Winter Storm in Iowa, March 21, 2006

Name: Winter Storm in Iowa, March 21, 2006
Start: 2006-03-21T00:00
End: 2006-03-21T09:00
Location: Iowa

March 21, 2006 · NWS OAX · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

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.

A prolonged period of snow, sometimes heavy, fell across much of eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa from Sunday morning 3/19/06 into early Tuesday morning the 21st. The snow was occasionally mixed with sleet, freezing drizzle and even light rain Sunday and Sunday night. Total snowfall of 6 to 12 inches was reported from near Little Sioux and Missouri Valley north into Monona county with 6 to 8 inches recorded from around Council Bluffs southeast toward Red Oak. Amounts tapered off to 2 to 4 inches toward Shenandoah and Clarinda in far southwest Iowa.The precipitation for the first part of the event, from Sunday into midday Monday, was mainly driven by warm air advection. Then by Monday afternoon an upper level system caused surface low development over Oklahoma which then tracked across the Missouri and Arkansas area by Tuesday morning.Although the snow began just after midnight Sunday the 19th along and west of a Lincoln to West Point Nebraska, very dry low level air feeding into the system greatly reduced the snowfall from near the Missouri River east into western Iowa and little or no measurable snow had yet fallen as of 7 am Sunday. By mid morning Sunday accumulating snow had pushed to the Missouri River with 1 to 3 inches recorded as far east as the Omaha area. However, the above mentioned dry air would continue to cause periodic lapses in accumulating snow for the counties bordering the Missouri River in Nebraska south of Tekamah and for much of Southwest Iowa. That in turn allowed for somewhat brighter afternoon skies Sunday and Monday along with temperatures that managed to climb to freezing or a little warmer. Thus, there was much melting of the snow on roads and sidewalks, especially on treated ones, during the daylight hours. So even though many roads west of a Lincoln to West Point line were closed for a time by Monday afternoon, including Interstate 80 west of Lincoln, travel from extreme eastern Nebraska into much of southwest Iowa was not affected too much. Heavier snowfall totals in western Iowa included...12 inches near Little Sioux, 10 inches near Castana, 9 inches in Underwood and 6 to 8 inches from Logan to Onawa and Mapleton and also near Red Oak. Some of these totals were affected by paritally melting from underneath due to warm ground temperatures and air temperatures near or a little above freezing.

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 Mar 20, 10:33 PM CST, 1 hour 27 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 20, 10:33 PM CST, 1 hour 27 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE
1033 PM CST MON MAR 20 2006

.UPDATE...
WILL MAINTAIN CURRENT WINTER STORM WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES THROUGH
TONIGHT. STORM TOTAL SNOW AMOUNTS THROUGH THIS EVENING HAVE
RANGED FROM 1 TO 3 INCHES OVER THE FAR EASTERN CWA TO OVER 20
INCHES IN THE FAR WEST. DESPITE HIGH WATER CONTENT OF THE
SNOW...BLOWING AND DRIFTING OF SNOW HAS ALSO BEEN REPORTED ACROSS
THE CWA...WITH DRIFTS OVER 3 FEET IN PARTS OF THE WESTERN CWA.

