Nebraska Extension Scotts Bluff County

By Chabella Guzman, communications specialist

Storms coming out of Chugwater and Hawk Springs, Wyoming led to tornados and hail in the Panhandle on Friday, June 23, 2023. 

“The primary storm tracked through Chugwater to Hawk Springs to Scottsbluff. It’s what we call a cyclic tornadic thunderstorm. It periodically produces tornados that drop down and then back up,” said Rob Cox, National Weather Service in Cheyenne, Wyoming, meteorologist. 

The secondary storm produced more hail from pea to softball size. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Panhandle Research Extension and Education Center had some of the larger hail damage vehicles, the greenhouse, and many of the plots with various crops. 

Gary Stone - Extension Educator

The Republican River

The Republican River drainage system is in south/south-central Nebraska. The headwaters of the Republican are in east-central and northeast Colorado. The Republican joins with the Kansas River northeast of Junction City, Kansas. The Republican River flows for approximately 453 miles with an average discharge of 848 cubic feet per second (cfs) at the confluence with the Kansas River. The Republican River has numerous branches that form the river, including the North and South Republican Rivers, Arikaree River, Frenchman, Red Willow, Medicine, Beaver, Sappa, and Prairie Dog creeks. The Republican River is named after the Kitkehahkis Pawnee Native Americans.