Calmer, cooler weather after storm

The Omaha metro-area will see cooler weather for a bit after a stormy night of high winds and lightning strikes.

Firefighters were called to 17157 Seward St. shortly after 2:30 a.m. to put out a roof fire caused by a lightning strike. Nobody was injured.

A short time later, lightining struck another house, this one near 161st and Blondo Streets. No fire was found at that home.

High winds contributed to power outages in parts of Douglas County.

Winds reached 58 miles per hour in Wahoo, 38 mph in Gretna and 42 mph at Eppley Airport, according to the National Weather Service. Farther west, David City saw winds as high as 78 mph, while the central part of the state dealt with heavy hail.

The National Weather Service forecast called for showers and thunderstorms to exit eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa on Friday afternoon, leaving partly cloudy skies in their wake.

Northwest winds behind the rain will bring slightly drier air into the region. However that will be short-lived as south or southeast winds return Saturday, helping to ignite more thunderstorms across the area by Saturday afternoon. The chance for storms will continue through Saturday night with a slight chance for storms on Sunday.

Temperatures are expected to drop a bit lower - in the mid- to low 80s - on Saturday, then return into the 90s at least through the middle of next week.