LAKE McCONAUGHY — Severe thunderstorms brought strong winds, hail and heavy rain to the Lake McConaughy area Saturday night, with emergency crews responding to multiple water rescues and injuries.
The National Weather Service in North Platte issued a severe thunderstorm warning for portions of Keith County late Saturday night, warning of 60-mph wind gusts and quarter-size hail as storms moved through the area.
A 58-mph wind gust was reported three miles west of Kingsley Dam as the storms moved through.
The severe weather came during an already busy holiday weekend for emergency crews around Lake McConaughy.
According to a weekend call log posted by Keystone-Lemoyne Fire Rescue, crews responded shortly after midnight Sunday to water rescues and injuries at multiple locations from Sandy Beach to Martin Bay as storms moved through the area.
Crews also responded to a medical emergency around 8:52 a.m. Sunday at Beach Access 5 after a tree fell on a person.
Those calls followed several other emergency responses Saturday.
Keystone-Lemoyne Fire Rescue reported a dive rescue at Beach Access 5 or 6 around 3:14 p.m. Saturday involving a drowning. The department also responded to a medical emergency near West Highway 92 early Saturday morning and another medical emergency in the Albee's area Saturday evening, with mutual aid from Keith County Emergency Medical Services.
The National Weather Service had warned of increasing thunderstorm activity Saturday, with the potential for large hail, damaging winds, frequent lightning and heavy rainfall.
As the storms developed Saturday evening, the National Weather Service warned that some storms could become severe, with the potential for dangerous conditions for those on and around the lake.
The weekend call log also includes a possible structure fire in Ogallala around 12:18 p.m. Sunday. Keystone-Lemoyne Fire Rescue said the call was canceled while crews were en route.
The combination of severe weather and a busy holiday weekend created challenging conditions for emergency responders throughout the Lake McConaughy area.
Keystone-Lemoyne Fire Rescue noted in its post that crews still had another day and a half remaining in the holiday weekend.