A large upper level system dropped southeast from the northern Rockies and then split into two pieces, one tracked across the central plains while the other drifted southwest across the southwestern U.S. Surface low pressure associated with the first piece tracked from northeast Texas across southeast Missouri and then into the lower Great Lakes region. Arctic air was pulled in behind this system and brought a massive winter storm to a very large part of the U.S. Freezing rain, heavy snow and blizzard conditions prevailed from the southern plains toward the Great Lakes, while record setting cold temperatures plunged southwest across western Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.
Across eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa the storm initially spread freezing drizzle or light freezing rain, mixed at times with light snow, across much of the area during the early morning hours of Jan. 31. The precipitation changed over to all snow later on the 31st and continued into the late night hours of Feb. 1st. As Arctic air spilled in behind the system, dangerously cold wind chill values spread over the region early on the 2nd. Increasing north to northwest winds on the 1st caused considerable blowing and drifting snow which closed some county roads and created near-blizzard conditions. The heavier snow from the storm was generally from around Lincoln and David City east and southeast into western Iowa, with most amounts across this area in the 5 to 7 inch range. Heavier snow totals from the storm in eastern Nebraska included; 6.9 inches in Omaha, 6.6 inches at the NWS in Valley, 6.2 inches in Virginia, and around 6 inches in Rulo, Shubert, Auburn, near Cedar Bluffs and Papillion and around 5 inches at David City, Lincoln and Beatrice. In southwest Iowa the heavier totals included; 7.5 inches in Glenwood, and around 5 inches at Harlan, Clarinda and Little Sioux.