Winter Storm in Nebraska, March 15, 2001

Name: Winter Storm in Nebraska, March 15, 2001
Start: 2001-03-15T06:00
End: 2001-03-15T12:00
Location: Nebraska

March 15, 2001 · NWS GID · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

A late winter storm moved through parts of south-central Nebraska on the morning of the 15th. This storm brought strong winds and snow.

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.

A late winter storm moved through parts of south-central Nebraska on the morning of the 15th. This storm brought strong winds and snow. Most locations picked up around 4 inches of snow, but a few locations had more. Bertrand had the most with 10 inches reported and at Johnson Lake, around 6 to 8 inches were common. Winds gusted between 30 and 50 mph during the storm and caused some blowing a drifting of the snow. This produced some hazardous driving conditions and one accident along Interstate 80 shut down the roadway near Kearney for a short while. The strong winds and the wet snow caused power lines to sway dramatically. Many slapped together, blowing circuit breakers along the lines. This caused numerous power outages across the area. The near blizzard conditions also closed or delayed starting area schools and the courthouse in Buffalo county was closed during the morning hours.

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 Mar 15, 4:09 AM CST, 1 hour 51 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 15, 4:09 AM CST, 1 hour 51 minutes before

SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
409 AM CST THU MAR 15 2001

...MAIN CONCERNS WITH THIS FORECAST PACKAGE ARE LIGHT SNOW AND WINDS
TODAY...AND APPROPRIATE ADVISORIES AND/OR WARNINGS...

POTENT UPPER WAVE SWINGING THROUGH EASTERN CO INTO WESTERN KS AND OK
OVERNIGHT. 110 KNOT 300 MB UPPER JET WAS ROUNDING THE BASE OF THE
TROUGH...WITH LEFT EXIT REGION JUXTAPOSITIONED OVER KS. AT 850 MB...
TEMPERATURES WERE ONLY A FEW DEGREES BELOW 0C FROM SD AND WY TO THE
CANADIAN BORDER.

LATEST SURFACE ANALYSIS PAINTING A COMPLEX PICTURE THIS MORNING. A
LOW PRESSURE AREA WAS ANALYZED ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL NE...WITH A COLD
FRONT TRAILING INTO THE NE PANHANDLE. EXTENDING FROM THESE
FEATURES...A WIND SHIFT/TROUGH EXTENDED SOUTHWARD THROUGH KS AND INTO
OK...WITH THE MAIN SFC LOW PRESSURE AREA DEEPENING ACROSS SOUTH
CENTRAL KS.

ONGOING PRECIPITATION OCCURRING EARLY THIS MORNING IN AXIS OF UPPER
TROUGH. AT ISSUANCE TIME...AREA OF PRECIPITATION MAINLY SNOW IN NE
CWA...BUT STILL LIGHT RAIN TO THE SOUTH IN KS ZONES...WITH 4 AM
TEMPERATURES IN THE LOWER TO MID 40S. MOST OF THE SNOW SHOULD DRAW TO
A CLOSE THIS MORNING IN THE NE ZONES...AS THE UPPER WAVE PROGRESSES
EASTWARD AND SO DOES THE BEST UPPER JET DYNAMICS...WITH THE EVENT
TRANSITIONING IN MORE OF A DEFORMATION ZONE SCENARIO THIS AFTERNOON
IN KS ZONES.

STILL THINK KS COUNTIES WILL BE RATHER SLOW TO CHANGE OVER TO SNOW
THIS MORNING...AS INFLUX OF COLD AIR IS DELAYED SOMEWHAT. WILL KEEP
THE WINTER STORM WARNING AND GO 2 TO 4 INCHES IN THE KS CWA...AND 1-2
OR 2-3 INCHES IN THE NE AREAS UNDER A WINTER WX ADVISORY.

AS FAR AS ADVISORIES/WARNINGS...MAIN FACTOR WILL BE THE STRONG WINDS.
ETA/AVN REMAIN CONSISTENT IN DEVELOPING 45 TO 55 KNOT 850 MB
JET CORE ACROSS THE CWA THIS MORNING. STILL RATHER TAME ON THE NE AND
KS WIND PROFILERS AT THIS TIME...BUT INCREASING PLATTEVILLE CO
AND GRANADA CO LOW-MID LEVEL GATES OF 45+ KNOTS ARE REASSURING.
WILL ISSUE WIND ADVISORY FOR THE NE COUNTIES THAT I EXPECT TO RECEIVE
LITTLE IF ANY SNOW...I.E. EASTERN AREAS.

OTHERWISE...CLEARING TONIGHT...WITH PLENTY OF SUN AND A DECENT
TEMPERATURE REBOUND ON FRIDAY. NO CHANGES MADE BEYOND SATURDAY.

COORDINATED WITH OAX...LBF...GLD AND TOP.

.GID...WINTER STORM WARNING TODAY NORTH CENTRAL KS ZONES.

    ...WINTER WX ADVISORY THROUGH EARLY THIS AFTERNOON IN AREAS NORTH
 E      AND WEST OF GRAND ISLAND AND HASTINGS
       NEZ039-040-046-047-060-061-072>074-082>084

    ...WIND ADVISORY TODAY GRAND ISLAND/HASTINGS AND EAST
       NEZ041-048-049-062>064-075>077-085>087

GUYER

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: March 15, 6:00 AM CST to 12:00 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: March 15, 6:00 AM CST to 12:00 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, Furnas

When: March 15, 6:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where: Furnas forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.177, -99.912 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Gosper

When: March 15, 6:00 AM CST to 12:00 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, Hall

When: March 15, 6:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where: Hall forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.873, -98.502 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Harlan

When: March 15, 6:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where: Harlan forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.177, -99.405 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Phelps

When: March 15, 6:00 AM CST to 12:00 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: March 15, 6:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where: Sherman forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.221, -98.976 (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, March 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: 5238995, 5238996, 5238997, 5238998, 5238999, 5239000, 5239001, 5239002.