Winter Storm in Nebraska, January 28 to 29, 2001

Name: Winter Storm in Nebraska, January 28 to 29, 2001
Start: 2001-01-28T22:00
End: 2001-01-29T19:00
Location: Nebraska

January 28 to 29, 2001 · NWS OAX · 13 events in 13 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 13 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: 13

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.

Although the southern parts of this area received a period of light snow from the storm that hit extreme Southeast Nebraska earlier Sunday, this event didn't begin until late Sunday evening. Freezing rain spread across much of this region Sunday night coating most roads with a sheet of ice by Monday morning which caused many schools to close. The freezing rain changed to snow over much of the region either late Monday morning or early Monday afternoon and continued into Monday evening before ending. More snow developed Monday night, but additional amounts were generally less than an inch or two. Gusty northwest winds late Monday night and much of Tuesday caused considerable blowing and drifting snow, especially in open areas. Although the freezing rain cut down on snow totals from southeast Nebraska into western Iowa, some heavy snow was reported. Heavier snow amounts included, 7.5 inches at Uehling, Nebraska, 6 inches at Little Sioux and Logan, Iowa and Blair, Nebraska, and 4 to 5 inches at Bennington, David City, Fairbury, Fremont, Gretna, Seward, Tekamah, Utica, Virginia, Papillion, Raymond and Omaha, Nebraska and Oakland, Iowa.

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 Omaha, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 28, 2:55 PM CST, 7 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 28, 2:55 PM CST, 7 hours 5 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE
255 PM CST SUN JAN 28 2001

MAJOR WINTER WEATHER SYSTEM WILL BE THE FORECAST CHALLENGE.

IN THE SHORT TERM...ISENT LIFT HAS SHUT OFF FOR THE TIME BEING
EXCEPT IN A A NARROW BAND OF MIXED PRECIP. IN FAR SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA
AND SW CORNER OF IA.  ANOTHER SURGE SHOWS UP ON RADAR AND IR LOOPS
MOVING INTO WEST KS...WHICH IS LIKELY TO AFFECT THE SAME AREA
TONIGHT ACCORDING TO PROGS.  WITH UP TO 5 INCHES ON SNOW ALREADY
WILL ISSUE WARNING FOR SE 3 NEBRASKA COUNTIES AND PAGE IN IA.

WHILE THE REST OF THE AREA COULD SEE SOME LIGHT PRECIP TONIGHT...THE
MAIN EVENT WILL APPARENTLY BE MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT AS MAIN LOW
EJCTS NORTHEAST AND INTENSIFIES.  MODELS MAY EVEN BE TOO FAST AND
WEAK WITH THIS SYSTEM.  ISENT POTENTIAL VORT COMING INTO SYSTEM IS
QUITE STRONG.  SIMILAR PATTERN IN NOV 1999 RESULTED IN A LAND BOMB
EVEN WITHOUT THE VERY GENEROUS MOISTURE AVAILABLE TO THE CURRENT
SYSTEM.  IN GENERAL I FAVORED THE AVN AS THE SLOWEST AND MOST
INTENSE SOLUTION.  CONFIDENCE DECREASES IN THE LATER PERIODS...OF
COURSE.

ONE CONCERN IS THE AMOUNT OF FREEZING RAIN IN THE SYSTEM.  SFC
REPORTS INDICATE THAT THE PRECIP HAS BEEN MAINLY SNOW TO THE NORTH
OF A LINE FROM FNB INTO SECOND TIER OF MO COUNTIES...CORRESPONDING
WITH A 545DM THICKNESS.  THIS IS UNUSUALLY HIGH...BUT MATCHES A DEEP
NEARLY ISOTHERMAL LAYER UP TO AROUND 750 MB...WHICH ALSO TENDS TO
MAXIMIZE MOISTURE AVAILABLE AS SNOW.  WILL KEEP PRECIP MAINLY SNOW
ON THE COLD SIDE OF THE PROGGED POSITION OF THIS LINE...BUT INDICATE
SOME MIX FOR ABOUT 542-545DM.

