Severe thunderstorms that moved through the Fremont area Thursday night downed utility poles and power lines and flooded farm fields.
Pebble Creek near Scribner and Maple Creek near Nickerson were under a flood warning until 1 p.m. today, the National Weather Service in Valley reported.
Pebble Creek near Scribner was at 23.5 feet -- 5.5 feet above the 18-foot flood stage -- at 2:45 a.m., the weather service reported. The crest was expected to be 24 feet before gradually falling below.
Maple Creek near Nickerson was expected to rise to 14.5 feet by 8 a.m. today -- 4.5 feet above flood stage. At 3:15 a.m., the creek was at 9.3 feet and had risen 3.68 feet in the past 24 hours, the weather service reported.
“The water basin in that area is a lot bigger than people realize,” said Bill Pook, director of Region
5-6 Emergency Management.
Pook reported a garage near Tekamah was toppled in high winds, and utility poles and power lines were downed in the Herman and Tekamah areas. Uehling also had downed power lines.
Fallen power lines briefly closed U.S. Highway 75 in Herman, he said.
“There was a lot of debris.”
There was a report of a tornado near Herman, but Pook said is could not be confirmed.
The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office reported that crews were working to reopen U.S. Highway 275 between West Point and Scribner. County Road F west of Scribner was water covered this morning as was County Road 19 north of Hooper between County Roads D and E.
Mike Williams of Production Management for Crops in North Bend said the heavy rain -- almost 4 inches in some areas -- caused some field flooding and washed out parts of fields.
“We’re seeing washouts in beans that have been carried 2-3 feet into roads,” said Williams, who also is a weather spotter for the Tribune.
He said there were indications that water had been over the road in several spots along Nebraska Highway 79.
Thursday’s storms dumped
3.9 inches of rain in Hooper, 3.1 in Oakland, 3.35 in Wahoo, 1.83 in North Bend, 1.69 in Fremont and 1.36 in Arlington.
The Tribune’s weather spotter in Oakland reported there were power outages and water standing in fields.
The rain isn’t necessarily good news for this year’s crop.
“It’s going to have an impact on crops,” Williams said. “We’re
four-and-a-half to five weeks behind than a year ago. This will put us further behind.”
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