Winter Storm in Nebraska, December 17 to 18, 2000

Eastern Nebraska and western Iowa experienced their third winter storm in a week as 4 to 8 inches of snow fell from parts of southeast Nebraska into southwest Iowa. The snow fell basically across the same area that received heavy snow a week earlier, and was accompanied by northwest winds gusting over 50 mph. When temperatures fell into the single digits Monday morning, 12/18/00, wind chill values dropped to 35 to 45 below zero. The strong winds created near blizzard conditions from Lincoln and Seward northeast through Omaha and into western Iowa. White-out conditions south of Seward on Highway 15 caused a 6 car accident, but with no serious injuries, Monday afternoon. Drifting snow caused a semi truck and a few cars to become stranded on Highway 32 east of West Point Monday, closing the Highway for several hours. Most schools across the region were closed Monday. Due to the low wind chills, some drifting snow and unplowed secondary roads, many schools remained closed Tuesday as well.Heavier snow totals included...7.5 inches in Harlan, Iowa, 6.7 inches at the NWS in Valley (the official snow recording site for Omaha), 6 inches at Fremont, Gretna, Roca and Papillion and 4 to 5 inches in Lincoln, Bennington, Blair, West Point, Hickman, Raymond, Bellevue and Plattsmouth.Wind gusts of 52 mph were recorded in Omaha at the NWS in Valley, and 51 mph at Lincoln.