Winter Storm in Nebraska, November 26 to 27, 2001

Name: Winter Storm in Nebraska, November 26 to 27, 2001
Start: 2001-11-26T00:30
End: 2001-11-27T05:00
Location: Nebraska

November 26 to 27, 2001 · NWS OAX · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

Eastern Nebraska's first winter storm of the season dropped up to 14 inches of snow in northeast Nebraska. The snow began falling late Sunday but the heaviest snow fell Monday the 26th.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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: 4

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.

Eastern Nebraska's first winter storm of the season dropped up to 14 inches of snow in northeast Nebraska. The snow began falling late Sunday but the heaviest snow fell Monday the 26th. Thunder accompanied the snowfall Monday evening as low pressure tracked across east central Nebraska. Warmer temperatures wrapping into the storm changed some of the snow to rain and freezing rain for a while Monday, and also made for a very sharp line between locations with heavy snow and those who received little or none. The storm dropped heavy snow from the Sandhills of Nebraska through northeast Nebraska and into South Dakota and Minnesota. Heavier amounts in northeast Nebraska included...14 inches at Crofton, 10 to 12 inches at Bloomfield, 10 inches at Orchard, Neligh and Osmond and 9 inches at Niobrara and Clearwater. There were also unofficial reports of 15 to 17 inches of snow in parts of Knox county. Meanwhile, some locations just 20 or 30 miles to the southeast of Osmond received little or no snowfall. The snow was a heavy wet snow much of the storm, although by Monday evening falling temperatures and increasing northwest winds caused considerable blowing and drifting snow which lasted into Tuesday. The blowing and drifting snow closed some roads including highway 81 in Cedar county. The snow also caused the cancellation of many schools in northeast Nebraska Monday and Tuesday.

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 Nov 25, 3:30 PM CST, 9 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 25, 3:30 PM CST, 9 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE
330 PM CST SUN NOV 25 2001

VIGOROUS UPPER TROF NOW CROSSING CENTRAL ROCKIES OBVIOUS MAIN
FORECAST CONCERN AS IT MOVES INTO PLAINS TNGT AND MONDAY WITH
POTENTIAL OF SIGNIFICANT SNOWS. OVERALL FEEL ETA MODEL HAS BEEN MOST
CONISTENT IN HANDLING THIS TROF THAN AVIATION WHICH HAS BEEN A SHADE
FURTHER N WITH TRACK OF MID LEVEL FEATURES ALONG WITH H85 LOW
BESIDES BEEING SOMEWHAT WARMER WITH H85 TEMPS AND THICKNESS. THIS
ALONG WITH ETA AND AVN HANDLING OF STRONG WEATHER SYSTEM THAT
CROSSED REGION FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY MAKES ME LEAN TOWARD ETA
MODEL.

25/12Z ETA MODEL CONTINUES TO PLACE PTNS NERN NEB IN CURRENT WINTER
STORM WATCH FOR LATE TNGT AND MONDAY AT RISK FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOW ESPCLY
LATE TNGT INTO MONDAY BASED ON PROMITY RULES OF THUMB TO MID LEVEL
AND H85 CIRCULATIONS. ALTHOUGH H85 TEMPS AND THICKNESS START EVEN
SOMEWHAT WARM WITH ETA FOR POSSIBLE MIXED PRECIP AT ONSET FEEL SOME
DYNAMIC AND EVAPORATIVE COOLING WILL COMPENSTATE AND TURN PRECIP
TYPE TO SNOW BY 26/12Z. BASED ON GARCIA METHOD USING MIXING
RATIOS...COOK CONCEPT AND MODEL QPF REGION APPEARS TO HAVE POTENTIAL
FOR HEAVY SNOW ACCUMULATION STARTING LATE TNGT INTO MONDAY.
STEEPEING MID LEVEL LAPSE RATES ALSO HAVE POTENTIAL FOR EMBEDDED
CONVECTION IN EASTERN NEBRASKA AND SOUTHWEST IOWA LATER TNGT INTO
MONDAY.  BRISK NE WINDS BECOMING N AND NW AND INCREASING ALSO HAVE
POTENTIAL TO ADD CONCERN FOR SITUATION. THEREFORE AM INCLINED TO GO
WITH A WINTER STORM WARNING LATE TNGT AND MONDAY IN AREA WHERE
CURRENT WATCH IS IN EFFECT. CONCERN THEN EXISTS FOR BAND OF COUNTIES
SOUTH OF WARNING INCLUDING AREA FROM KOFK TOWARD ONAWA. LIKELY MIXED
PRECIP TNGT BUT THIS AREA WILL LIKELY NEED A WINTER WX ADVISORY MONDAY.
REST OF SE NEB AND SW IA LIKELY TO SEE PRECIP IN FORM OF LIQUID
BEFORE COLDER AIR SURGES SWD MONDAY AFTN AND NIGHT CHANGING PRECIP
FROM RAIN TO SNOW IN BACKWASH. COLDEST AIR OF SEASON TO FOLLOW LOW
WITH SOME POTENTIAL FOR SNOW SHOWERS AND FLURRIES TUE AND WED. LATER
PERIOS INTO EXTENDED LOOK DRY EXCEPT FOR POSSIBLY SMALL CHANCE OF RAIN
OR SNOW ABOUT FRIDAY. TEMPS MODERATING SOME LATER IN
WEEK.

.OMA...WINTER STORM WARNING LATE TNGT AND MONDAY...NEZ011-012-
       016-017-018
       WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY...NEZ015-030-031-032-033-034-042-
       -043-IAZ043

WIESE

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Knox

When: November 26, 12:30 AM CST to November 27, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Knox forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.637, -97.892 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Antelope

When: November 26, 12:30 AM CST to November 27, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Antelope forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.177, -98.067 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Cedar

When: November 26, 12:30 AM CST to November 27, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Cedar forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.599, -97.252 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Pierce

When: November 26, 12:30 AM CST to November 27, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Pierce forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.264, -97.601 (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, November 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: 5272488, 5272555, 5272556, 5272557.