Winter Storm in Nebraska, January 25 to 26, 2004

Name: Winter Storm in Nebraska, January 25 to 26, 2004
Start: 2004-01-25T12:00
End: 2004-01-26T16:00
Location: Nebraska

January 25 to 26, 2004 · NWS GID · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

A winter storm pounded a section of south-central Nebraska with heavy snow and strong winds. The storm primarily blasted areas along and east of U.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 11 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: 1
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $275,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 11

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 winter storm pounded a section of south-central Nebraska with heavy snow and strong winds. The storm primarily blasted areas along and east of U. S. Highway 281 from late Sunday evening into Monday.Snow began in earnest by late Sunday afternoon, and turned heavy at times overnight. The snow lingered across eastern sections of the area on Monday as the winds increased and temperatures dropped. The heaviest snow fell across York county where 12 inches of new snow was reported. Up to 10 inches were measured in Shickley and Nelson and 6 to 8 inches in the Grand Island area. The falling snow tapered off, but the blowing snow began. Snow, being whipped by 35 mph north winds, caused travel to become very treacherous. Many schools canceled classes as rural roads were almost impassable on the 26th. Temperatures took a nose dive and fell below zero over nearly the entire area the night of January 26th.There were numerous accidents around the region, including over 40 in York county alone. In one accident near the town of York, the driver of a SUV lost control and hit a truck. A 5 year old girl riding in the SUV was thrown from the vehicle and died from her injuries.

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 Jan 25, 3:13 AM CST, 8 hours 47 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 25, 3:13 AM CST, 8 hours 47 minutes before

SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
313 AM CST SUN JAN 25 2004

.DISCUSSION...COMPLEX WINTER WEATHER SITUATION EVOLVING ACROSS THE
CENTRAL PLAINS.  WATER VAPOR IMAGERY INDICATES SOUTHERN PLAINS LOW
LIFTING OUT AS UPSTREAM TROF DIGS INTO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST/NORTHERN
ROCKIES. CLOSED CIRCULATION EVIDENT ON PROFILER NETWORK ACROSS
EASTERN COLORADO...WHICH IS GRADUALLY LIFTING TO THE NORTHEAST.  SFC
WARM FRONT WAS SITUATED ACROSS NORTHERN OKLAHOMA WITH JUICY DEWPOINTS
AROUND 50F TO THE SOUTH OF THE BOUNDARY.  SHALLOW COLD AIR AT H85
WITH TEMPS BELOW ZERO FROM ROUGHLY OMAHA NEBRASKA TO GOODLAND KANSAS.
RADAR MOSAIC INDICATES CONVECTION ACROSS SOUTHEAST KANSAS WHILE IN
OUR CWA...CONVECTIVE AREAS OF FREEZING RAIN...AT TIMES WITH SLEET
HAVE BEEN FALLING ACROSS OUR EASTERN CWA EARLY THIS MORNING...WITH
INTERMITTENT FREEZING DRIZZLE/FREEZING RAIN WEST.  LATEST CALLS TO
COUNTIES INDICATING CHANGEOVER TO SLEET/SNOW COMMENCING.

MODELS HAVE NOT HANDLED THIS EVENT VERY WELL THUS FAR AND LATEST
TREND IS FOR SLOWER EVOLUTION OF SYSTEM WITH GREATER POTENTIAL/LONGER
DURATION OF WINTER PRECIPITATION. FOR THE FORECAST TODAY...ISENTROPIC
LIFT CONTINUES EARLY THIS MORNING AHEAD OF TROF LIFTING NORTHEAST
FROM COLORADO...WITH DEFORMATION ZONE SETTING UP ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST
TWO THIRDS OF OUR CWA BY MIDDAY. FRONTOGENETIC FORCING THEN INCREASES
DURING THE EVENING AS STRONG COLD FRONT APPROACHES AS SHORTWAVE TROF
DEEPENS IN THE CENTRAL ROCKIES AND MOVES ONTO THE PLAINS.
FREEZING/MIXED PRECIPITATION ALREADY CHANGING TO SLEET/SNOW...
AND SNOW WILL CONTINUE TONIGHT AS UPPER TROF MOVES THROUGH.
SNOW POTENTIAL DEPENDENT ON TIMING OF CHANGE TO SNOW...BUT GIVEN
TRACK OF SYSTEM...BEST MOISTURE AND LIFT REMAINS ACROSS OUR EASTERN
CWA.  OVERALL SNOW AMOUNTS FORECAST TO RANGE FROM AROUND ONE 1 INCH
WEST TO 5 INCHES EAST.  NORTH WINDS BECOME STRONG BEHIND THE FRONT
TONIGHT AND MONDAY...WITH H85 WINDS IN THE 40-50KT RANGE.

