By Tina Kitt

The Wauneta Breeze

Storms took a heavy toll across southwest Nebraska late last week, causing the loss of millions of dollars of growing and maturing crops north of Wauneta as well as widespread damage to property.

In an area of eastern Chase County and western Hayes County, anchored around what is known locally as “the skinny house” between McCallum Hill and the Elmer Cemetery, mile after mile of thriving corn and ripening wheat was shredded in the storms that moved through the area Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

People living in that rural neighborhood are reporting storm damage all the way north to the interstate.

Among those suffering tremendous crop losses are Kramer Farms, Tim McKillip, and Don and Doug Haffner.Don Haffner said he lost 400 acres of wheat and 430 acres of irrigated corn, during Thursday night’s hail storm. His soybeans were also damaged but may come out of it. “We’ll just have to see,” said Haffner.

Doug Haffner will replant his beans to meet crop insurance requirements. It’s too far into the season to replant the corn, noted Don Haffner, but to meet his insurance requirements he will have to continue to irrigate the pulverized fields in order to prove yield loss this fall.

At his son’s place to the west, a three-pane-thick window was destroyed in the hailstorm and the south side of the house severely gouged by hail stones. A follow-up storm on Friday night brought tremendous winds, destroying a calving shed there.

“One right after the other — a double whammy,” said Don Haffner of the storms. Roofs were also destroyed on the Haffner places.

Other homes in the area also lost windows and suffered roof and siding damage. 

In addition to crop losses, several center pivot sprinklers were destroyed or severely damaged.

Officials with the Hayes County FSA office in Hayes Center surveyed the damage Tuesday afternoon, with County Executive Director Deb Clifford reporting that preliminary estimates show that 20 circles of corn were badly damaged, suffering anywhere from 50 to 100 percent losses. More than 1,000 acres of wheat in that portion of Hayes County were also wiped out along with at least four circles of beans sustaining losses.

“Where it hailed it wasn’t a pretty sight,” noted Clifford.

Southwest Public Power District was kept on the run Thursday as high winds ahead of the storm snapped poles and downed lines, leading to power outages south of Enders and near Wauneta.

SWPPD reports that 17 poles were lost in Thursday night’s storm — 14 along a stretch by the Pflum substation in Dundy County, approximately 7 miles south of Enders. Thursday night’s wind gusts were estimated in excess of 50 miles per hour. Power outages caused by these downed distribution lines affected more than 100 services, with power restored to everyone within seven hours.  

Electric service was temporarily interrupted for dozens more as storms continued through Friday night. Wind speeds were measured at over 80 miles per hour on Friday night, knocking out a regulator bank, a capacitor bank and eight more poles near that location.

Friday’s wind storm

In Friday night’s wind storm widespread power outages were reported as power poles snapped in central Chase County. In Imperial, heavy property damage was reported as large trees were unrooted by the strong winds, estimated as high as 80 miles per hour by the National Weather Service.

According to NWS reports, a roof was blown off a doublewide trailer near Champion. Reports received by the NWS also state that numerous large trees fell in Imperial, with some landing on cars and homes there. Campers were overturned and 30 power poles between Imperial and the Colorado state line were downed. 

Roof damage was sustained at the lumber yard and power outages were widespread, according to the NWS. 

The Village of Wauneta Utilities Department crew was called in to assist with repairs in Imperial on Saturday.

Wind damage was also reported at Palisade, Lamar and Champion as well as in Perkins County Friday night. 

In Palisade, large tree limbs came down on fences and vehicles, causing extensive damage and a STOP sign was buckled over in the gale.

Sunday evening flashflood warnings were issued for east-central Chase County and southern Hayes County. According to the NWS, 1.5 inches of rain fell within 45 minutes in an area 9 miles north of Palisade causing road washouts and lowland flooding.

While Wauneta did experience high winds Friday, the town eluded the magnitude of disaster that hit Imperial and Palisade. During the two nights of storms three-fourths of an inch of rainfall was measured in Wauneta, according to NWS data, bringing this year’s total to nearly 13 inches to date.

Farmers urged to report disaster or prevented planting losses

County Executive Director Teri Moss reminds farmers of the requirement to report acreage that is prevented from being planted; or is disaster affected and will be destroyed to go to a secondary crop.  

Reports must be made by completion of a Notice of Loss at your local FSA office within 15 days of the disaster event and prior to the destruction of the crop; or within 15 days of the final date the crop would have been planted, had planting been possible. 

Moss stated that it is critical that such Notices be filed in order to protect crop history and future program benefits.  

winds ahead of the storm snapped poles and downed lines, leading to power outages south of Enders and near Wauneta.

SWPPD reports that 17 poles were lost in Thursday night’s storm — 14 along a stretch by the Pflum substation in Dundy County, approximately 7 miles south of Enders. Thursday night’s wind gusts were estimated in excess of 50 miles per hour. Power outages caused by these downed distribution lines affected more than 100 services, with power restored to everyone within seven hours.  

Electric service was temporarily interrupted for dozens more as storms continued through Friday night. Wind speeds were measured at over 80 miles per hour on Friday night, knocking out a regulator bank, a capacitor bank and eight more poles near that location.

Friday’s wind storm

In Friday night’s wind storm widespread power outages were reported as power poles snapped in central Chase County. In Imperial, heavy property damage was reported as large trees were unrooted by the strong winds, estimated as high as 80 miles per hour by the National Weather Service.

According to NWS reports, a roof was blown off a doublewide trailer near Champion. Reports received by the NWS also state that numerous large trees fell in Imperial, with some landing on cars and homes there. Campers were overturned and 30 power poles between Imperial and the Colorado state line were downed. 

Roof damage was sustained at the lumber yard and power outages were widespread, according to the NWS. 

The Village of Wauneta Utilities Department crew was called in to assist with repairs in Imperial on Saturday.

Wind damage was also reported at Palisade, Lamar and Champion as well as in Perkins County Friday night. 

In Palisade, large tree limbs came down on fences and vehicles, causing extensive damage and a STOP sign was buckled over in the gale.

Sunday evening flashflood warnings were issued for east-central Chase County and southern Hayes County. According to the NWS, 1.5 inches of rain fell within 45 minutes in an area 9 miles north of Palisade causing road washouts and lowland flooding.

While Wauneta did experience high winds Friday, the town eluded the magnitude of disaster that hit Imperial and Palisade. During the two nights of storms three-fourths of an inch of rainfall was measured in Wauneta, according to NWS data, bringing this year’s total to nearly 13 inches to date.

Farmers urged to report disaster or prevented planting losses

County Executive Director Teri Moss reminds farmers of the requirement to report acreage that is prevented from being planted; or is disaster affected and will be destroyed to go to a secondary crop.  

Reports must be made by completion of a Notice of Loss at your local FSA office within 15 days of the disaster event and prior to the destruction of the crop; or within 15 days of the final date the crop would have been planted, had planting been possible. 

Moss stated that it is critical that such Notices be filed in order to protect crop history and future program benefits.