Winter Storm in Nebraska, February 24, 2001

Name: Winter Storm in Nebraska, February 24, 2001
Start: 2001-02-24T16:00
End: 2001-02-24T21:00
Location: Nebraska

February 24, 2001 · NWS GID · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

After dumping ice on the area the previous night, snow started to fall in the afternoon and continued into the evening hours. Four to 6 inches of snow was common north of an Elwood to St.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 8 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 8

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 GID wrote it up.

After dumping ice on the area the previous night, snow started to fall in the afternoon and continued into the evening hours. Four to 6 inches of snow was common north of an Elwood to St. Paul line. Gothenburg and North Loup reported the most snow with 6 inches of fresh white stuff. Once again, strong winds on the back side of the storm caused significant blowing and drifting snow.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Hastings, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 24, 3:14 PM CST, 46 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 24, 3:14 PM CST, 46 minutes before

SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
314 PM CST SAT FEB 24 2001

...MAIN PROBLEM IS SNOW AMOUNTS TONIGHT...

STILL SOME QUESTIONABLE FACTORS MAKING THE SNOW ACCUMULATION
PREDICTION CHALLENGING...INCLUDING WET GROUND/PTPYE/DURATION.

20Z HAND SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWS A 991.6 LOW CENTER NEAR DDC...AND
PRESSURE AS LOW AS 991.8 AT MEDICINE LODGE.  SATELLITE LOOPS SHOW
THE UPPER LOW SOMEWHAT ELONGATED NORTH-SOUTH...BUT CENTERED IN
SOUTHWEST KANSAS.  SATELLITE AND REGIONAL RADAR MOSAIC SHOWS
DEFORMATION ZONE BECOMING BETTER ESTABLISHED FROM ERN COLORADO
THROUGH NORTHWEST KANSAS INTO CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND SOUTH DAKOTA.
RADAR ECHOES EXPANDING IN COVERAGE THIS AFTERNOON.  RECENT CALLS TO
COUNTIES SHOW THE SNOW LINE EXTENDING FROM AROUND ORD TO KEARNEY TO
BEAVER CITY.

PER SPC MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0177...STILL EXPECT NEEDED INGREDIENTS
FOR HEAVY SNOW TO SPREAD OVER CENTRAL NEBRASKA...GENERALLY WITHIN
THE EXISTING WINTER STORM WARNING AREA.  DEFORMATION ZONE IS SETTING
UP WELL...AND CLOUD TOPS CONTINUE TO COOL IN THAT AREA.  ISENTROPIC
LIFT AND DPVA FROM THE SOUTHEAST WILL ENHANCE LIFT IN DEFORMATION
ZONE.  THIS BROAD AREA OF VERTICAL MOTION SHOULD CONTINUE TO
DYNAMICALLY COOL THE COLUMN THROUGHOUT ALL OF THE CWFA EARLY THIS
EVENING.

USING RUC MODEL FOR ISENTROPIC SURFACES AND MOISTURE FIELDS...THE
GARCIA METHOD STILL SUGGESTS A MAXIMUM OF 9-10 INCHES OF SNOW FOR A
12 HOUR DURATION IN MY NRN COUNTIES.  HOWEVER WITH THE CHANGE TO
SNOW OCCURRING IN THE PAST HOUR OR SO...APPEARS THE DURATION WILL BE
CLOSER TO 9 HOURS.  THIS CUTS THE AMOUNT BACK TO 6-8 INCHES...
ASSUMING THE ACCUMULATIONS WILL END AROUND OR SHORTLY AFTER
MIDNIGHT.  IN THE CURRENT SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY
COUNTIES...RAIN WILL BE SLOWER TO CHANGE TO SNOW...THUS 2-5 INCHES
STILL LOOKS OK THERE.  1-3 SEEMS OK FOR ERN COUNTIES...WITH 1-2
NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS.  ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE LIMITED BY VERY WET
GROUND...FIRST INCH SHOULD MELT QUICK.

