A bitter cold arctic air mass with temperatures mainly in the single digits below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 40 mph during overnight and morning hours on February 1st and again during the overnight hours on February 2nd as temperatures dropped to 10 to 15 below zero with lighter winds. This produced dangerous wind chill values of 30 below to 40 below zero across all of western…
Every event with a place to put it; 27 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 bitter cold arctic air mass with temperatures mainly in the single digits below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 40 mph during overnight and morning hours on February 1st and again during the overnight hours on February 2nd as temperatures dropped to 10 to 15 below zero with lighter winds. This produced dangerous wind chill values of 30 below to 40 below zero across all 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 Jan 31, 8:56 PM CST, 3 hours 4 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE 856 PM CST MON JAN 31 2011 .UPDATE...JUST UPDATED THE ONGOING FORECAST...MAINLY TO ADJUST PRECIPITATION CHANCES OVERNIGHT AND TO LOWER MIN TEMPERATURES AROUND 3 DEGREES ACROSS THE BOARD. FOR SNOWFALL THE REMAINDER OF TONIGHT...DRIER AIR HAS BEGUN TO PUSH SOUTHWARD INTO NRN NEBRASKA FROM SD THIS EVENING...SO MUCH SO...SNOW HAS ENDED ACROSS THE NORTHWESTERN HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA. WITH LOW TEMPERATURES OVERNIGHT...APPROACHING THE DENDRITIC LAYER AND SURFACE TEMPS NEAR DEW POINTS OVERNIGHT...DECIDED TO CONTINUE MENTION OF FLURRIES IN THESE AREAS. FURTHER EAST...SOME CONTINUED MID LEVEL FORCING WILL WARRANT CONTINUATION OF LIKELY POPS...MAINLY IMPACTING SERN LINCOLN...HAYES...FRONTIER...INTO CUSTER COUNTY OVERNIGHT. ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE LIGHT...AT AN INCH OR LESS OF ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATION. AS FOR LOW TEMPS...DECIDED TO LOWER THESE 3 DEGREES ACROSS THE BOARD. THE LATEST NAM SOLUTION IS CURRENTLY UNDER FORECASTING DEW POINTS 3 DEGREES AND TEMPERATURES HAVE ALREADY DIPPED TO -5 AT AINSWORTH...-6 AT VALENTINE AND -8 AT PINE RIDGE. WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED TO SEE SOME TEMPS PUSHING 20 BELOW IN THE FAR NORTHWEST TONIGHT. LOWERED TEMPS COUPLED WITH WINDS...WILL RESULT IN COLDER APPARENT TEMPERATURES OF -35 TO -50 TONIGHT SO WILL BE UPDATED THE ONGOING WIND CHILL WARNING AS WELL. && PREVIOUS FORECAST DISCUSSION FOLLOWS...ISSUED AT... 342 PM CST MON JAN 31 2011 .SYNOPSIS... H5 TROUGH OVER THE DAKOTAS ASSOCIATED WITH 1050MB SURFACE HIGH OVER MONTANA. MAJOR TROUGH OVER FOUR CORNERS WILL BE EJECTING ONTO THE SOUTHERN PLAINS TONIGHT. && .DISCUSSION... MODELS IN GOOD AGREEMENT THIS AFTERNOON AND HAVE GOOD CONFIDENCE IN FORECAST. WEAK BAND OF SNOW SET UP BETWEEN NORTH PLATTE AND BROKEN BOW THIS AFTERNOON WITH AROUND A QUARTER OF INCH PER HOUR SNOWFALL RATES. WE WILL REMAIN ON NORTHERN PERIPHERY OF SOUTHERN PLAINS SYSTEM. LIGHT SNOW WILL CONTINUE OVER WESTERN NEBRASKA TONIGHT WITH AROUND AN INCH TO TWO INCHES OF ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATION OVER SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA GENERALLY ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 80. THE MAIN CONCERN WILL BE THE FALLING TEMPERATURES TONIGHT INTO TUESDAY WITH NORTHWEST WINDS OF 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUTS TO AROUND 30MPH OVERNIGHT. THIS WILL CREATE DANGEROUS WIND CHILLS. WINDS AND TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE TO CREATE DANGEROUS WIND CHILLS THROUGH THURSDAY. LIGHT SNOW TO END THROUGH THE DAY ON TUESDAY. SOME SLIGHT WARMUP THURSDAY AND FRIDAY AND SOME QUESTION AS TO WHET HER OR NOT A COOL DOWN FOR NEXT WEEKEND. MAINLY DRY. && .AVIATION... CONDITIONS WILL GRADUALLY IMPROVE TONIGHT ACROSS WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA...AS DRIER ARCTIC AIR CONTINUES TO WORK INTO THE REGION. THROUGH THE EVENING HOWEVER...AREAS OF MVFR AND IFR CAN BE EXPECTED WITHIN SNOW BANDS. SURFACE WINDS WILL REMAIN GUSTY...WITH SUSTAINED SPEEDS AROUND 18 KTS AND GUSTS TO 30 KTS POSSIBLE. THIS WILL LEAD TO SOME BLOWING SNOW AT THE TAF SITES THROUGH THE NIGHT. && .LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...WIND CHILL WARNING UNTIL NOON CST/11 AM MST/ WEDNESDAY FOR NEZ004>010-022>029-035>038-056>059-069>071-094. && SHORT TERM/EXTENDED...POWER AVIATION...TAYLOR UPDATE...BUTTLER
