Blizzard in Nebraska, March 24 to 25, 1996

Name: Blizzard in Nebraska, March 24 to 25, 1996
Start: 1996-03-24T16:00
End: 1996-03-25T06:00
Location: Nebraska

March 24 to 25, 1996 · NWS OAX · 39 events in 39 counties and zones

An intense spring storm system brought beneficial rains to the area, but also a blizzard. During the afternoon and evening of the 24th, rain changed to freezing rain and then snow.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 39 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 39

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS OAX wrote it up.

An intense spring storm system brought beneficial rains to the area, but also a blizzard. During the afternoon and evening of the 24th, rain changed to freezing rain and then snow. Snowfall from 2 to 8 inches fell, with the heavier, 6 inch or greater band from near Grand Island northeast to Norfolk and Laurel. Winds were sustained at 30 to 50 mph with gusts to 60 mph. Visibilities were reduced to near zero from 8 pm the 24th until 6 am the 25th. Temperatures fell to the single digits with wind chills ranging from 30 to 40 degrees below zero. This dangerous storm stranded hundreds of motorists and resulted in numerous accidents and reports of wind damage.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

39 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, Keya Paha

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Keya Paha forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.879, -99.712 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Boyd

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Boyd forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.900, -98.766 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Brown

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Brown forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.430, -99.929 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Rock

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Rock forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.421, -99.450 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Holt

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Holt forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.456, -98.784 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Knox

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Knox forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.637, -97.892 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Cedar

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Cedar forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.599, -97.252 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Thurston

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Thurston forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.158, -96.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Pierce

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Pierce forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.264, -97.601 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Wayne

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Wayne forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.209, -97.119 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Blaine

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Blaine forecast zone
Coordinates: 41.913, -99.977 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Loup

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Loup forecast zone
Coordinates: 41.914, -99.454 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Garfield

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Garfield forecast zone
Coordinates: 41.914, -98.991 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Wheeler

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Wheeler forecast zone
Coordinates: 41.915, -98.528 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Boone

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Boone forecast zone
Coordinates: 41.707, -98.067 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Madison

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Madison forecast zone
Coordinates: 41.917, -97.601 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Stanton

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Stanton forecast zone
Coordinates: 41.917, -97.194 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Cuming

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Cuming forecast zone
Coordinates: 41.916, -96.787 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Burt

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Burt forecast zone
Coordinates: 41.852, -96.329 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Colfax

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Colfax forecast zone
Coordinates: 41.574, -97.086 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Dodge

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Dodge forecast zone
Coordinates: 41.578, -96.654 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Washington

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Washington forecast zone
Coordinates: 41.531, -96.222 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Butler

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Butler forecast zone
Coordinates: 41.226, -97.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Saunders

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Saunders forecast zone
Coordinates: 41.226, -96.637 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Douglas

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Douglas forecast zone
Coordinates: 41.295, -96.154 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Sarpy

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Sarpy forecast zone
Coordinates: 41.113, -96.112 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Seward

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Seward forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.872, -97.139 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Lancaster

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Lancaster forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.784, -96.688 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Cass

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Cass forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.910, -96.141 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Otoe

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Otoe forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.649, -96.135 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Saline

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Saline forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.524, -97.141 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Jefferson

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Jefferson forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.176, -97.143 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Gage

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Gage forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.262, -96.689 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Johnson

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Johnson forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.393, -96.265 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Nemaha

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Nemaha forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.388, -95.850 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Pawnee

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Pawnee forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.132, -96.237 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Richardson

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Richardson forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.125, -95.717 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Antelope

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Antelope forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.177, -98.067 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Platte

When: March 24, 4:00 PM CST to March 25, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Platte forecast zone
Coordinates: 41.571, -97.521 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Blizzard: Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or more with falling or blowing snow that cuts visibility below a quarter mile for three hours or longer.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Nebraska in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history Warnings in Nebraska, March 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5542756, 5542757, 5542758, 5542759, 5542760, 5542761, 5542762, 5542763, 5542764, 5542765, 5542766, 5542767, 5542768, 5542769, 5542770, 5542771, 5542772, 5542773, 5542774, 5542775, 5542776, 5542777, 5542778, 5542779, 5542780, 5542958, 5542959, 5542960, 5542961, 5542962, 5542963, 5542964, 5542965, 5542966, 5542967, 5542968, 5542969, 5542970, 5542971.