Rain, hail pummel parts of Omaha-metro

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Pouring rain and hail created a massive mess in some parts of the city last night.

Crews are hard at work today clearing the damage.

There was water covering the entire roadway causing huge issues for drivers near 50th & Grover. City officials say flash flooding like this is caused by a mix of hail and debris clogging up storm inlets.

It took an entire team to clear the inlets.

“We have a dispatcher when folks call in then we respond. They go out there with equipment to clear the inlets,” said Steve Andersen, Collection System and Flood Control manager.

City officials say it’s rare for this to happen. It typically only happens once a year.

Heavy rain and, in some places, a lot of hail pummeled parts of the Omaha metro Tuesday night.

Wednesday morning our crews took a drive around some Omaha neighborhoods to see the aftermath of Tuesday night’s hail storm.

Residents that live between 50th and 42nd streets woke up to a very different view of their yards than the day before.

One neighbor had hail markings on her flower beds. Others saw some hail damage underneath their windows. One man even had some shingles fall off his roof.

Residents in this area told 6 News they’re planning to have their roofs inspected. Some chunks of hail were so large they broke a homeowner’s garage door window and left cracks in the glass.

Many of the homes in this neighborhood had very messy yards and streets, thanks to all the leaves that fell. People were up bright and early trying to clean up.

Unfortunately, several homeowners saw their gardens ruined.

The storm left some yards completely covered, leaves stripped from trees, and car owners calling their insurance companies.

The 6 First Alert Team warned viewers that heavy rain and hail would be the biggest threat Tuesday evening.

Two different storms rolled through the metro with large amounts of small hail and in some cases some 1-2″ diameter hail. The first and likely the worst one was closer to 8 p.m. while the second one was closer to 9 p.m.

Hail up to 2″ in diameter was reported in the Ralston area with several other 1-2″ reports around the Omaha metro.

Several other hail reports around the area were rather impressive.

Reporter Marlo Lundak reported from the area of 50th and Spring Street showing the hailstones were still the size between peas and golf balls several hours after the storm left.

At one point the flooded street was up to the driver’s side window of a stranded car before it began to recede. The situation was made worse with sewer drains plugged with trees and limbs.

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