Central/Southern Nebraska
A few cities include: Broken Bow, Grand Island and McCook.
Local tornado season: Peaks between May and June.
Terrain: Rolling plains, rivers, high plains to the west.
Road network: Fairly good in most areas.
Radar coverage: Ranges from fair to good.
Central to southern Nebraska establishes the northern edge of “classic” Plains storm chase real estate. Strong, long-track tornadoes have occurred here during the most significant events, as intense supercells cross the countryside. Likewise, some of the more robust storms can produce large to very large hail. It is not uncommon for merging storms to grow upscale and pose a risk of damaging winds as they sweep through central to southern Nebraska.
Terrain
The terrain in central to southern Nebraska is generally described as rolling plains, although there are some wetlands as multiple rivers span the area. The hilly areas are usually not large enough to cause major issues with storm chasing. Some ponds and a few small forested areas also cover the landscape, but most of the terrain is relatively open.
Out to the west, toward southwestern Nebraska, there is a gradual increase in elevation as one moves into the High Plains. The region north of the Platte River is till plains and eventually gives way to the Sand Hills across northwestern Nebraska.
Road network
The road network is best in south-central Nebraska, where there is a solid grid network. While primary roads are usually paved, many secondary roads can often be dirt. Some of these roads are minimum maintenance and should probably be avoided if the ground is wet.
North of the Platte River, in central Nebraska, the road network has some gaps and irregular road patterns, unlike most areas farther south. Meanwhile, in southwestern Nebraska, there is a reasonable road network to work with. It may not be perfectly uniform, however, as a few gaps do exist.
Interstate-80 is the main freeway that passes through central and southern Nebraska. To the west, it heads into the panhandle, while to the east, it travels toward Lincoln. US-30 parallels the Platte River and can be a bypass for I-80. US-81 is a commonly frequented path for storm chasers, passing south from Nebraska into Kansas along a relatively straight line. U.S. highways 183 and 283 to the west also take similar north-south tracks that are uniform as they pass toward Kansas.
Radar coverage
KUEX supplies most of south-central Nebraska with radar coverage. Elsewhere, coverage can be a bit limited. KLNX covers northwestern Nebraska and some parts of central Nebraska. Roughly near and north of NE-91 in central Nebraska, radar coverage tends to be limited. KGLD reaches into far southwestern Nebraska, but the US-6 and US-83 corridors in southwestern Nebraska have limited radar coverage as well. Despite some of the radar limitations, no part of this chase zone completely drops out of radar coverage.
In summary, central to southern Nebraska is generally a favorable area to storm chase. The terrain and road networks in most of the area are good for observing and following storms. Radar coverage can be a bit limited, mainly in southwestern and north-central Nebraska, but most other conditions make this chase zone manageable to storm chase.