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE 925 PM CST MON JAN 31 2011 NEZ004>010-022>029-035>038-056>059-069>071-094-011130- 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- 925 PM CST MON JAN 31 2011 /825 PM MST MON JAN 31 2011/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA. .DAY ONE...REST OF TONIGHT. LIGHT SNOW WILL TAPER OFF TO FLURRIES OVERNIGHT WITH ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS UNDER AN INCH SOUTH OF A LINE FROM HAYES CENTER TO BROKEN BOW. BITTERLY COLD AIR...COUPLED WITH NORTHERLY WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH...WILL PRODUCE WIND CHILLS OF 35 TO 50 BELOW ZERO OVERNIGHT. A WIND CHILL WARNING IS IN EFFECT AND VENTURING OUTSIDE TONIGHT IS NOT RECOMMENDED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. FLURRIES AND DANGEROUSLY COLD WIND CHILLS CAN BE EXPECTED TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY MORNING. PLEASE TAKE THE NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT YOURSELF...PETS AND LIVESTOCK FROM THE EXTREME COLD. .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 CLB
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE
840 PM CST MON JAN 31 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0730 PM EXTR WIND CHILL AINSWORTH 42.55N 99.86W
01/31/2011 M-30.00 F BROWN NE AWOS
0752 PM EXTR WIND CHILL VALENTINE 42.87N 100.55W
01/31/2011 M-30.00 F CHERRY NE ASOS
&&
MASEKPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE
900 PM CST MON JAN 31 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0850 PM EXTR WIND CHILL AINSWORTH 42.55N 99.86W
01/31/2011 E-32 F BROWN NE AWOS
0852 PM EXTR WIND CHILL VALENTINE 42.87N 100.55W
01/31/2011 E-35 F CHERRY NE ASOS
0852 PM EXTR WIND CHILL BROKEN BOW 41.41N 99.64W
01/31/2011 E-30 F CUSTER NE ASOS
&&
MASEKPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE
1028 PM CST MON JAN 31 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0950 PM EXTR WIND CHILL THEDFORD 41.98N 100.57W
01/31/2011 M-30.00 F THOMAS NE AWOS
0950 PM EXTR WIND CHILL AINSWORTH 42.55N 99.86W
01/31/2011 M-32.00 F BROWN NE AWOS
0953 PM EXTR WIND CHILL VALENTINE 42.87N 100.55W
01/31/2011 M-36.00 F CHERRY NE ASOS
0953 PM EXTR WIND CHILL BROKEN BOW 41.41N 99.64W
01/31/2011 M-31.00 F CUSTER NE ASOS
1010 PM EXTR WIND CHILL O'NEILL 42.46N 98.65W
01/31/2011 M-31.00 F HOLT NE AWOS
&&
MASEKThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
27 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
A bitter cold arctic air mass with temperatures near 10 below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 35 mph during the overnight and morning hours on February 1st to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 below to 40 below zero across Thomas County.
A bitter cold arctic air mass with temperatures generally from 5 below to 15 below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 30 mph during the overnight and morning hours on February 1st to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 below to 40 below zero. During the overnight hours and early morning hours on February 2nd, lighter winds of 10 to 20 mph combined with continued cold temperatures of 5 below to 15 below zero to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 to 35 below zero across eastern Cherry County.
A bitter cold arctic air mass with temperatures generally from 5 below to 15 below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 30 mph during the overnight and morning hours on February 1st to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 below to 40 below zero. During the overnight hours and early morning hours on February 2nd, lighter winds of 10 to 20 mph combined with continued cold temperatures of 5 below to 15 below zero to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 to 35 below zero across Keya Paha County.
A bitter cold arctic air mass with temperatures from 5 below to 10 below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 35 mph during the overnight and morning hours on February 1st to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 below to 40 below zero across Brown County.
A bitter cold arctic air mass with temperatures from 5 below to 10 below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 35 mph during the overnight and morning hours on February 1st to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 below to 35 below zero across Rock County.
A bitter cold arctic air mass with temperatures from 5 below to 10 below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 35 mph during the overnight and morning hours on February 1st to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 below to 35 below zero across Boyd County.
A bitter cold arctic air mass with temperatures near 5 below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 35 mph during the overnight and morning hours on February 1st to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 below to 35 below zero across Holt County.
A bitter cold arctic air mass with temperatures near 5 below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 35 mph during the overnight and morning hours on February 1st to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 below to 35 below zero across Garfield County.
A bitter cold arctic air mass with temperatures near 5 below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 35 mph during the overnight and morning hours on February 1st to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 below to 35 below zero across Wheeler County.
