Turkey Creek in Saline County was 5 feet over flood stage, forcing the closure of 20 county roads, Emergency Manager B.J. Fictum said.
ERIC OLSON / The Associated Press | Posted: Sunday, May 6, 2007 7:00 pm
Flooding closed a number of roads in southeast Nebraska on Monday following days of rain in the region.
Turkey Creek in Saline County was 5 feet over flood stage, forcing the closure of 20 county roads, Emergency Manager B.J. Fictum said.
The Nemaha River was out of its banks in Richardson County, prompting authorities to shut down the eight-mile stretch of road connecting Rulo and White Cloud, Kan., also known as Old Highway 7.
National Weather Service forecaster Dave Eastlack said the flooding was concentrated in areas around Wilber, Auburn, Brownville, Falls City and Rulo. Flood watches and warnings remained in effect for Monday.
A weather spotter in north Omaha reported 6.86 inches from Friday to Monday morning, Eastlack said.
Heavier amounts were reported to the south. Fictum said as much as 6 inches was reported in a 24-hour period in Saline County.
“A lot of fields are under water,” Fictum said. “But this isn’t June or July, when all the corn and milo are up, so all this is going to do is delay planting.”
U.S. Highway 136 in Nemaha County has reopened after being closed east of Auburn on Saturday night, a sheriff’s dispatcher said.
Two people suffered minor injuries Saturday when a tornado swept through Keya Paya County.
The weather service also confirmed tornadoes in Custer, Blaine, Brown and Knox counties, but no injuries were reported.
Keya Paya County Sheriff Jeremiah Harmon said the tornado was first reported at 3:45 p.m. CDT Saturday about seven miles east of Springview, east of State Highway 7.
One house was destroyed and two people — one inside the home and one outside — were hurt, he said. They were treated for minor injuries at a local hospital and released.
The weather service reported that the destroyed building was a bed and breakfast.
Harmon said there were reports of minor damage to other houses, outbuildings, barns and farm equipment.
He also said several county roads were washed away, and tree limbs and power lines were brought down.
“A lot of poles were completely twisted off,” the sheriff said.
The storms were part of a weekend of violent weather, with tornadoes dashing across the Plains states Saturday. Severe thunderstorms, heavy winds and hail — measured up to tennis ball size in Brown County — accompanied the storms.