EARLIER RADAR TRENDS WERE SHOWING SPOKES OF DRY AIR ROTATING
THROUGH THE EASTERN CWA...DECREASING SNOW RATES THERE. ALSO A
LARGE AREA OF SUBSIDENCE WAS NOTED OVER THE SOUTHERN CWA THIS
EVENING...BUT WAS BEGINNING TO FILL BACK IN WITH AT LEAST LIGHT
SNOW IN DIFFLUENT AREA ON NORTH SIDE OF UPPER LOW. THE DRYING
TREND HAS HALTED AS OF LATE EVENING. BANDING ON RADAR LOOPS AND
COOLING CLOUD TOPS ON IR IMAGERY SUGGEST DEFORMATION ZONE IS
SETTING UP OVER THE CENTRAL CWA JUST SOUTH OF THE OMAHA METRO.
THIS WOULD POINT TO CONTINUED REGENERATION OF SNOW JUST NORTH OF
THE TEMP GRADIENT ON SATELLITE IMAGERY. SO AREAS FROM JUST NORTH
OF LINCOLN TO RED OAK AND POINTS NORTH WILL LIKELY SEE THE MOST
SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATION OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS. AM
LOOKING FOR ANOTHER 3 OR 4 INCHES OF SNOW IN THESE HEAVIER
BANDS...WITH AMOUNTS ONLY AROUND AN INCH IN THE SOUTHWEST CWA
WHERE MORE SPOTTY RADAR RETURNS EXPECTED. MODELS SHOW DECREASING
SNOW TOWARD MORNING...AND AGREE WITH CURRENT FORECAST. HOWEVER
WILL HAVE TO WATCH RADAR AND SATELLITE TRENDS OVERNIGHT AS
DEFORMATION ZONE SNOWS TEND TO HOLD ON A BIT LONGER THAN EXPECTED.

HAVE BEEN ISSUING SEVERAL SNOW REPORTS UNDER LSROAX PIL THROUGH
THE EVENING.

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION... (ISSUED 327 PM CST MON MAR 20 2006)

SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT. ONGOING WINTER STORM
WILL BE THE PRIMARY CHALLENGE AS MODERATE TO OCCASIONALLY HEAVY
SNOW IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THIS EVENING BEFORE TAPERING TO
FLURRIES BY TUESDAY MORNING. SOME IMPRESSIVE AMOUNTS HAVE BEEN
RECEIVED THUS FAR WITH A FEW LOCATIONS AROUND COLUMBUS AND ALBION
IN THE MID TEENS FOR ACCUMULATION WHERE THE SNOW HAS BEEN HEAVY
FOR MUCH OF THE DAY. FURTHER EAST...THE DRY AIR ADVECTING IN ON
EASTERLY WINDS HAVE CONTINUED TO COMPOUND PROBLEMS RESULTING IN
OFF AND ON HEAVIER SNOWFALL WITH PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST IOWA NOT
SEEING MUCH AT ALL IN THE WAY OF ACCUMULATION. THE DRY AIR HAS
ALLOWED TEMPS TO WARM INTO THE UPPER 30S AND LOWER 40S ACROSS
EXTREME SOUTHWEST IOWA AND EXTREME SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA WHICH ALSO
SUPPORTED A RAIN/SNOW MIXTURE. THE WINDS HAVE BEEN PARTICULARLY
IMPRESSIVE ALSO WITH SEVERAL LOCATIONS REPORTING 40MPH+ GUSTS
THROUGH LATE MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON.

STILL FEEL THAT THE NAM IS LIKELY OVERFORECASTING THE QPF WITH
THIS STORM...THUS USED A BLEND OF THE GFS AND NAM FOR ADDITIONAL
SNOWFALL AMOUNTS THROUGH 6AM. STRONG ISENTROPIC LIFT WILL CONTINUE
THIS EVENING AS NOTED ON THE 285/290K SURFACES. CROSS SECTIONS OF
EQUIVALENT POTENTIAL TEMPERATURE STILL INDICATE SOME SLANTWISE
CONVECTION WILL STILL BE POSSIBLE...AND EVEN THE GFS INDICATED
OUTRIGHT CONVECTIVE INSTABILITY WITH A DECENT AREA OF NEGATIVE EPV
FROM H70 TO H50. THIS IS WITHIN THE AREA OF THE EXIT REGION OF THE
110KT JET STREAK THAT SHOWS UP REALLY WELL ON RECENT WATER VAPOR
IMAGERY.

