A powerful winter storm moved out of the southern rockies and into western and north central Nebraska on Friday, December 29th. Due to abundant moisture drawn in from the Gulf of Mexico, significant snow accumulations occurred.
Every event with a place to put it; 16 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS LBF wrote it up.
A powerful winter storm moved out of the southern rockies and into western and north central Nebraska on Friday, December 29th. Due to abundant moisture drawn in from the Gulf of Mexico, significant snow accumulations occurred. Some freezing rain occurred prior to a changeover to snow across portions of Boyd, Holt, Garfield, Wheeler, Frontier, and Custer counties where ice accumulations up to a quarter inch were observed. This caused some downed power lines and broken tree branches. Snow began to fall across western Nebraska during the early morning hours Friday and spread into eastern portions of north central Nebraska by late Friday morning. The snow continued Friday night before diminishing during the morning Saturday, December 30th. Snow accumulations of 6 to 13 inches combined with winds of 15 to 30 mph causing blowing and drifting snow.
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 North Platte, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 28, 3:22 PM CST, 8 hours 38 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE 322 PM CST THU DEC 28 2006 .SYNOPSIS... H5 UPPER CLOSED LOW OVER SOUTHERN ARIZONA AS SEEN IN WV AND IR SATELLITE IMAGERY. PRECIPITATION LIFTING NORTH THROUGH THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES WITH RADAR ECHOES ALONG THE FRONT RANGE OF COLORADO INTO SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA AS FIRST WAVE LIFTS NORTH. && .DISCUSSION... NAM AND GFS ARE LIFTING H5 CLOSED LOW OUT FASTER WITH 12Z RUNS WITH GFS LEADING THE WAY. ECMWF CONTINUES TO HOLD BACK. THERE CONTINUES TO BE A DEGREE OF UNCERTAINTY WITH FORECAST OUTCOME DUE TO THIS. MAJOR CONCERN IS AMOUNT OF WAA. HAVE CONTINUED WITH A BLEND OF NAM AND GFS CONTINUING WITH SNOW MIXED PRECIPITATION LINE FROM IMPERIAL TO AINSWORTH LINE. WILL CONTINUE IN THE NEAR TERM WITH ADVISORIES IN PLACE AND WATCH. TEMPERATURES ON THE MODERATE SIDE FOR OVERNIGHT LOWS DUE TO CLOUD COVER AND STRONG WAA. 100% CLOUD COVER ACROSS FORECAST AREA THROUGH SUNDAY. TEMPERATURES BLEND BETWEEN COOLER MAV GUIDANCE AND ETA. MAJOR BRUNT OF STORM TO AFFECT SO0UTHWEST ZONES INTO WESTERN NEBRASKA FRIDAY AFTERNOON INTO SATURDAY MORNING. SHIFTING EAST SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY. HIGHER AMOUNTS OF SNOW ACCUMULATIONS INTHE SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA PANHANDLE INTO SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA WHERE THERE IS A HIGHER DEGREE OF CERTAINTY OF ALL SNOW IN THE FORECAST. HIGHS GENERALLY IN AND AROUND 30 DEGREES IN THE NEAR TERM TRENDING UP INTO THE LOWER 40S TOWARDS THE END OF THE FORECAST. && .AVIATION... LOW CEILINGS...LESS THAN OVC010...AND LOW VISIBILITIES...LESS THAN 3SM FROM FOG ARE LIKELY TO CONTINUE TONIGHT OVER NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND SPREADING SW. MEANWHILE THE MAJOR WINTER STORM HAS ALREADY BEGUN TO BRING SNOW TO TWB274...NEAR KDEN. THE PRECIP WILL SLOWLY SPREAD NORTHEAST. GENERALLY SNOW IS EXPECTED ACROSS THE WEST AND A WINTRY MIX ACROSS THE EAST. HOWEVER FREEZING RAIN WILL LIKELY BE THE MAIN PRECIP TYPE FOR AREAS NEAR AND WEST OF HIWAY 83 THRU FRIDAY AND POSSIBLLY INTO SATURDAY ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA. && .LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 6 PM CST /5 PM MST/ THIS EVENING TO 12 PM CST /11 AM MST/ FRIDAY FOR NEZ005-024-025-036-037-058-059- 069>071. WINTER STORM WATCH FROM FRIDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON FOR NEZ004-005-022>025-035>037-056>059-069>071-094. SNOW ADVISORY FROM 5 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 11 AM MST FRIDAY FOR NEZ004-022-023-035-056-057-094. WINTER STORM WATCH FROM FRIDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING FOR NEZ006>010-026>029-038. && POWER/MASEK
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE 358 PM CST THU DEC 28 2006 NEZ004>010-022>029-035>038-056>059-069>071-094-292200- SHERIDAN-EASTERN CHERRY-KEYA PAHA-BOYD-BROWN-ROCK-HOLT-GARDEN- GRANT-HOOKER-THOMAS-BLAINE-LOUP-GARFIELD-WHEELER-ARTHUR-MCPHERSON- LOGAN-CUSTER-DEUEL-KEITH-PERKINS-LINCOLN-CHASE-HAYES-FRONTIER- WESTERN CHERRY- 358 PM CST THU DEC 28 2006 /258 PM MST THU DEC 28 2006/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. SNOW...SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN WILL DEVELOP ALONG AND WEST OF HIGHWAY 83 TONIGHT. WINTER ADVISORIES HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THIS AREA. THE IMPACT ON TRAVEL WITH THIS WEATHER CONDITION IS EXPECTED TO BE SLIGHT. NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA MAY SEE PERIODS OF LIGHT FREEZING DRIZZLE OVERNIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. ANOTHER POWERFUL WINTER STORM WILL ORGANIZE ACROSS THE CENTRAL PLAINS FRIDAY AND CONTINUE SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. A