Nebraska, 2004

Heavy Snow in Nebraska, April 11 to 12, 2004

April 11 to 12, 2004 · NWS GID · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

A narrow swath of heavy wet snow hammered a small section of the south central Nebraska during the early morning hours of April 12th. The band of snow, which was anywhere from 5 to 8 inches, fell along a 30 mile wide line from south of Cambridge in Furnas county to near Red Cloud in Webster county.

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

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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 GID wrote it up.

A narrow swath of heavy wet snow hammered a small section of the south central Nebraska during the early morning hours of April 12th. The band of snow, which was anywhere from 5 to 8 inches, fell along a 30 mile wide line from south of Cambridge in Furnas county to near Red Cloud in Webster county. Specifically, Beaver City reported 7.5 inches of snow, Riverton 7.0 inches and Franklin, Wilsonville and Cambridge all had 6 inches of white stuff. The snow did bring some beneficial moisture of one-third to one-half inch to this drought stricken area.

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 Apr 11, 7:59 PM CST, 3 hours 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 11, 7:59 PM CST, 3 hours 1 minute before
SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
859 PM CDT SUN APR 11 2004

.DISCUSSION...LATEST RADAR MOSAIC IS REVEALING LARGE BAND OF LIGHT
PRECIPITATION OVER WESTERN NEBRASKA AND FAR NORTHWEST KANSAS IN
ASSOCIATION WITH STRONG UPPER WAVE MOVING INTO REGION.  STRONG
FRONTOGENESIS IN ASSOCIATION WITH THIS WAVE WILL ALLOW THIS PRECIP
BAND TO SPREAD INTO AREAS WEST OF HIGHWAY 183 OVER THE NEXT FEW
HOURS.  LOOKS AS THOUGH PRECIP WILL INITIALLY START AS SOME LIGHT
RAIN BUT THEN QUICKLY CHANGE OVER TO LIGHT SNOW. WARM SOIL
TEMPERATURES WILL PREVENT MUCH ACCUMULATION FROM OCCURRING AND WILL
LEAVE ACCUMULATIONS OUT OF FORECAST. UPDATED FORECAST AND GRIDS TO
REFLECT THIS BETTER CHANCE OF PRECIP OVER WESTERN HALF OF FORECAST
AREA.
&&

.PREV DISCUSSION...TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT.  100KT H3 JET ON
THE EASTERN SLOPES OF THE ROCKIES WAS DIGGING SHORTWAVE TROF INTO
NORTHERN NEBRASKA WHILE ASSOCIATED SFC COLD FRONT HAD PROGRESSED
INTO EASTERN NEBRASKA AND CENTRAL KANSAS. SOME HIT AND MISS FLURRIES
EARLIER THIS MORNING TO OUR NORTH AND INTERMITTENT SPRINKLES AROUND
RECENTLY...BUT STILL JUST TRACE AMOUNTS.

REINFORCING COLD AIR ARRIVES TONIGHT AS UPPER LOW DROPS SOUTH THROUGH
NEBRASKA INTO KANSAS AND SUBSEQUENTLY CARVING BROADER UPPER TROF IN
THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. MODELS TRENDING FARTHER WEST WITH BEST
PCPN CHANCES TONIGHT IN THE HIGH PLAINS IN STRONGER FRONTOGENETIC
FORCING COMBINED WITH UPSLOPE FLOW. STILL SOME QUESTION ON EASTWARD
EXTENT OF PRECIPITATION TONIGHT WITH DRY AIR TO THE EAST.  HAVE
INCREASED POPS ACROSS WESTERN AND SOUTHERN COUNTIES FOR SNOW SHOWERS
AFTER MIDNIGHT...WITH PRECIPITATION SHIFTING SOUTH INTO KANSAS TOWARD
MORNING WITH PROGRESSION OF UPPER TROF.  DURING THE DAY MONDAY...
RAIN AGAIN POSSIBLE BEFORE PRECIPITATION ENDS.  NO SNOW
ACCUMULATION EXPECTED WITH SOIL TEMPERATURES IN THE 40S TO LOW 50S.

HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS SOUTH BEHIND DEPARTING UPPER LOW MONDAY AND
CLEAR SKIES/LIGHT WINDS MONDAY NIGHT WILL RESULT IN ANOTHER COLD
OVERNIGHT PERIOD.  HEIGHTS RISE THEREAFTER WITH UPPER RIDGE
BUILDING EAST ONTO THE PLAINS.  THIS WILL RESULT IN MODERATING
TEMPERATURES EACH DAY WITH READINGS BACK TO SEASONAL BY TUESDAY.

LONG TERM...12Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. BASICALLY...KEPT THE SAME
FORECAST FROM YESTERDAYS FORECAST. AGREE WITH PREVIOUS SHIFT AGAIN
IN THAT AN EVER FLATTENING UPPER FLOW WILL ALLOW FOR MUCH WARMER AIR
TO COVER THE CWA STARTING WEDNESDAY. MAIN PROBLEMS THIS CYCLE
CONCERN LATE WEEK FROPA TIMING AND CONVECTIVE POSSIBILITIES. MODELS
TRENDING TOWARD YESTERDAYS SLOWER ECMWF RUN IN TERMS OF FROPA
TIMING. GULF APPEARS OPEN...HOWEVER...UNTIL WESTERN CONUS UPPER TROF
MOVES EAST, OUR CHANCES FOR THUNDER REMAIN LOW. BASED ON
COLLABORATION...DECIDED TO INSERT THUNDER POPS FOR SATURDAY
AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY. AGAIN LIKE YESTERDAY...PLACEMENT OF SFC
FEATURES AND OF MID-LEVEL DRY PUNCH IS DIFFICULT AT BEST THIS FAR
OUT. SUFFICE IT TO SAY THAT THUNDER CHANCES WILL APPROACH CLIMO
NUMBERS SATURDAY.
&&

.GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
.NE...NONE.
.KS...NONE.
&&

AWJ/FAY/16
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 11, 10:46 AM CST, 12 hours 14 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
1146 AM CDT SUN APR 11 2004

KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087-121200-
ADAMS-BUFFALO-CLAY-DAWSON-FILLMORE-FRANKLIN-FURNAS-GOSPER-GREELEY-
HALL-HAMILTON-HARLAN-HOWARD-JEWELL-KEARNEY-MERRICK-MITCHELL-NANCE-
NUCKOLLS-OSBORNE-PHELPS-PHILLIPS-POLK-ROOKS-SHERMAN-SMITH-THAYER-
VALLEY-WEBSTER-YORK-
1146 AM CDT SUN APR 11 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND
PARTS OF NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

A STORM SYSTEM WILL TAKE SHAPE DURING THE SECOND HALF OF THE
UPCOMING WORK WEEK. AS A RESULT...THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE
SATURDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.

16

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Franklin

When
April 11, 11:00 PM CST to April 12, 7:00 AM CST
Where
Franklin forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.176, -98.953 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Furnas

When
April 11, 11:00 PM CST to April 12, 7:00 AM CST
Where
Furnas forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.177, -99.912 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Harlan

When
April 11, 11:00 PM CST to April 12, 7:00 AM CST
Where
Harlan forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.177, -99.405 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Webster

When
April 11, 11:00 PM CST to April 12, 7:00 AM CST
Where
Webster forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.176, -98.500 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Nebraska in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Nebraska, April 2004

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: 5394879, 5394880, 5394881, 5394882.