REGARDING WINTER WEATHER HEADLINES FOR TONIGHT...WILL ESSENTIALLY
CONTINUE OUR CURRENT GROUPINGS OF WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES AND
WINTER STORM WARNINGS. WE DID EXTEND THE HEADLINES THAT WERE
PREVIOUSLY EXPIRING AT 6PM THIS EVENING TO 4AM TUESDAY. I DID
ALSO UPGRADE HARRISON COUNTY IN WESTERN IOWA TO A WINTER STORM
WARNING CONSIDERING THEY HAVE ABOUT 5 INCHES OF SNOW ON THE GROUND
CURRENTLY. WINTER STORM WARNING CRITERIA WILL BE SKETCHY ACROSS
EXTREME SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA AND EXTREME SOUTHWEST IOWA WHERE THE
RAIN/SNOW MIXTURE HAS SEVERELY LIMITED SNOW ACCUMULATION IF ANY
EXISTS AT ALL. HOWEVER...WITH EXPECTED ADDITIONAL SNOWFALL TONIGHT
OF 3 TO 8 INCHES...WE/LL KEEP THEM IN THE WARNING ANYHOW.
NORTHEAST WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS WILL CERTAINLY
CREATE A LOT OF BLOWING SNOW...AND LIKELY A LOT OF DRIFTING SNOW
IN THE OPEN COUNTRY. DESPITE THIS BEING A VERY WET SNOW...THE TOP
LAYERS OF SNOW ARE BEING BLOWN AROUND QUITE A BIT...WITH THE SNOW
MELTING FROM THE BOTTOM UP. SOME ROADWAYS ARE JUST WET...WHILE
OTHERS THAT HAVE REMAINED IN THE HEAVY SNOW FOR MUCH OF THE DAY
ARE EXTREMELY TREACHEROUS IF NOT CLOSED. THE NEBRASKA DEPARTMENT
OF ROADS HAS INDICATED THAT I80 WEST OF LINCOLN IS CLOSED IN MANY
AREAS.

THE UPPER LOW SHOULD MOVE TO NORTHERN MISSOURI BY DAYBREAK TUESDAY
THUS ALLOWING THINGS TO BEGIN WINDING DOWN IN THE DEFORMATION
ZONE...NEVERTHELESS THERE WILL STILL BE SOME LIGHT SNOW OR
FLURRIES TUESDAY MORNING BUT THE BULK OF THE ACCUMULATING SNOWFALL
WILL BE OVER BY THAT TIME. WITH DRYING NORTHERLY FLOW...WE MAY SEE
SOME PEEKS OF SUNSHINE BY TUESDAY AFTERNOON...ALTHOUGH IT WILL
STILL BE COLD WITH HIGHS ONLY IN THE UPPER 20S TO NEAR 30.

THE NEXT FORECAST CHALLENGE WILL BE HOW COLD TO GO FOR TUESDAY
NIGHT AS HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE NOSES DOWN THROUGH THE MISSOURI
VALLEY. SKIES SHOULD CLEAR OUT TUESDAY EVENING WHICH COULD ALLOW
TEMPERATURES TO REALLY RADIATE OUT. HOWEVER...A THIN SHIELD OF
CIRRUS WILL LIKELY BE SPILLING OVERHEAD FROM ABUNDANT MOISTURE
ACROSS THE ROCKIES...THUS WE WON/T BE COMPLETELY CLEAR. WILL
FORECAST LOWS GENERALLY IN THE TEENS...BUT DO HAVE A COUPLE OF
SINGLE DIGITS IN THE FAVORED VALLEYS WHICH HAVE A PROPENSITY TO
DROP LIKE A ROCK...ESPECIALLY IN THOSE AREAS THAT HAVE EXTREMELY
DEEP SNOW COVER. THERE MAY EVEN BE A FEW FLURRIES ACROSS THE HIGH
PLAINS TUESDAY NIGHT AS UPSLOPE FLOW REGIME CONTINUES.

