Omaha weather: Severe storms possible Thursday

HEY, EVERYBODY. METEOROLOGIST LUKE VICKERY HERE. I’M CUTTING INTO PROGRAMING BRIEFLY HERE JUST TO SHOW YOU THAT A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING THAT WE HAVE IN THE AREA, ALONG WITH THE TREND FOR THESE THUNDERSTORMS OVERNIGHT TONIGHT, BECAUSE IT DOES LOOK LIKE THUNDERSTORMS WILL IMPACT THE AREA OVERNIGHT HERE IN THE NEXT COUPLE HOURS. THE QUESTION OF WHETHER WILL THEY BE SEVERE OR NOT IS STILL UP FOR DEBATE, BUT YOU CAN SEE THEM NOW. THE LIGHTNING THAT’S GOING ON. THIS IS NORTH AND WEST OF DOWNTOWN OMAHA. AS WE SHOOT TO THE NORTHWEST FROM OUR EMBASSY SUITES DOWNTOWN SKYCAM. ALL RIGHT, SO HERE’S OUR LATEST RADAR LOOP. WE DO HAVE A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING OUT FOR YORK COUNTY THAT GOES UNTIL 130. THIS IS A PART OF A BROADER LINE OF STORMS EXTENDING FROM YORK COUNTY ALL THE WAY UP TO AREAS NEAR CUMING COUNTY, AND ALSO AREAS KIND OF NEAR BASICALLY CUMING COUNTY AND TEKAMAH BURKE COUNTY, AS WELL AS THE COUNTY I’M LOOKING FOR THERE. SO HERE’S THE VELOCITY LOOP. THIS IS SHOWING THE WINDS GOING TOWARDS AND AWAY FROM THE RADAR. SO GREEN WOULD BE A STRONG WIND MOVING TO THE EAST. ANY OF THE RED IS KIND OF A LIGHTER WIND MOVING TO THE WEST. SO MOST OF THESE WINDS ARE MOVING TOWARDS THE RADAR. AT THIS CURRENT MOMENT, YOU CAN SEE SOMEWHAT OF A STRONGER WIND KIND OF TOWARDS NORTH BEND THAT MAY BE JUST UNDER SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING CRITERIA. BUT IF YOU LIVE IN NORTH BEND RIGHT NOW, YOU’RE TUNED IN, YOU’RE PROBABLY GOING TO GET A STRONG PUSH OF WIND HERE FOR THE NEXT 5 OR 10 MINUTES OR SO BEFORE THAT FRONT LINE OF THESE STORMS PASSES BY. SO HERE’S THE FRONT LINE OF THE STORMS. THIS IS KIND OF ONE OF THE STRONGER AREAS OF THIS LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS. YOU CAN SEE SOME DEEPER PURPLE IN THERE. SO MAYBE THERE COULD BE SOME SMALL HAIL. BUT FOR THE MOST PART THIS IS HEAVY RAINFALL, A LOT OF LIGHTNING AND SOME STRONGER WINDS THAT ARE GOING TO PUSH INTO THE NORTH BEND AREA AND CONTINUE RIGHT ALONG THE PLATTE RIVER, EVENTUALLY GETTING TOWARDS FREMONT, SAY IN THE NEXT 15 TO 30 MINUTES. HERE’S A LOOK DOWN TO THE SOUTHWEST PORTION OF THAT LINE. YORK COUNTY UNDER THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING UNTIL 130. I THINK THAT WAS ORIGINALLY POSTED BECAUSE OF HAIL. SO HAIL WAS THE MAIN THING. YOU CAN SEE MORE DEEPER PURPLES, PURPLE, SOME HIGHER REFLECTIVITY, A STRONGER UPDRAFT, AND THAT THUNDERSTORM THAT COULD SUSTAIN SOME HAIL UP TO AT LEAST AN INCH IN DIAMETER. AND LOOK AT THE HAIL POTENTIAL RIGHT NOW. SO THIS IS LOOKING AT HOW STRONG IS THAT UPPER UPDRAFT. HOW MUCH, YOU KNOW, VERTICALLY INTEGRATED LIQUID IS IN THERE OR HOW MUCH WATER IS IN ONE COLUMN OF THE ATMOSPHERE. BASICALLY JUST THE STRENGTH OF THE UPDRAFT. AND YOU SEE, AS IT KIND OF NEARS TOWARDS YORK, IT’S FIZZLED OUT A LITTLE BIT MORE. THAT’S PROBABLY NOT SEVERE THUNDERSTORM HAIL. IT WAS PROBABLY UP TO AN INCH, INCH AND A HALF AT ONE POINT. NOW IT’S PROBABLY BELOW, SAY, AN INCH. IT’S PROBABLY GETTING TOWARDS MAYBE PEA SIZE, SO THAT’S A LITTLE BIT BETTER. SIGN THERE. RADAR AND SATELLITE. NOW AGAIN IT SHOWS YOU A GOOD LOOK AT THAT LINE OF STORMS. IT LOOKS SOMEWHAT BALANCED. ORIGINALLY THERE WAS KIND OF A GUST FRONT THAT WAS SHOOTING OUT IN FRONT OF IT. NOW IT’S BECOME A LITTLE BIT MORE BALANCED, WHICH IS CAUSING US TO LOOK