WINTER STORM WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR FRIDAY AFTERNOON INTO THE WEEKEND. THIS WATCH MAY BE UPGRADED TO A WARNING AS THE STORM IS FORECAST TO MOVE VERY SLOWLY THROUGH THE CENTRAL PLAINS. THE STORM WILL DRAW ABUNDANT MOISTURE FROM BOTH THE PACIFIC OCEAN AND GULF OF MEXICO AND HAS THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE 1 TO 2 INCHES OF LIQUID WATER IN THE FORM OF SNOW...SLEET...RAIN AND FREEZING RAIN. THIS STORM WILL ALSO MOVE VERY SLOWLY AND AFFECT WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND. SNOWFALL OF 6 TO 18 INCHES IS POSSIBLE. ICING FROM FREEZING RAIN MAY REACH A THICKNESS OF 1/2 INCH OR GREATER. STORMS OF THIS MAGNITUDE AND DURATION HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE BLIZZARD CONDITIONS AND ALTHOUGH THIS CONDITION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME...WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL BE CLOSELY MONITORED THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER REPORTS ARE REQUESTED FOR 6 HOUR SNOW TOTALS...SNOW DEPTH SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE STORM...ICE ACCUMULATIONS...POWER OUTAGES...STORM DAMAGE...1 HOUR SNOWFALL RATES OF 1 INCH OR GREATER...MEASURED WIND SPEEDS IN EXCESS OF 35 MPH AND VISIBILITY REPORTS OF 1/4 MILE OR LESS. && THIS PRODUCT IS NOW AVAILABLE...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER... HYDROLOGICAL AND CLIMATOLOGICAL INFORMATION...AT HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/NORTHPLATTE (ALL LOWERCASE) MASEK
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
16 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 5 to 7 inches. The snow combined with 15 to 30 mph winds causing blowing and drifting snow.
Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 6 to 8 inches. The snow combined with winds of 15 to 30 mph causing blowing and drifting.
Storm total snowfall amounts were around 8 inches. The snow combined with winds of 15 to 30 mph causing blowing and drifting.
Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 8 to 13 inches. The snow combined with winds of 15 to 30 mph causing blowing and drifting.
Freezing rain preceded the heavy snow with ice accumulations up to a quarter inch causing some downed power lines and tree branches. Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 8 to 13 inches. The snow combined with winds of 15 to 30 mph causing blowing and drifting.
Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 7 to 12 inches. The snow combined with winds of 15 to 30 mph causing blowing and drifting. |
Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 8 to 13 inches. The snow combined with winds of 15 to 30 mph causing blowing and drifting. |
Some freezing rain preceded the snow with ice accumulations up to a quarter inch in southeast Custer County. This caused some downed power lines and tree branches. Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 5 to 12 inches. The snow combined with winds of 15 to 30 mph causing blowing and drifting. |
Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 5 to 10 inches. The snow combined with winds of 15 to 30 mph causing blowing and drifting. |
Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 6 to 11 inches. The snow combined with winds of 15 to 30 mph causing blowing and drifting. |
Freezing rain preceded the heavy snow with ice accumulations up to a quarter inch in the eastern half of the county causing some downed power lines and tree branches. Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 5 to 8 inches. The snow combined with winds of 15 to 30 mph causing blowing and drifting.
Freezing rain preceded the heavy snow with ice accumulations up to a quarter inch in the eastern half of the county causing some downed power lines and tree branches. Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 5 to 10 inches. The snow combined with winds of 15 to 30 mph causing blowing and drifting.
Freezing rain preceded the heavy snow with ice accumulations up to a quarter inch in the eastern half of the county causing some downed power lines and tree branches. Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 5 to 11 inches. The snow combined with winds of 15 to 30 mph causing blowing and drifting.
Freezing rain preceded the heavy snow with ice accumulations up to a quarter inch causing some downed power lines and tree branches. Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 3 to 6 inches. The snow combined with winds of 15 to 30 mph causing blowing and drifting.
Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 5 to 7 inches. The snow combined with winds of 15 to 30 mph causing blowing and drifting.
Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 6 to 10 inches. The snow combined with winds of 15 to 30 mph causing blowing and drifting.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nebraska in 2006Every state in 2006This day in weather historyWarnings in Nebraska, December 2006
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: 5060, 5061, 5063, 5065, 5066, 5067, 5068, 5070, 5072, 5073, 5076, 5077, 5079, 5080, 5062, 5064.