THE NEXT WEATHER SYSTEM THAT HAS BEEN IN THE MODELS FOR A FEW DAYS
STILL LOOKS TO COME ONTO THE PLAINS ON WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
EARLY THURSDAY...BUT CONTINUES TO TAKE A MORE SOUTHERLY TRACK WITH
EACH SUCCESSIVE MODEL RUN. THUS...TRIMMED POPS EVEN MORE ON OUR
NORTHERN AND EASTERN CWFA FRINGES WITH ONLY A GLANCING BLOW ACROSS
OUR SOUTHWEST WITH VERY LIGHT AMOUNTS OF SNOW.

LONG TERM...FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY. TEMPERATURE FORECAST WILL BE
MAIN CHALLENGE DURING THE EXTENDED PERIOD AS LOCATION OF DEEP SNOW
COVER WILL IMPACT WARMING THROUGH THE WORK WEEK. BY THE WEEKEND
ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM INDICATED BY MODELS TO MOVE INTO THE PLAINS
REGION. SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE ECMWF AND GFS WITH
THIS SYSTEM LEADING TO LOW CONFIDENCE FOR LATE IN THE PERIOD. GFS
COLDER WITH ITS THERMAL FIELD AND FURTHER SOUTH WITH DEVELOPMENT
OF LEE SIDE LOW BY LATE SUNDAY. OVERALL ONLY MINOR CHANGES TO
FORECAST DURING THIS TIME WITH CONTINUED TREND TOWARD WARMER
TEMPERATURES BY THE WEEKEND.

.OAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NE...WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 6 AM CST TUESDAY FOR NEZ032-NEZ033-
     NEZ034-NEZ042-NEZ043-NEZ044-NEZ045-NEZ050-NEZ051-NEZ052-
     NEZ053-NEZ065-NEZ066-NEZ067-NEZ068-NEZ078-NEZ088-NEZ089-
     NEZ090-NEZ091-NEZ092-NEZ093.

     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM CST TUESDAY FOR NEZ015-NEZ018.

     WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 4 AM CST TUESDAY FOR NEZ016-NEZ030-
     NEZ031.

     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 4 AM CST TUESDAY FOR NEZ011-NEZ012-
     NEZ017.

IA...WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 6 AM CST TUESDAY FOR IAZ055-IAZ069-
     IAZ079-IAZ080-IAZ090-IAZ091.

     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM CST TUESDAY FOR IAZ043-IAZ056.

&&

DERGAN

Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 20, 5:53 PM CST, 6 hours 7 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE
553 PM CST MON MAR 20 2006

IAZ043-055-056-069-079-080-090-091-NEZ011-012-015>018-030>034-
042>045-050>053-065>068-078-088>093-211200-
ANTELOPE-BOONE-BURT-BUTLER-CASS-CEDAR-COLFAX-CUMING-DODGE-DOUGLAS-
FREMONT IA-GAGE-HARRISON IA-JEFFERSON-JOHNSON-KNOX-LANCASTER-MADISON-
MILLS IA-MONONA IA-MONTGOMERY IA-NEMAHA-OTOE-PAGE IA-PAWNEE-PIERCE-
PLATTE-POTTAWATTAMIE IA-RICHARDSON-SALINE-SARPY-SAUNDERS-SEWARD-
SHELBY IA-STANTON-THURSTON-WASHINGTON-WAYNE-
553 PM CST MON MAR 20 2006

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PARTS OF EASTERN NEBRASKA AND
SOUTHWEST IOWA.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT AND TUESDAY