SOMEWHAT LEARY OF ENDING ALL ACCUMULATIONS BY MIDNIGHT AS SUGGESTED
BY MOST MODEL GUIDANCE.  GENERALLY THE MODELS HAVE NOT BEEN THAT
IMPRESSIVE WITH THIS STORM.  THE ABOVE MENTIONED 991.6 SURFACE LOW
WAS DEEPER THAN PROGGED...EXCEPT THE 18Z MESOETA.  OF THE 12Z
MODELS...THE AVN WAS AGAIN THE CLOSEST...AND PUT THE SURFACE LOW
CLOSEST TO WHERE THE 18Z MAX PRESSURE FALLS WERE...CLOSER TO
KANSAS CITY.  THE ETA/MESOETA SEEMED TO INITIALIZE THE UPPER LOW WAY
TOO FAR NORTHWEST...OVER CENTRAL COLORADO ERRONEOUSLY.  THUS THE
NGM/AVN LOOK CONSIDERABLY BETTER THAN ETA/MESOETA.  SO FAR THE UPPER
LOW AND THE SURFACE LOW ARE NOT MOVING OUT AS FAST AS SUGGESTED BY
MODELS.  USING THE OBSERVED FIELDS ON SATELLITE/RADAR/PROFILERS/OBS
BELIEVE THE MODELS ARE A BIT TOO FAST WITH MOVING THE SYSTEM OUT.
QUESTION REMAINS IF THIS WILL BE A DETACHED DEFORMATION ZONE WITH
LINGERING ACCUMULATIONS OVERNIGHT...OR IF THE DEFORMATION ZONE WILL
QUICKLY MOVE OUT AFTER MIDNIGHT.

WATCHING THE EVOLUTION OF THE DRY SLOT ON VISIBLE IMAGERY LEAVES
SOME CONCERN FOR EVENING CONVECTION OVER MY FAR SOUTHERN COUNTIES.
SUNSHINE CURRENTLY APPROACHING I-70 IN KS...WITH MORE CONVECTION
DEVELOPING OVER THE TX PANHANDLE INTO SRN KANSAS.  DO NOT EXPECT ANYTHING
STRONG...BUT WILL KEEP A MENTION OF EVENING THUNDER IN NORTH CENTRAL
KANSAS COUNTIES.

WITH THE SURFACE LOW ALREADY DEEPER THAN PROGGED...EXPECT 987 LOW
NEAR FALLS CITY BY 00Z.  THIS SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO KICK THE WINDS UP
AS EXPECTED...ALTHOUGH GUSTS TO 50 LOOK LESS LIKELY.  MODELS STILL
SHOW 50-55 KNOTS AT 850 MPH 06Z-12Z...SO WILL KEEP THE WIND FORECAST
AS IS.

GIVEN EXPECTED SNOW ACCUMULATIONS AND WINDS...WILL CONTINUE THE
EXISTING WINTER STORM WARNING AND SNOW/BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY INTO
TONIGHT.

MONDAY...ANOTHER NORTHERN STREAM WAVE SENDS A COLD FRONT THROUGH THE
PLAINS WITH SOME ISENTROPIC LIFT OVER THE COLD AIR AGAIN.  THUS WILL
GO WITH TEMPERATURES FALLING MONDAY AFTERNOON...AND CARRY CHANCE FOR
SNOW MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY.  UPPER PATTERN BECOMES FAIRLY
COMPLEX WITH SPLIT FLOW REGIME...AND MODEL SOLUTIONS DIVERGE QUICKLY
INTO THE EXTENDED.

.GID...WINTER STORM WARNING TNGT-NEZ039-040-046-047-060-061-072-073
       SNOW/BLSN ADV TNGT-NEZ041-048-049-062-063-074-075-082>084

NIETFELD

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Buffalo

When: February 24, 4:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Buffalo forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.855, -99.075 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Dawson

When: February 24, 4:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Dawson forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.870, -99.820 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Gosper

When: February 24, 4:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Gosper forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.515, -99.831 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Greeley

When: February 24, 4:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Greeley forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.567, -98.521 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Howard

When: February 24, 4:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Howard forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.220, -98.517 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Phelps

When: February 24, 4:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Phelps forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.511, -99.414 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Sherman

When: February 24, 4:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Sherman forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.221, -98.976 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Valley

When: February 24, 4:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Valley forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.567, -98.982 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Nebraska in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Nebraska, February 2001

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: 5231351, 5231352, 5231353, 5231354, 5231355, 5231356, 5231357, 5231358.