Storms bring hail, heavy rain to Omaha metro, greater Nebraska | Weather

9 am update: The National Weather Service office in Valley recorded 1.11 inches of rain from the storms that rolled through the area Tuesday night, according to meteorologist Dirk Petersen. The Millard Airport reported .84 of an inch of rain and Eppley Airfield had .36.

“About an inch and a half fell throughout the Omaha area, but (the totals) could be higher in some parts of Omaha,” Petersen said.

Hail of an inch in diameter was reported in the Elkhorn area of ​​Omaha, Ralston, Ceresco, Auburn and Beatrice. Hail measuring 1¾ of the inch was reported in Valparaiso in Saunders County.

A hailstorm and heavy downpour Tuesday evening damaged siding on some homes, stripped leaves from trees and flooded streets and basements.

With the ground already saturated from an earlier storm this week, and Tuesday’s rain falling high, some metro-area residents may have been left with messy flood damage.

Among the areas most affected by the rain and hail were central and southern Omaha and parts of Sarpy County.

From westbound Interstate 80 in central Omaha, crews used shovels to clear hail and leaf debris from the highway.

The storm caused scattered power outages, mostly in central Omaha. As of about 10 pm, the Omaha Public Power District reported about 1,500 customers without power.

Damage from the storm.

In southwest Omaha, lightning set a tree on fire near 103rd and Washington Streets, according to one tweet. Another tweet showed images of vehicles getting stranded in flooded streets.

Emergency scanner reports indicated that some manhole covers have been blown off due to water pressure from overloaded sewers.

The storm was one of a series to target the central US, according to the National Weather Service.

According to the weather service, hailstorms followed several tracks across Nebraska.

In Ravenna, the fire department reported that hail up to 2 inches in diameter had shattered windows and windshields in a couple of their firetrucks.

The weather service also reported that strong winds accompanied the storms, including gusts reaching 70 mph in Hastings and 82 mph southeast of Alliance.

Wednesday is expected to be dry, but rain and storms could return to the metro Thursday afternoon and evening, according to the weather service.

Some of the storms had the potential to generate winds of up to 60 mph and golf ball-sized hail.

Elsewhere in Nebraska, the National Weather Service received reports of hail breaking windows in the Valparaiso area.

World-Herald staff writers Luna Stephens and Anna Reed contributed to this report.