Memorial Day severe weather extremes for Grand Island

HASTINGS, Neb. (KSNB) - As we head into the Memorial Day weekend, the weather looks to be somewhat tame. However, that hasn’t always been the case for the last Monday in May and unofficial start of the summer holiday. The last time severe weather directly affected the Grand Island area on Memorial Day was 12 years ago on May 30, 2011, when an evening squall line produced a peak gust of 74 mph at the airport, resulting in several reports of tree and structural damage across town. A close call occurred for Grand Island four years ago on may 27, 2019 as an evening severe storm dropped hail up to ping pong ball size in Kearney, but this storm remained just west of Grand Island keeping the non-severe holiday streak intact for the Third City. Although breezy to moderately-windy conditions are not that unusual on memorial day, memorial day of last year was likely the overall-windiest holiday in quite some time as a strong low pressure system tracked through Nebraska. The afternoon saw several hours of west-southwest sustained winds of 30 to 35 plus mph with frequent gusts of 40 to 50 plus mph. At Central Nebraska Regional Airport, a peak gust of 58 mph occurred at 2:17 pm. While we won’t see extreme weather this Memorial Day, you never know what adventure awaits you around the bend. So have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend.

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