Frigid arctic air occurred across western and north central Nebraska on December 21st as a storm system swept southeast from the Dakotas into the lower Great Lakes region. This resulted in dangerous wind chill values of 30 below zero to 40 below zero across much of western and north central Nebraska.
Every event with a place to put it; 14 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.
Frigid arctic air occurred across western and north central Nebraska on December 21st as a storm system swept southeast from the Dakotas into the lower Great Lakes region. This resulted in dangerous wind chill values of 30 below zero to 40 below zero across much of western and north central Nebraska.
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 20, 2:57 PM CST, 9 hours 3 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE 257 PM CST SAT DEC 20 2008 .SYNOPSIS... H5 LOW OVER CENTRAL CANADA ALONG BORDER KEEPING TIGHT GRADIENT OVER THE NORTHERN PLAINS. SYSTEM TO AFFECT WESTERN NEBRASKA ON TUESDAY OFF THE NORTHWEST PACIFIC COAST. && .DISCUSSION... MODELS IN GOOD AGREEMENT. HAVE USED A BLEND FOR THE FORECAST. MUCH OF THE FORECAST ARE IS COVERED BY SNOW ANYWHERE FROM 1 TO 5 INCHES. THIS WILL SKEW THE TEMPERATURE FORECAST THE NEXT TWO DAYS. HARD TO BELIEVE THAT COLDEST 850MB TEMPERATURES OVER THE DAKOTAS STILL WAITING TO MAKE THE PLUNGE. 850MB TEMPS OVER THE DAKOTAS AROUND -30C. COOP GUIDANCE SUGGESTED MOST STATIONS BELOW ZERO TONIGHT WITH A CLUSTERING AROUND 10 TO 13 BELOW ZERO. HAVE GONE WITH COLDEST GUIDANCE AND UNDERCUT BY 3 TO 5 DEGREES. H5 LOW WILL SLIDE TO THE SOUTHEAST OVERNIGHT OVER THE NORTHERN PLAINS WITH WINDS INCREASING THROUGH THE EVENING. CLOUD COVER REMAINS A QUESTION AND IF LESS CLOUDS LOW TEMPERATURES ATTAINED EASILY. HAVE CARRIED A WIND CHILL ADVISORY SOUTH OF A LINE FROM ELLSWORTH TO BRADY WITH LIGHTER WINDS AND WARMER TEMPERATURES THROUGH MIDNIGHT. TO THE NORTH OF THIS LINE WILL CONTINUE A WIND CHILL WARNING FOR CONTINUITY. 850MB WINDS AND SURFACE WINDS INCREASE OVER SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA AFTER MIDNIGHT AND TEMPERATURES FALL SUFFICIENTLY TO BRING THE AREA INTO WIND CHILL WARNING CRITERIA. WILL CARRY WARNINGS THROUGH AFTERNOON WITH THE EXPECTED SINGLE DIGIT HIGHS AROUND ZERO ON SUNDAY. QUICK SHOT OF FLURRIES NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION OVER SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA LATE TONIGHT. HAVE REMOVED BLOWING SNOW FROM THE FORECAST AS NO 1/4 MILE CONDITIONS TO SUPPORT THIS. TEMPERATURES WILL REBOUND SOME TO THE WEST ON SUNDAY AS SYSTEM GRADUALLY PULLS EAST. LOW TEMPERATURES ON SUNDAY NIGHT MODIFIED ALSO. NEXT SYSTEM APPROACHES WESTERN NEBRASKA ON TUESDAY MORNING WITH POPS INCREASED TO CHANCE SNOW OVER NORTHERN NEBRASKA. THIS SYSTEM WILL BE MODIFIED BY PACIFIC AIR AND NOT AS COLD. AS H5 TROUGH BUILDS INTO WEST COAST H5 RIDGE STRENGTHENED OVER WESTERN CONUS. WITH RESULTANT HEIGHT RISES AND WARMER TEMPERATURES INTO CHRISTMAS DAY WITH MAINLY 30 AND SOME 40S OVER SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 80. WEAK SYSTEM FRIDAY AND SATURDAY WITH SOME COOLING INDICATED SO HAVE STARTED TO TREND FORECAST TEMPERATURES DOWN BUT HAVE NOT INCLUDED POPS AT THE MOMENT. && .AVIATION... CLOUDS WILL REDEVELOP SOUTHEAST TONIGHT THAT WILL MAKE CEILINGS THE MAIN FORECAST CHALLENGE FOR TERMINALS KLBF AND KVTN. GFS/NAM SOLUTIONS ARE IN AGREEMENT WITH DISTURBANCE TO MOVE SOUTHEAST THROUGH SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA. SURFACE SOLUTION DIFFER AS NAM12 SHOWS INVERTED SURFACE WAVE FORMING AND TRACKING THROUGH SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA...WHILE GFS KEEPS SURFACE TROUGH TO THE WEST ON THE HIGH PLAINS. USING A MODEL BLEND VISUAL FLIGHT RULES ARE EXPECTED AT BOTH TERMINALS BUT WILL NEED TO MONITOR KLBF CONDITIONS AS CEILINGS COULD DROP TO MVFR CRITERIA AS DISTURBANCE TRACKS SOUTHEAST BRINGING A CHANCE FOR FLURRIES OR LIGHT SNOW OVERNIGHT. THE DENDRITIC LAYERS SHOW SUFFICIENT MOISTURE AND LIFT FROM MIDNIGHT THROUGH 09Z ALTHOUGH WHILE COLDER AIR MASS COULD LIMIT MOISTURE AVAILABILITY OVERALL. && .LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...WIND CHILL WARNING FROM MIDNIGHT CST /11 PM MST/ TONIGHT TO 4 PM CST /3 PM MST/ SUNDAY FOR NEZ022-035-036-056>059. WIND CHILL ADVISORY UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST /11 PM MST/ TONIGHT FOR NEZ022-035-036-056>059. WIND CHILL WARNING UNTIL 4 PM CST /3 PM MST/ SUNDAY FOR NEZ004>010-023>029-037-038-094. WIND CHILL ADVISORY UNTIL 4 PM CST /3 PM MST/ THIS AFTERNOON FOR NEZ004>010-025>029-038-094. && SHORT TERM/EXTENDED...POWER AVIATION...KECK
