Winter Storm in Nebraska, January 1 to 3, 1999

The start of 1999 was ushered in with snow, ice, and very cold weather across central and south-central Nebraska. On New Years Day, a steady snowfall along and north of Interstate 80 dumped from 1 to 5 inches of snow. Most of the 5 inch reports were along Highway 92 from Loup City to Osceola, but also in parts of northeast Dawson county. By late morning, freezing drizzle developed southeast of Hastings and eventually coated area roads with a layer of ice. Light snow later that evening made travel even more treacherous. A five vehicle pile-up on the Interstate that involved two semi-trailers killed one man and injured 3 others. This accident was caused when one of the semi-trailers lost control on the slick roadway, crossed the median and collided with the other semi and other cars. The traffic from the Interstate was redirected to Highway 30 where another accident occurred involving two vehicles. This accident killed a 15 year boy and injured 3 others. Several other minor accidents were reported in the same area during the day of the first.Once the ice and snow ended, arctic air spilled across the area aboard 20 to 30 mph north winds. Blowing and drifting of the fallen snow caused very poor visibilities for a time on the 2nd. Temperatures fell to 5 to 15 below zero through midday the 3rd. On January 3, a 55 year old Cairo man died from hypothermia after being exposed to the sub zero temperatures. The man had attended his son's wedding the previous evening and died from exposure as he walked home late that night.