A MAJOR WINTER STORM WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT THE REGION TONIGHT
BEFORE TAPERING TO FLURRIES TUESDAY MORNING. ADDITIONAL SNOWFALL
AMOUNTS TONIGHT COULD RANGE FROM 3 TO 5 INCHES FROM NIOBRARA TO
WINNEBAGO TO ONAWA IOWA. HIGHER AMOUNTS OF 4 TO 8 INCHES WILL BE
POSSIBLE THROUGH EARLY TUESDAY ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF EASTERN
NEBRASKA AND SOUTHWEST IOWA. NORTHEAST WINDS OF 15 TO 30 MPH WITH
HIGHER GUSTS WILL CONTINUE TO CREATE AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING
SNOW WITH VISIBILITIES AT TIMES BELOW ONE HALF MILE ALONG WITH
MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOWFALL. IN OPEN AREAS...THE SNOW DRIFTS COULD
REACH SEVERAL FEET IN DEPTH. AS A RESULT...WINTER STORM WARNINGS AND
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES CONTINUE THROUGH EARLY TUESDAY MORNING.

TRAVEL IS NOT RECOMMENDED ACROSS EAST CENTRAL NEBRASKA...ESPECIALLY
WHERE SNOWFALL AMOUNTS THUS FAR HAVE EXCEEDED 12 INCHES. THIS IS
WITHIN THE AREA ALONG AND WEST OF A LINE FROM NELIGH TO SCHUYLER
TO LINCOLN TO BEATRICE. IN THESE AREAS...ROADWAYS WILL BE EXTREMELY
HAZARDOUS WITH SEVERAL ROADS IMPASSABLE.

THE SNOW IS THE RESULT OF A LARGE MAJOR STORM SYSTEM THAT IS
MOVING OUT OF THE ROCKIES. THIS SYSTEM WILL WEAKEN TUESDAY MORNING
AS IT LIFTS ACROSS THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY

ANOTHER WEAK WEATHER DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE THROUGH THE PLAINS
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING. THERE WILL BE A CHANCE
OF MEASURABLE SNOW WITH THIS SYSTEM...MAINLY SOUTH AND WEST OF A LINE
FROM NELIGH TO FREMONT TO RED OAK IOWA. AN INCH OR LESS IS POSSIBLE
DURING THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

EMERGENCY MANAGERS...LAW ENFORCEMENT...COOPERATIVE OBSERVERS AND
STORM SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO RELAY SNOWFALL INFORMATION TO THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Mar 20, 8:21 PM CST, 3 hours 39 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA
821 PM CST MON MAR 20 2006

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0805 PM     SNOW             2 NW NEBRASKA CITY      40.70N 95.89W
03/20/2006  E5.0 INCH        OTOE               NE   CO-OP OBSERVER

0810 PM     SNOW             WEEPING WATER           40.87N 96.14W
03/20/2006  E7.5 INCH        CASS               NE   CO-OP OBSERVER

0810 PM     SNOW             LINCOLN                 40.82N 96.69W
03/20/2006  E13.5 INCH       LANCASTER          NE   TRAINED SPOTTER

            VARIOUS SNOWFALL AMOUNTS OF 13 TO 14.5 INCHES ACROSS THE
            CITY OF LINCOLN.

0815 PM     SNOW             5 N MALCOLM             40.98N 96.87W
03/20/2006  E15.0 INCH       LANCASTER          NE   TRAINED SPOTTER

0815 PM     SNOW             VIRGINIA                40.25N 96.50W
03/20/2006  E6.0 INCH        GAGE               NE   CO-OP OBSERVER

0815 PM     SNOW             CERESCO                 41.06N 96.65W
03/20/2006  E9.0 INCH        SAUNDERS           NE   TRAINED SPOTTER

0820 PM     SNOW             DAYKIN                  40.32N 97.30W
03/20/2006  E12.0 INCH       JEFFERSON          NE   TRAINED SPOTTER

            2 TO 3 FEET DRIFTS DEVELOPING.

&&

DEWALD

Local storm report, Mar 20, 8:42 PM CST, 3 hours 18 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA
842 PM CST MON MAR 20 2006

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0820 PM     SNOW             PIERCE                  42.20N 97.53W
03/20/2006  E12.0 INCH       PIERCE             NE   CO-OP OBSERVER

0827 PM     SNOW             1 N HARLAN              41.66N 95.33W
03/20/2006  E0.5 INCH        SHELBY             IA   CO-OP OBSERVER

0830 PM     SNOW             LITTLE SIOUX            41.81N 96.03W
03/20/2006  E8.0 INCH        HARRISON           IA   CO-OP OBSERVER

            ESTIMATED STORM TOTAL OF 8 INCHES. ABOUT 6 INCHES STILL
            ON THE GROUND.

