6:30 p.m. update:Â With storms firing in southwest and western Nebraska, the National Weather Service has posted severe weather watches stretching from border to border.
Lancaster County is included in a severe thunderstorm watch extending through 2 a.m., with a flash flood watch up through 8 a.m. on Thursday.
Much of the state is under some sort of severe weather headline, Lincoln included. Severe Thunderstorm Watch for us until 2AM and storms aren't expected until after dark.
— Rusty Dawkins (@rustywx)
6 p.m. update: Isolated storms in southwest and western Nebraska prompted a series of tornado warnings covering Chase, Dundy, Hayes, Hitchcock, Red Willow and Sioux counties on Wednesday afternoon.
Storm chasers shared photos of a large tornado between Benkelman and Max in Dundy County. The Omaha World-Herald reported that the tornado snapped telephone poles and trees, but remained in a rural area.
Other confirmed tornadoes were reported south of Culbertson in southwest Nebraska and south of Harrison in the Nebraska Panhandle.
Footage of the TORNADO that and I captured just North of Max, Nebraska about 20 minutes ago. Storm has produced three tornadoes so far. Repositioning.
— Pawnee Storm Chasers (@PawneeStorm)
Earlier story:
A spring mostly void of severe weather could change Wednesday evening.
Residents from border to border in Nebraska should keep an eye on conditions, forecasters said, with the severe weather threat extending into the eastern part of the state by the early-morning hours of Thursday.
Already Wednesday afternoon, severe thunderstorm and tornado watches were posted for much of western and southwestern Nebraska. Forecasters expect that storms that form in the Panhandle late Wednesday afternoon could congeal into a dangerous line that could race across the state throughout the evening and overnight hours.
The primary threat will be high winds of up to 75 mph.
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Models indicate that the line of storms could move at 40-50 mph, possibly reaching the Lincoln area after midnight.
3PM Thoughts:
Scattered strong / severe storms are *possible* this evening.
Widespread strong / severe storms are *likely* overnight when wind gusts of 60 - 80mph are possible.
— NWS Omaha (@NWSOmaha)
Forecasters said residents should monitor forecasts and consider securing anything that could be damaged by high winds before going to bed.
Ahead of the line of storms, isolated thunderstorms are expected to become more widespread Wednesday afternoon and evening.
At 2:30 p.m., a severe thunderstorm possibly packing 60 mph winds and quarter-size hail was moving through Frontier County in southwest Nebraska.
Forecasters said large hail will be possible within storms that develop ahead of the line, with a tornado or two possible primarily across southwest Nebraska. That part of the state is included in an enhanced risk of severe weather by the National Weather Service.
A storm in northwest Kansas on Wednesday morning produced tennis ball-sized hail that reportedly busted the windshield of a storm chaser's vehicle not far from Goodland.
Holy hail! Adrienne West sent us these photos of hailstones that fell near Goodland. Track the storms at
— KAKE News (@KAKEnews)
Storms on Wednesday could also produce heavy rain, with up to 3 inches possible in some areas. The long-range forecast includes the possibility of more heavy rain over the Memorial Day weekend.
In Lincoln, highs will drop from the 80s on Wednesday to 75 on Thursday and into the 60s by Friday.Â