EXPECT SNOWFALL TOTALS IN THE 6-10 INCH RANGE...BUT AMOUNTS JUST NW
OF THE RAIN/SNOW LINE COULD EVEN GO A LITTLE HIGHER.  THE MAIN
NEGATIVE FACTOR IS THE RELATIVELY WEAK WINDS ALOFT DURING THE PERIOD
OF BEST LIFT AND MOISTURE DURING THE DAY MONDAY.  EHA...AVN...AND
MM5 ARE IN FAIRLY GOOD AGREEMENT ON HEAVY AMOUNTS.  WITH HEAVY SNOW
A NEAR CERTAINTY FOR MOST OF EASTERN COUNTIES...WILL CONVERT THE WS
WATCH TO A WARNING FOR MON AND MON NIGHT IN THIS AREA.

THE WESTERN TIER FROM FBY NORTH TO WAYNE WILL DEPEND MORE ON
WRAPAROUND SNOW AND WIND TO VERIFY A WARNING.  THIS APPEARS A LITTLE
LESS CERTAIN THAN FARTHER EAST SINCE IT DEPENDS MORE ON TRACK AND
INTENSITY OF SYSTEM IN LATER PDS.  AFTER COORD WILL LEAVE THIS
REGION IN A WATCH FOR NOW.

AM CONCERNED THAT A SLOWER AND MORE INTENSE SYSTEM COULD PROLONG
WRAPAROUND PRECIP INTO TUESDAY IN NORTH ZONES.  AVN EVEN DROPS
ANOTHER SYSTEM INTO THE PLAINS AND RETROGRADES THE SFC LOW TUESDAY NIGHT
WITH PRECIP LINGERING ON WED.  AFTER COORD WITH FSD WILL NOT EXTEND
WATCH BEYOND MONDAY NIGHT...BUT MENTION LIGHT SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW
IN NORTHERN ZONES TUESDAY.  EXPECT SNOW TO BE WET ENOUGH TO AVOID MAJOR
BLOWING PROBLEMS IN SOUTH AND EAST ONCE SNOW ACTUALLY QUITS.

WILL ALSO KEEP MENTION OF SNOW IN EXTENDED ON WED...BUT TRY TO DRY
OUT THU AND FRIDAY.

COLD 850 TEMPS DEVELOP DUE TO LIFT AND WILL HELP KEEP PRECIP IN THE
SNOW CATEGORY...AND WILL ADJUST TEMP FORECAST ACCORDINGLY.  THE COLD
AIR SHOULD PERSIST ON TUESDAY IN WRAPAROUND PATTERN...AND WILL GO
FAR BELOW NGM GUIDANCE.

.OMA...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT THRU MON. NIGHT NE 91>93 IA 91.
       WINTER STORM WARNING MON AND MON NIGHT THURSTON TO GAGE COUNTIES
       AND EAST INTO IOWA.
       WINTER STORM WATCH CONTINUED MON AND MON NIGHT ALONG AND NORTHWEST
       OF A LINE FAIRBURY TO WAYNE.

WIESE

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

13 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Douglas

When: January 28, 10:00 PM CST to January 29, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Douglas forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.295, -96.154 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Burt

When: January 28, 10:00 PM CST to January 29, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Burt forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.852, -96.329 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Butler

When: January 28, 10:00 PM CST to January 29, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Butler forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.226, -97.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Dodge

When: January 28, 10:00 PM CST to January 29, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Dodge forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.578, -96.654 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Gage

When: January 28, 10:00 PM CST to January 29, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Gage forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.262, -96.689 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Jefferson

When: January 28, 10:00 PM CST to January 29, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Jefferson forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.176, -97.143 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Johnson

When: January 28, 10:00 PM CST to January 29, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Johnson forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.393, -96.265 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lancaster

When: January 28, 10:00 PM CST to January 29, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Lancaster forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.784, -96.688 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Saline

When: January 28, 10:00 PM CST to January 29, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Saline forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.524, -97.141 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Sarpy

When: January 28, 10:00 PM CST to January 29, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Sarpy forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.113, -96.112 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Saunders

When: January 28, 10:00 PM CST to January 29, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Saunders forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.226, -96.637 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Seward

When: January 28, 10:00 PM CST to January 29, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Seward forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.872, -97.139 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Washington

When: January 28, 10:00 PM CST to January 29, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Washington forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.531, -96.222 (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, January 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: 5227780, 5227781, 5227782, 5227783, 5227784, 5227785, 5227786, 5227787, 5227788, 5227789, 5227790, 5227791, 5227792.