0830 PM     SNOW             2 W RULO                40.05N 95.47W
03/20/2006  E1.0 INCH        RICHARDSON         NE   CO-OP OBSERVER

0835 PM     SNOW             UNDERWOOD               41.39N 95.68W
03/20/2006  E6.0 INCH        POTTAWATTAMIE      IA   CO-OP OBSERVER

0840 PM     SNOW             WEST POINT              41.84N 96.71W
03/20/2006  E15.0 INCH       CUMING             NE   LAW ENFORCEMENT

&&

DEWALD

Local storm report, Mar 20, 9:14 PM CST, 2 hours 46 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA
914 PM CST MON MAR 20 2006

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0845 PM     SNOW             BLAIR                   41.54N 96.14W
03/20/2006  E6.0 INCH        WASHINGTON         NE   PUBLIC

0850 PM     SNOW             TEKAMAH                 41.78N 96.22W
03/20/2006  E4.0 INCH        BURT               NE   LAW ENFORCEMENT

0850 PM     SNOW             NELIGH                  42.13N 98.03W
03/20/2006  E21.0 INCH       ANTELOPE           NE   TRAINED SPOTTER

0905 PM     SNOW             WESTERN                 40.39N 97.20W
03/20/2006  E10.0 INCH       SALINE             NE   CO-OP OBSERVER

0910 PM     SNOW             3 E MALMO               41.27N 96.66W
03/20/2006  E12.0 INCH       SAUNDERS           NE   CO-OP OBSERVER

0910 PM     SNOW             BROWNVILLE              40.40N 95.66W
03/20/2006  E1.5 INCH        NEMAHA             NE   PUBLIC

&&

DEWALD

Local storm report, Mar 20, 9:38 PM CST, 2 hours 22 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA
938 PM CST MON MAR 20 2006

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0935 PM     SNOW             VALLEY                  41.31N 96.35W
03/20/2006  E5.5 INCH        DOUGLAS            NE   OFFICIAL NWS OBS

            SNOWFALL SINCE MIDNIGHT. STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL OF 9.8
            INCHES. 9 INCHES STILL ON THE GROUND.

&&

DEWALD

Local storm report, Mar 20, 10:47 PM CST, 1 hour 13 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA
1047 PM CST MON MAR 20 2006

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1024 PM     SNOW             FAIRBURY                40.14N 97.18W
03/20/2006  E13.0 INCH       JEFFERSON          NE   EMERGENCY MNGR

            STORM TOTAL SNOW. CURRENT SNOW DEPTH 11 INCHES. 1 TO 2
            1/2 FOOT DRIFTS.

&&

JRB

Local storm report, Mar 20, 11:14 PM CST, 46 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA
1114 PM CST MON MAR 20 2006

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1111 PM     SNOW             WILBER                  40.48N 96.96W
03/20/2006  M10.7 INCH       SALINE             NE   EMERGENCY MNGR

            MEASURED SNOWFALL.

&&

JRB

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, Monona

When: March 21, 12:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where: Monona forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.052, -95.960 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Harrison

When: March 21, 12:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where: Harrison forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.683, -95.817 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Montgomery

When: March 21, 4:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where: Montgomery forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.030, -95.156 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Pottawattamie

When: March 21, 6:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where: Pottawattamie forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.337, -95.542 (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 Iowa in 2006 Every state in 2006 This day in weather history Warnings in Iowa, March 2006

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: 5496092, 5496093, 5496094, 5496095.