Friday storm lands tornadoes, destructive hail in Nebraska Panhandle

SCOTTSBLUFF - Meteorologists from the National Weather Service office in Cheyenne were in Scottsbluff and Gering Saturday assessing tornado damage from Friday night's storms that left one person injured. 

One man suffered cuts and bruises when a tornado reportedly lifted his vehicle and flipped it, according to the Star-Herald. 

The same tornado destroyed a home at County Road 25 and Highway 26. Region 22 Emergency Management Director Tim Newman told the Star-Herald no other residential structures were destroyed by the multiple tornadoes reported in the Scottsbluff area. Power poles and a pivot were also damaged. 

Newman estimates $1 million in insurance claims from "significant" hail damage. At 7:25 p.m. and 9:05 p.m., there were reports of wind driven baseball-size hail that damaged vehicles and windshields. Baseball-size hail was also reported five miles northeast of Minatare. Trained weather spotters reported hail the size of grapefruits and softballs near Lyman and Stegall. 

The Scottsbluff tornado was just one of several tornadoes Friday night in the Nebraska panhandle. At 9:51 p.m., storm chasers reported a brief tornado north of Broadwater. Trained weather spotters reported a tornado two miles west-northwest of Minatare at 8:05 p.m. Four miles east-southeast of Gering, trained weather spotters noticed a rain-wrapped tornado with lofted debris at County Road 26 and Highway 92 at 7:50 p.m. Five tornadoes were reported earlier in the day in Goshen County, around Hawk Springs and Chugwater. 

Sidney registered a 66 mph wind gust at 9:16 p.m.