Gusts up to 49 mph topples trees, fish

Winnie the Pooh had his blustery day, but Sunday was downright windy in the Fremont area.

With sustained winds of more than 30 mph and gusts up to 49 mph, trees fell, limbs snapped, awnings were ripped away and fish were toppled.

Wind gusts of 49 mph were recorded at

2:30 p.m. and 4:10 p.m. at Fremont Municipal Airport. For much of the day, the airport recorded sustained wind speeds from 29 mph to 36 mph.

Gusts were even stronger elsewhere in the area. Tekamah reported a wind gust of

58 mph. Omaha saw a gust of 59 mph and Lincoln’s top gust was

53 mph.

A strong cold front moved through the region earlier in the day Sunday, allowing cool temperatures and strong winds to move across the area.

Those winds brought down trees and limbs across the area.

Carol Carlson, who lives near the corner of Military Avenue and Clarkson Street, lost a tree in her back yard. As the tree fell, it stripped branches from nearby trees.

Winds also ripped off part of the awning at Family Dollar, 1440 N. Bell St., and toppled a giant catfish over in downtown Fremont. The 5-foot-tall fiberglass catfish, which was part of the Big Fish of the Platte art project, at Fifth and Main streets was blown off its base.

Today isn’t expected to be as windy as Sunday, but the forecast from the National Weather Service in Valley calls for a northwest wind of 15 to 21 mph with gusts as high as 29 mph. Today’s high temperature is expected to be near 47.

Tuesday morning brings a frost warning. Forecasters are expecting a hard freeze Tuesday morning after an overnight low of around 20 degrees.

But temperatures begin to warm up for the rest of the week. Tuesday’s high will be near 54, Wednesday’s near 65 and Thursday’s near 67. Lows will be around 40.

It also looks to be a dry week.

That should allow us to rake up those leaves that piled up in the yard thanks to Sunday’s high winds.