Flash flood warnings have been issued for portions of eastern Nebraska following a night of heavy rains, hail and reports of funnel clouds in the region.
A tornado watch for most of eastern Nebraska and part of southwest Iowa expired at 10 p.m.
Now the focus turns to likely flooding in the Grand Island, Columbus, Lincoln, Nebraska City and Omaha areas, the National Weather Service said.
Southwest Iowa counties also were at risk of flooding.
The ground is saturated following the heavy rains of the past two days. The flash flood warnings are in effect until 4 a.m. Friday.
The storms produced reports of a handful of tornadoes. No injuries were reported.
Up to 2 inches of rain was possible late Thursday in the Omaha metropolitan area in a short period of time, likely to produce street flooding, the National Weather Service said.
Runoff from the rainfall also was expected to cause flash flooding in Ashland, Gretna, La Vista, Papillion, Ralston, Springfield, Waterloo, Valley and Yutan.
The heavy rain led to the closing of Highway 92 between Yutan and Mead.
A trained spotter reported dime-to nickel-sized hail creating a two-inch layer on roads near McCool Junction just before 7:30 p.m.
Another official reported quarter to golfball-sized hail falling for 15 minutes around 6:30 p.m. near Stromsburg.
Minutes after that report, a trained spotter observed two funnel clouds form in the area.
A tornado was reported south of Aurora about 5 p.m., while there were several other reports of funnel clouds and small tornadoes in Hamilton and York counties.
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