County was included until May 16 6:00PM. where a damaging thunderstorm was expected with large hail at least the size of golf balls or damaging winds of at least 70mph.
Page County was placed under a Severe Thunderstorm Warning until May 16 5:30PM, and Montgomery, Mills, Fremont, and Page County were included until May 16 5:15PM, with large hail and damaging winds of at least 60mph possible.
The schedule of hazards is consistent across the warnings: several counties are tied to Severe Thunderstorm Warnings with overlapping hail and wind thresholds. while the Flash Flood Warnings—Nemaha/Otoe/Johnson and later Johnson/Otoe/Gage—both run into the May 17 early-morning hours and include the same immediate instruction to move to higher ground.
Looking back at how the day’s threat was expected to unfold, conditions were described as partly to mostly cloudy with most of the day quiet until after 5 PM. The metro was under a Slight (Level 2) risk of severe weather today, with temperatures warming into the 80s with noticeable humidity.
The primary threats for tonight were framed as large hail reaching up to 2″ and strong wind gusts reaching 75+ mph. The greatest tornado threat was described as mainly staying west, while large hail and damaging winds were listed as the main threats.
After midnight, more storms were expected, but the chance of severe weather was said to decrease, with storms wrapping up by Sunday morning.
Beyond Sunday. the warning timeline extended further: two more First Alert 6 Weather Days were listed beyond today for Sunday and Monday. with severe storm potential both days.. Sunday was expected to begin with spotty t-showers that shouldn’t be severe. then warm well to near 90 before another round of strong evening storms—again with the best chance after 6 PM and the highest severe risk northwest of the metro.
Monday brought a higher level of concern.. One more First Alert 6 Weather Day was added to the forecast for Monday with the lingering severe threat in the afternoon hours.. Monday was described as the highest risk of severe weather for the metro. with an Enhanced (Level 3) risk issued. and a few tornadoes possible Monday afternoon.. Timing was described as after 3 PM into the evening hours.
After the severe storms, a break was described as cooler air, less humidity, and calmer weather for a little while, with temperatures cooling down quickly.
For now, the active warnings across the region leave little room for delay: Flash Flood Warnings are already in effect for multiple areas into the early morning, while Severe Thunderstorm Warnings continue to span wide parts of the metro and surrounding counties through late tonight and into May 17.
First Alert 6 weather days severe thunderstorm warning flash flood warning tornado warning Omaha Nemaha Otoe Johnson County Gage County Pawnee County hail damaging winds