UPPER WAVE THEN SLOWLY SLIDES ACROSS AREA ON MONDAY WITH SOME LIGHT
SNOW OR FLURRIES LINGERING INTO THE EARLY AFTERNOON HOURS BEFORE
SUBSIDENCE TAKES HOLD BY EVENING.  TEMPS LOOK FAIRLY COLD AS CAA
BEHIND SYSTEM REMAINS STRONG THROUGH THE DAY.  WILL HOLD HIGHS
AROUND 20.

BEYOND MONDAY...MODELS ARE CONTINUING TO SHOW EXTREMELY POOR RUN TO
RUN CONSISTENCY AS PREVIOUS COLD SNAP BY THE END OF THE WEEK IS A
WARM UP NOW.  CONFIDENCE IS AS LOW AS IT CAN GET IN ANY MEDIUM RANGE
SOLUTION AT THIS POINT AND WILL MAKE NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO
FORECAST.

.GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NE...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL MIDNIGHT EAST OF HIGHWAY
183...AND WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM SUNDAY WEST OF HIGHWAY
183.
KS...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY THROUGH UNTIL MIDNIGHT EAST OF
HIGHWAY 183...AND WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM SUNDAY WEST OF
HIGHWAY 183.

&&

FAY/AWJ

Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 25, 5:25 AM CST, 6 hours 35 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
525 AM CST SUN JAN 25 2004

KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087-261200-
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-
525 AM CST SUN JAN 25 2004

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT FOR AREAS
ALONG AND EAST OF A LINE FROM ORD...TO KEARNEY...TO FRANKLIN...TO
SMITH CENTER AND OSBORNE.  WEST OF THE LINE...A WINTER WEATHER
ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM THIS EVENING.  A WINTER STORM
SYSTEM WILL BRING SLEET TO CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS
EARLY THIS MORNING. THE SLEET WILL CHANGE OVER TO ALL SNOW BY LATE
MORNING.  THE SNOW WILL CONTINUE INTO TONIGHT...WITH TOTAL SNOW
ACCUMULATION RANGING FROM 1 TO 5 INCHES.  ICE ACCUMULATION ON OUTDOOR
SURFACES WILL BE COMMON PRIOR TO THE ONSET OF SNOW.  SIDEWALKS...
ROADS...BRIDGES WILL BE SLICK CREATING DIFFICULT WALKING OR DRIVING
CONDITIONS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

THE SNOW WILL GRADUALLY END FROM WEST TO EAST ON MONDAY.  STRONG
NORTH WINDS WITH GUSTS OVER 30 MPH WILL USHER IN COLDER AIR...
AND PRODUCE WIND CHILLS IN THE SINGLE DIGITS BELOW ZERO MONDAY
MORNING.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.

FAY

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Adams

When: January 25, 12:00 PM CST to January 26, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Adams forecast zone
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.525, -98.501 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Clay

When: January 25, 12:00 PM CST to January 26, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Clay forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.524, -98.051 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Fillmore

When: January 25, 12:00 PM CST to January 26, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Fillmore forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.525, -97.596 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hall

When: January 25, 12:00 PM CST to January 26, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Hall forecast zone
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.873, -98.502 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hamilton

When: January 25, 12:00 PM CST to January 26, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Hamilton forecast zone
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.874, -98.023 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Merrick

When: January 25, 12:00 PM CST to January 26, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Merrick forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.170, -98.038 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Nuckolls

When: January 25, 12:00 PM CST to January 26, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Nuckolls forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.176, -98.047 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Polk

When: January 25, 12:00 PM CST to January 26, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Polk forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.187, -97.568 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Thayer

When: January 25, 12:00 PM CST to January 26, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Thayer forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.176, -97.595 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Webster

When: January 25, 12:00 PM CST to January 26, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Webster forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.176, -98.500 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, York

When: January 25, 12:00 PM CST to January 26, 4:00 PM CST
Where: York forecast zone
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.873, -97.597 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Winter Storm, York	2004-01-25	5	Female	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Direct

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 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Nebraska, January 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: 5383524, 5383525, 5383635, 5383636, 5383637, 5383638, 5383639, 5383640, 5383641, 5383642, 5383643.