A LITTLE BIT CLOSER TO MAKE SURE IT DOESN’T PUSH OUT ANY STRONG TO SEVERE WIND GUSTS. A STORM PREDICTOR HAS HAS THE STORMS OVER OMAHA SAY, 2 OR 3 A.M. AND THEN PRESSING QUICKLY OFF TO THE EAST WESTERN IOWA, 5:36 A.M. AND THEN MAYBE SOME MORE LATE MORNING. YOU COULD SAY SHOWERS OR RUMBLES OF THUNDER THAT COULD BE IN HERE THAT WE’LL WATCH FOR AS WELL. BUT THOSE LOOK NON SEVERE. SO FIRST LET’S, LET’S BEFORE I GET INTO THE SEVEN DAY FORECAST LET’S GET A LIVE CAM. WE ACTUALLY HAVE IT IN YORK WHERE THAT SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING IS UP. SEE SOME CARS DRIVE IN. IT DOESN’T LOOK LIKE RAIN IS IMPACTING THIS AREA YET. THAT’S A WHOLE LOT OF FLASHES OF LIGHTNING KIND OF LIGHTING UP THE SKY THERE. AND I THINK OUR DIRECTORS, WE’VE GOT SOME OTHER SKY CAMS. WE CAN ALSO LOOK AT THAT KIND OF GIVE YOU A GOOD IDEA OF SOME OF THE LIGHTNING AND SOME OF THE POTENTIAL THESE STORMS HAS AS THEY MOVE OVER YOUR AREA. SO LET ME KNOW IF WE HAVE ANY OTHER SKY CAMS YOU WANT TO TAKE A LOOK AT HERE. IF NOT, I’LL RETURN TO THE SEVEN DAY FORECAST AND. ALL RIGHT. WE GOT ONE IN CLARKSON TWO THAT WE CAN PULL UP. SO THERE’S MORE RAIN ON THIS ONE. LOOKS LIKE THIS IS KIND OF COMING UP ON AN INTERSECTION HERE. NOT A GREAT GAGE OF SEEING HOW HEAVY THE RAIN IS COMING DOWN AT ANY GIVEN AREA. BUT I CAN TELL YOU THE WAY THESE STORMS LOOK ON RADAR WHEN THEY MOVE OVER YOUR AREA, THEY’RE GOING TO DUMP SOME PRETTY HEAVY RAINFALL. LOOKS LIKE WE GOT ONE MORE SKYCAM. WE’RE GOING TO LOOK AT THIS ONE IS IN DAVID CITY AND SOME LIGHTNING CERTAINLY GOING ON. I’M NOT EVEN SURE THIS KIND OF MIGHT BE ON THE FRONT LINE OF WHERE THESE STORMS ARE GETTING TO RIGHT NOW. SO MAYBE SOMEWHAT OF A STRONGER PUSH OF WIND. THERE. SEE SOME CARS KIND OF MOVING THROUGH THE INTERSECTION, BUT A WHOLE LOT OF LIGHTNING WITH THESE, THAT’S FOR SURE. SO YOU WILL DEFINITELY NOTICE THAT IF YOU LIVE IN THE OMAHA METROPOLITAN AREA, YOU’RE GOING TO GET SOME HEAVY LIGHTNING STRIKES AND SOME HEAVY RAINFALL, MAYBE EVEN SOME GUSTY WINDS HERE. PROBABLY IN THE NEXT TWO HOURS. SO LET’S TAKE IT BACK TO THE SEVEN DAY FORECAST HERE. EVERYTHING’S KIND OF ADVANCED A SLIDE NOW BECAUSE WE ARE NOW PAST MIDNIGHT. IT’S ACTUALLY THURSDAY. THAT’S THE SEVERE WEATHER DAY NOT FRIDAY. BUT ONCE WE HIT MIDNIGHT ALL OUR GRAPHICS KIND OF BOOST FORWARD A DAY. SO KIND OF DISREGARD THE STORM ICON THERE. ON SATURDAY. IT’S REALLY FRIDAY WHERE WE’RE WATCHING FOR STORMS AND THURSDAY WOULD BE THE SEVERE WEATHER DAY, BUT I’LL SKIP BACK HERE, LEAVE YOU WITH THIS. THIS IS RADAR AND SATELLITE. THE STORMS THAT ARE GOING TO PUSH THROUGH THE AREA EVENTUALLY. THERE’S A LINE FROM BURT COUNTY OR THE WESTERN EDGE OF BURKE COUNTY ALL THE WAY THROUGH YORK COUNTY, WHERE IT LOOKS LIKE THEY MIGHT HAVE DROPPED THAT SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING. LET’S WATCH. NOPE. THEY THEY STILL DO HAVE IT. SO WHERE THERE’S A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING HERE IN YORK COUNTY. BUT THIS LINE OF STORMS IS EVENTUALLY GOING TO BE OVER OMAHA SAY, IN THE NEXT HOUR OR TWO. SO WE’LL KEEP MONITORING IT. RIGHT NOW, THE ONLY SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING IS IN YORK COUNTY, BUT THERE ARE SOME GUSTY WINDS MOVING INTO AREAS LIKE DODGE COUNTY AND EVENTUALLY WESTERN SAUNDERS COUNTY THAT WE’LL KEEP AN EYE ON FOR YOU. THANKS FOR KEEPING IT HERE ON CHANNEL SEVEN. WE WILL TOSS IT BACK TO REGULAR PROGRAMING.