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE 303 PM CST SAT DEC 20 2008 NEZ004>010-022>029-035>038-056>059-069>071-094-211000- 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- 303 PM CST SAT DEC 20 2008 /203 PM MST SAT DEC 20 2008/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. NORTHWEST WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO USHER IN ARCTIC AIR THROUGH THE PLAINS TONIGHT FOR MANY LOCATIONS TO SEE TEMPERATURE DROP TO SUBZERO READINGS BY EVENING. THE COLD TEMPERATURES WILL COMBINE WITH NORTHWEST WINDS AT 10 MPH OR GREATER TO CAUSE APPARENT TEMPERATURE READINGS AT 20 BELOW OR COLDER. WIND CHILL WARNINGS WILL BE IN EFFECT FOR AREAS NORTH OF A LINE FROM ANTIOCH IN SHERIDAN COUNTY...EAST THROUGH CHERRY COUNTY AND SOUTHEAST THROUGH THOMAS AND CUSTER COUNTIES. THE WARNED ARE CAN ANTICIPATE WIND CHILL VALUES OF 30 BELOW OR COLDER. FURTHER SOUTHWEST...A WIND CHILL ADVISORY WILL BE IN EFFECT TONIGHT FOR GARDEN...ARTHUR... MCPHERSON...DEUEL...KEITH...LINCOLN AND PERKINS COUNTIES. THE ADVISORY AREA CAN ANTICIPATE WIND CHILL VALUES BETWEEN 20 BELOW TO 29 BELOW ZERO. THE EFFECTS OF FROSTBITE CAN HIT WITHIN 10 MINUTES OR LESS AT THESE BITTER COLD TEMPERATURES. IF OUTDOORS BUNDLE IN LAYERS. IF POSSIBLE ANIMALS SHOULD BE MOVED TO SHELTERED BELTS OR INDOORS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. BITTERLY COLD TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE INTO SUNDAY AS THE ARCTIC HIGH CENTER BUILDS SOUTH INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS. THE WIND CHILL WARNING WILL EXPAND FURTHER SOUTHWEST TO INCLUDE AREAS NORTH OF A VENANGO...IN PERKINS COUNTY TO WELLFLEET IN LINCOLN COUNTY LINE. BEYOND SUNDAY NO HAZARDS ARE EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED THROUGH TONIGHT. && THIS PRODUCT IS NOW AVAILABLE...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER... HYDROLOGICAL AND CLIMATOLOGICAL INFORMATION...AT HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/NORTHPLATTE KECK
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
14 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
Air temperatures of 5 below to 10 below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 30 mph during the morning hours on December 21st. This created dangerous wind chills as low as 35 degrees below zero in eastern Cherry County, taken from a mesonet site near Brownlee at 745 am CST.
Air temperatures of 5 below to 10 below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 30 mph during the morning hours on December 21st. This created dangerous wind chills as low as 37 degrees below zero in Rock County, taken from a mesonet site near Rose at 230 am CST.
Air temperatures of 5 below to 10 below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 30 mph during the morning hours on December 21st. This created dangerous wind chills as low as 33 degrees below zero in Holt County, taken from an AWOS site near O'Neill at 510 am CST.
Air temperatures of 5 below to 10 below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 30 mph during the morning hours on December 21st. This created dangerous wind chills as low as 33 degrees below zero in Thomas County, taken from a nearby RAWS site at 7 am CST.
Air temperatures of 5 below to 10 below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 30 mph during the morning hours on December 21st. This created dangerous wind chills as low as 35 degrees below zero in Loup County.
Air temperatures of 5 below to 10 below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 30 mph during the morning hours on December 21st. This created dangerous wind chills as low as 35 degrees below zero in Blaine County, taken from a mesonet site near Brewster at 730 am CST.
Air temperatures of 5 below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 30 mph during the morning hours on December 21st. This created dangerous wind chills of 30 degrees below zero in Custer County, taken from the Broken Bow ASOS beginning at 5 am CST.
Air temperatures of 5 below to 10 below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 30 mph during the morning hours on December 21st. This created dangerous wind chills as low as 37 degrees below zero.
Air temperatures of 5 below to 10 below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 30 mph during the morning hours on December 21st. This created dangerous wind chills as low as 35 degrees below zero.
Air temperatures of 5 below to 10 below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 30 mph during the morning hours on December 21st. This created dangerous wind chills as low as 33 degrees below zero.
Air temperatures of 5 below to 10 below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 30 mph during the morning hours on December 21st. This created dangerous wind chills as low as 33 degrees below zero.
Air temperatures of 5 below to 10 below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 30 mph during the morning hours on December 21st. This created dangerous wind chills as low as 33 degrees below zero.
Air temperatures near 10 below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 30 mph during the morning hours on December 21st. This created dangerous wind chills as low as 42 degrees below zero at a mesonet site near Gordon at 7 am MST.
Air temperatures near 10 below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 30 mph during the morning hours on December 21st. This created dangerous wind chills as low as 42 degrees below zero in western Cherry County.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nebraska in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Nebraska, December 2008
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: 140020, 140021, 140022, 140023, 140024, 140025, 140026, 146105, 146106, 146107, 146108, 146109, 140018, 140019.