Nebraska Wesleyan employees Alex Mueller (left) and Andrew Britain load fallen branches into a cart Tuesday morning as they begin clean up the university’s campus after a storm overnight.
A storm dumped more than 3 inches of rain overnight Monday, leading to significant flooding in multiple areas throughout Lincoln.
A flood warning is in effect Tuesday until 2:30 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. The Weather Service said radar and ground observations suggest anywhere from 3-7 inches of rain fell in a short period of time. It cautioned that many roads remain flooded and creeks and rivers are likely to rise throughout the day.
The Weather Service warned that another round of strong thunderstorms was possible Tuesday afternoon and evening, most likely south of Interstate 80 and east of U.S. 77.
The Lincoln Airport reported 2.75 inches of rain between 11 p.m. Monday and 1 a.m. Tuesday and 3.75 inches total overnight. Sirens went off in Lincoln around midnight and the city was under a flash flood warning until 2:45 a.m.
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Just after midnight there were several reports of heavy flooding throughout the city, including areas in the Haymarket, an underpass at 48th Street and Cornhusker Highway and at an apartment near 56th and O streets, according to emergency scanner traffic.
Two cars remain in standing water Tuesday morning at a bridge underpass near North 48th Street and Cornhusker Highway following Monday night’s storm.
Multiple cars had reportedly gotten stuck in floodwaters in north Lincoln, scanner traffic indicated. A couple of cars remained stranded under the North 48th Street bridge near Cornhusker Highway on Tuesday morning.
The National Weather Service had issued a tornado warning for the Lincoln area just before midnight, but the warning was allowed to expire at 12:15 a.m.
A tornado was reported near Pioneers Park at about midnight but dissipated before reaching city limits.
Monday night’s storm toppled the overhang of a Phillips 66 gas station at North 48th and Garland streets in Lincoln.
The storm had appeared capable of producing a tornado as it approached Lincoln from the southwest, but it’s unclear whether it caused any damage in rural areas of Lancaster County before it moved into the Lincoln area.
A felled tree blocks the road near North 50th Street and Leighton Avenue on Tuesday morning.
About 4,100 people in Lincoln were without power as of 1 a.m. according to Lincoln Electric System’s outage map. But by 7 a.m. Tuesday, fewer than 250 people remained without power.
This is a developing story. Stay with JournalStar.com for updates.
A tree branch struck and damaged a car in northeast Lincoln during Monday night’s storm.
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PhotoFiles: It’s a Twister! Nebraska tornadoes through history
It’s a Twister!
A tornado picks up debris outside of Hebron in 1965. A photographer for the Hebron Register newspaper was able to capture this clear shot of the funnel right as it reached the ground.
It’s a Twister!
A tornado approaches Milford in 1964.
It’s a Twister!
A tornado tears across the Plains southwest of Ord in 1961. Harold Holoun got this picture from his father’s farm.
It’s a Twister!
Farmer Wallace Peterson got this shot of a tornado 1¼ miles south of his rural Nebraska homestead in 1968.
It’s a Twister!
A still-forming tornado approaches a stalled train near Grand Island in 1990. The storm would eventually derail 24 cars several cars back from the engine. Note the silhouettes of the two daredevil engineers standing on top of their machine in the lower left corner.
It’s a Twister!
This is a tornado in its infancy. This thunderhead near Stromsburg spawned a series of tornadoes across south-central Nebraska in 1968.
It’s a Twister!
A low, wide funnel cloud dips below the horizon near Auburn in 1963. Witnesses said the cloud was at least a half-mile wide.
It’s a Twister!
It may look small, but it’s mighty. A funnel cloud contemplates whether it should visit the ground 10 miles west of Nebraska City in 1972.
It’s a Twister!
One of the factors that make tornadoes so dangerous is how hard it often is to see the funnel clouds before they reach the ground. A fledgling tornado is barely visible in this 1977 photo from rural Walton.
It’s a Twister!
The same funnel cloud near Walton quickly tightened up and made itself more visible.
It’s a Twister!
This thin tendril of swiftly rotating clouds doesn’t look like much. But its location directly over Grand Island in 1982 was nerve-wracking for the thousands of people who lived there. Luckily, none of the three funnels from this storm touched down inside the city.
It’s a Twister!
An ominous funnel cloud is seen through torrential rains from 5400 Orchard Street in Lincoln in 1961.
It’s a Twister!
This undated photo from rural Nebraska was used as an educational tool by the General Adjustment Bureau of New York City in the 1980s to illustrate what kind of monster could cause such damage on the plains. Those city boys don’t know what they’re missing out here!
It’s a Twister!
A great white devil of a twister nears the Edgar Klein farm in northeast Stromsburg in 1968.
It’s a Twister!
This photo defies both death and time. Taken from the heart of Hildreth, this tornado touched down and terrorized the town in 1908. The picture is more than 100 years old.
It’s a Twister!
Talk about a near miss. A sinister-looking funnel cloud skirts north Lincoln in 1975 but never touched down. The photo was taken from the observation deck of the Capitol (not a safe place to be in a tornado). In the next edition of PhotoFiles, we’ll show you what could have become of the Capital City had it touched down. That’s right. Next time is the aftermath of tornadoes. We’ll see you after the storm clears.
Abhinav Thawait is a globe-trotting correspondent with a passion for international affairs. With a background in international relations, he offers a global perspective on the most pressing issues around the world. Abhinav’s curiosity takes his to the far corners of the earth, where he seeks to share untold stories and diverse viewpoints.
