Today starts a very active period of weather in which several rounds of showers and thunderstorms will be possible through the weekend.

First off today, we’ll continue to see spotty, light rain here and there in the morning before more showers move in from a line of thunderstorms currently off to the west. Better chance for heavy rain and storms will come after about 9pm Thursday night.

THURSDAY AFTERNOON/OVERNIGHT – SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA

The first of several rounds of severe weather across Nebraska is expected later this afternoon into the evening. For those under a Slight (Level 2 – yellow) risk, storms will first begin there and threaten mainly large hail, but a tornado or two and damaging wind will also be possible.

Stormcast below in one of the latest model runs has the timing of storms throughout the rest of the morning, Thursday evening and into Friday morning.

FRIDAY AFTERNOON/EVENING – EASTERN NEBRASKA

While Thursday is the first threat of severe weather nearby, Friday has the greater threat in eastern Nebraska. Just east of Lincoln, there’s an Enhanced (Level 3 – orange) risk for numerous severe storms possible that are more persistent and/or widespread, a few being intense.

Namely, the fact that both significant tornadoes (EF2 or higher) and significant hail (2″+) are possible Friday afternoon into the evening with this round of storms. Severe wind gusts could also be up to 70 mph.

Some clearing after the morning storms continue north will happen in southeast Nebraska, allowing the environment to destabilize and more thunderstorms to redevelop by the early afternoon. Stormcast has timing of this round below.

Especially after about 2 p.m., we’ll be watching for any and all severe threats in these storms. Be sure to be weather aware during this timeframe and adjust plans as needed.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON/NIGHT – SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA

Through the weekend, additional severe storms are anticipated to be impacting southeast Nebraska late Saturday afternoon. The higher threat of severe weather is southeast (including Falls City) in another Enhanced risk. All severe weather hazards will be possible.

A fourth found of thunderstorms on Sunday is possible after about 1 p.m. with a lower end tornado threat, hail up to 1″ in diameter and gusts up to 60 mph.

Stay weather aware and check back in frequently as the Storm Alert Team continues to update information.

Meteorologist Jessica Blum 
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LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Being locked behind heavy metal doors can seem like the end of the line.

“With a prison sentence, you feel like everything’s shut off to you,” said Tami Fuller, who is currently serving a sentence in Lincoln’s Community Correctional Center.

However, a new program aims to make sure those doors don’t stay shut forever.

Fuller is one of more than 200 Nebraska inmates involved in the Unlocking Potential With Academic Resources and Development, or UPWARD, program. About 30 Southeast Community College instructors teach courses between the Reception and Treatment Center, Nebraska State Penitentiary, Nebraska Correctional Center for Women, Community Correctional Center and the Center for People.

The program’s administrator, SCC’s Amy Doty, experienced incarceration, and she says it was education that made all the difference in her life.

“After incarceration, instead of just kind of being in the moment and I’m feeling kind of hopeless and thinking about all the barriers that I was going to face when I went home, I was able to focus on building skills and building knowledge and becoming a better critical thinker,” Doty said.

Participants earn college credits, and some say the good goes well beyond the instruction.

“I’ve had them use my only my first name, or call me a student, which is amazing,” Fuller said. “When you’re incarcerated, you learn, everybody says your last name, not your first. So it humanizes you again, it makes you back into a real person.”

Some inmates look to the education to start a new chapter in their lives, like Jessica Whittaker, who’s currently taking a class to get her CDL.

“I anticipate that I’ll be a truck driver,” Whittaker said. “Overall, I want to be financially stable and set myself up for success.”

Some inmates are even using the opportunity to give back, like Lawrence Garner, who’s taking a communications class and wants to give speeches at juvenile facilities when he gets out, steering them away from crime.

“A lot of these kids are coming from broken homes, one parent homes, and I’d just like to maybe share my experience,” Garner said. “I’d take one, just one. Save one.”

It’s not just the students who soak in lessons.

“I’ve learned a lot from my students,” Rebecca Bartlett, an SCC instructor, said. “I’ve learned so much about perseverance and determination. I have learned so much from them about hope.”

The UPWARD program is set to expand next fall, with SCC administrators angling to tap into federal dollars to help run it.

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NORFOLK, Neb. (KTIV) – From downtown growth to new stores coming to the mall, Norfolk is touting its growth in Northeast Nebraska.

Home to roughly 26,000 people, Norfolk was recently awarded a grant from the State of Nebraska to help improve its community. The $435,000 Community Development Block Grant is being used in several ways. The most notable is the effort to add more lighting to downtown Norfolk.

“We’ve seen a lot of growth and progress over downtown in recent years,” said Mayor Josh Moenning. “And one of the things that we’ve wanted to do with that is making lighting more prevalent throughout the district to make pedestrian safety, especially at night enhanced.”

Another big improvement to the Norfolk community is a redesign of the riverfront. The city is in the final stages of the North Fork Riverfront Redevelopment project, set to open Memorial Day weekend.

“That’ll feature an 8-drop structure over a half-mile span that can be used for kayaking and tubing, with a white-water trail right in the middle of mile and a half-two mile trail that goes through Norfolk,” said Moenning. “Johnson Park, which is right next door, is going through complete renovations. There will be a new amphitheater for performance arts, an ice skating rink. new sports courts, nature playgrounds.”

New retailers are also opening at the Sun Coast mall. Kohl’s opened this week, with TJ Maxx coming soon.

Norfolk also celebrating another accomplishment after being recognized as one of the strongest towns in North America. Norfolk was voted the runner-up for the 9th annual Strongest Town Contest.

16 towns from across North America are pitted in a bracket-style contest. This competition relies on community votes. Norfolk was also recognized for the “Most Progress Toward a Robust & Responsive Housing Supply.”

”It promotes principals of fiscal sustainability, high quality of life, safe streets, walk-ability, all of those things in communities across America, Canada, all of North America,” explained Moenning. “Norfolk, as far as I know, has been the only Nebraska community in the competition since it started nine years ago so that was pretty cool to see, too.”

Norfolk came in 2nd behind Maumee, Ohio.

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