A bitter cold arctic air mass with temperatures near 5 below zero combined with northwest winds of 25 to 35 mph during the overnight and morning hours on February 1st to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 below to 35 below zero across Loup County.
A bitter cold arctic air mass with temperatures near 10 below zero combined with northwest winds of 25 to 35 mph during the overnight and morning hours on February 1st to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 below to 40 below zero across Blaine County.
A bitter cold arctic air mass with temperatures of 5 below to 10 below zero combined with northwest winds of 30 to 40 mph during the overnight and morning hours on February 1st to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 below to 40 below zero across Custer County.
A bitter cold arctic air mass with temperatures of 5 below to 10 below zero combined with northwest winds of 25 to 35 mph during the overnight and morning hours on February 1st to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 below to 40 below zero across Logan County.
A bitter cold arctic air mass with temperatures of 5 below to 10 below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 35 mph during the overnight and morning hours on February 1st to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 below to 35 below zero across Lincoln County.
A bitter cold arctic air mass with temperatures of 5 below to 10 below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 35 mph during the overnight and morning hours on February 1st to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 below to 35 below zero across McPherson County.
A bitter cold arctic air mass with temperatures generally from zero to 10 below zero combined with northwest winds of 25 to 35 mph during the overnight and morning hours on February 1st to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 below to 35 below zero across Hayes County.
A bitter cold arctic air mass with temperatures generally from zero to 10 below zero combined with northwest winds of 25 to 35 mph during the overnight and morning hours on February 1st to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 below to 35 below zero across Frontier County.
A bitter cold arctic air mass with temperatures generally from 5 below to 15 below zero combined with northwest winds of 15 to 25 mph during the overnight hours and daytime hours on February 1st to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 below to 40 below zero. During the overnight hours and early morning hours on February 2nd, lighter winds of 5 to 15 mph combined with even colder temperatures of 10 below to 25 below zero to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 below to 40 below zero across Sheridan County.
A bitter cold arctic air mass with temperatures generally from 5 below to 15 below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 30 mph during the overnight and morning hours on February 1st to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 below to 40 below zero. During the overnight hours and early morning hours on February 2nd, lighter winds of 10 to 20 mph combined with continued cold temperatures of 5 below to 15 below zero to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 to 35 below zero across western Cherry County.
A bitter cold arctic air mass with temperatures near 10 below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 35 mph during the overnight and morning hours on February 1st to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 below to 40 below zero across Hooker County.
A bitter cold arctic air mass with temperatures generally from 5 below to 15 below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 30 mph during the overnight and morning hours on February 1st to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 below to 40 below zero. During the overnight hours and early morning hours on February 2nd, lighter winds of 10 to 15 mph combined with continued cold temperatures of 5 below to 15 below zero to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 to 35 below zero across Arthur County.
A bitter cold arctic air mass with temperatures generally from 5 below to 15 below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 30 mph during the overnight and morning hours on February 1st to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 below to 40 below zero. During the overnight hours and early morning hours on February 2nd, lighter winds of 10 to 15 mph combined with continued cold temperatures of 5 below to 15 below zero to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 to 35 below zero across Grant County.
A bitter cold arctic air mass with temperatures generally from 5 below to 15 below zero combined with northwest winds of 20 to 30 mph during the overnight and morning hours on February 1st to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 below to 40 below zero. During the overnight hours and early morning hours on February 2nd, lighter winds of 10 to 15 mph combined with continued cold temperatures of 5 below to 15 below zero to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 to 35 below zero across Garden County.
A bitter cold arctic air mass with temperatures generally from 5 below to 15 below zero combined with northwest winds of 25 to 35 mph during the overnight and morning hours on February 1st to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 below to 43 below zero. During the overnight hours and early morning hours on February 2nd, lighter winds of 10 to 20 mph combined with continued cold temperatures of 5 below to 15 below zero to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 to 35 below zero across Deuel County.
A bitter cold arctic air mass with temperatures generally near 10 below zero combined with northwest winds of 25 to 35 mph during the overnight and morning hours on February 1st to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 below to 40 below zero. During the overnight hours and early morning hours on February 2nd, lighter winds of 10 to 15 mph combined with continued cold temperatures of 5 below to 15 below zero to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 to 35 below zero across Keith County.
A bitter cold arctic air mass with temperatures generally from 5 below to 10 below zero combined with northwest winds of 25 to 35 mph during the overnight and morning hours on February 1st to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 below to 40 below zero across Perkins County.
A bitter cold arctic air mass with temperatures generally from 5 below to 10 below zero combined with northwest winds of 25 to 35 mph during the overnight and morning hours on February 1st to produce dangerous wind chill values of 30 below to 40 below zero across Chase County.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nebraska in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Nebraska, February 2011
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: 271792, 271793, 271794, 271795, 271796, 271799, 271801, 271802, 271806, 271807, 271808, 271809, 271810, 271811, 271812, 271821, 271822, 271789, 271790, 271791, 271814, 271815, 271816, 271817, 271818, 271819, 271820.