A tornado powerful enough to topple train cars swept across north-central Nebraska Sunday night, according to the National Weather Service.
Meteorologist Chris Butler told Nebraska Public Media News the tornado was located west of Ashby in Grant County. Reports say the mile-wide tornado derailed as many as 130 coal cars along Nebraska Highway 2, with no reports of injuries.
Butler also said a house was destroyed on a ranch northeast of Ashby. Three-inch hail was reported east of Bingham in Sheridan County and Whitman in Grand County. Golf-ball sized hail was reported north of Rushville and Ellsworth in Sheridan County.
National Weather Service survey crews plan to use drones Monday to assess the damage.
The severe weather threat now moves to the eastern part of the state, with cities such as Norfolk and Lincoln in a slight risk for severe storms and Omaha and Falls City in an enhanced risk.
There's also a red flag warning in effect this afternoon and evening for a dozen counties in an area stretching from Lancaster County in the east to Hamilton County in the west and from Butler County to the Kansas border. High winds gusting up to 40 mph will combine with temperatures in the mid to upper 80s and humidity around 20% to create dangerous fire conditions.
The dry conditions last week prompted Gov. Jim Pillen to issue a statewide burn ban through the end of the month after a wildfire in central Nebraska that started when a prescribed burn got out of control, burned more than 7,000 acres.