Starting during the late afternoon and evening of Saturday the 7th, peaking in intensity during the overnight hours and lingering in lighter form well into the daytime hours of Sunday the 8th, this was the first widespread measurable snow of the 2013-2014 winter season in South Central Nebraska. However, the 24-county area was bisected by two distinct zones of lighter and heavier accumulations.
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 GID wrote it up.
Starting during the late afternoon and evening of Saturday the 7th, peaking in intensity during the overnight hours and lingering in lighter form well into the daytime hours of Sunday the 8th, this was the first widespread measurable snow of the 2013-2014 winter season in South Central Nebraska. However, the 24-county area was bisected by two distinct zones of lighter and heavier accumulations. In general, most locations northwest of a line from near Elwood-Kearney-Grand Island-Osceola only observed storm total amounts ranging from around one-half inch up to around 2.5 inches. Meanwhile, locations south of this aforementioned line caught the brunt of the storm with widespread amounts of 3-7 inches. Thanks to cold surface temperatures that only averaged between 5-15 degrees, this was a light, fluffy snow that accumulated efficiently. Fortunately, blowing and drifting was not a significant issue as east-southeast winds only averaged 10-15 MPH. According to NWS cooperative observers, a few of the highest storm total snow amounts featured 8 at Harlan County Lake, 7.5 three miles north of York and 7 at Clay Center, Naponee and two miles northeast of Upland. Several other places reported between 5.0 and 6.5, including Bradshaw, Minden Geneva, Holdrege, Wilsonville, Red Cloud, Nelson and Hebron. The Nebraska Tri-Cities resided within the transition zone between higher amounts to the south and lower totals to the north, as Hastings NWS office led the way with 4.4, followed by Kearney airport with 2.4 and Grand Island airport with 2.1. On the lowest end of the spectrum were far northern and west-central locations such as Ord, Greeley and Cozad, which measured no more than one-half inch.
Accumulating snow first broke out over the area during the 5-7pm time frame on the 7th, but peaked in intensity between 8pm-8am, during which time modest mesoscale banding took place. Although most accumulations had already occurred by sunrise or shortly thereafter, at least on-and-off episodes of light snow or flurries continued through much of the day on the 8th before ending. On the synoptic scale aloft, this snow event was forced by a broad shortwave trough that gradually ejected east-northeast from the Intermountain West into the Central Plains. Out ahead of the primary trough axis, the main time frame of steadiest snowfall occurred as strong mid level isentropic lift developed over South Central Nebraska within the entrance region of an upper jet streak centered from the southern Minnesota area across the Great Lakes region.
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 Hastings, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 7, 5:56 PM CST, 4 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE 556 PM CST SAT DEC 7 2013 .SHORT TERM...(THIS EVENING THROUGH SUNDAY) ISSUED AT 346 PM CST SAT DEC 7 2013 PRIMARY FORECAST CONCERN LIES WITH SNOW CHANCES THIS EVENING THROUGH TOMORROW AFTERNOON ACROSS THE ENTIRE CWA. WEST/SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW CURRENTLY IN PLACE ACROSS THE REGIONS IN THE UPPER LEVELS...WITH BROAD HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE SOUTHEASTERN CONUS...AND SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWING A DISTURBANCE DIGGING INTO THE CENTRAL ROCKIES. A WEAK PIECE OF ENERGY EJECTED OUT AHEAD OF THIS DISTURBANCE...ALONG WITH AN UPPER LEVEL JET STREAK IN THE AREA AND INCREASED ISENTROPIC LIFT...IS BRINGING SOME LIGHT SNOW TO WRN NEB AND IS BRINGING A FEW FLAKES TO FAR WRN PORTIONS OF THE CWA. AT THE SURFACE...HIGH PRESSURE REMAINS CENTERED OVER THE MN/IA/NE/SD BORDER REGION...AND WITH LOW PRESSURE IN PLACE OVER THE ROCKIES...WINDS CONTINUE OUT OF THE SOUTHEAST...WITH SPEEDS GENERALLY IN THE 10 TO 15 MPH RANGE. THE FORECAST FOR THE REST OF THE SHORT TERM REVOLVES AROUND THE IMPACT FROM THE ABOVE MENTIONED UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MAKING ITS WAY ACROSS THE ROCKIES. LIFT THIS EVENING/OVERNIGHT WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE ACROSS THE REGION...AS ADDITIONAL ENERGY AND THE MID/UPPER LEVEL WAVE ITSELF FINALLY MOVE INTO THE AREA. MODELS REMAIN IN GOOD AGREEMENT SHOWING ISENTROPIC LIFT REMAINING IN PLACE...BUT AS HAS BEEN A CONCERN...SOME QUESTIONS LINGER WITH HOW LONG IT TAKES TO GET THE ATMOSPHERE MOISTENED UP ENOUGH FOR PRECIP TO GET TO THE GROUND. 12Z MODELS AND LATEST RAP/HRRR RUNS REMAIN IN GOOD AGREEMENT SHOWING IT TAKING A WHILE...SO DID TAPER BACK POPS QUITE ABT DURING THE EARLY EVENING HOURS...AND GRADUALLY RAMPED THEM UP BEYOND THAT. THE BETTER CHANCES LOOK TO COME AFTER MIDNIGHT AND INTO THE FIRST HALF OF THE DAY ON SUNDAY...THE WAVE IS STARTING TO MOVE THROUGH THE CWA...AND THE EXIT REGION OF A 130+ KT UPPER LEVEL JET STREAK MOVES INTO THE AREA. CURRENTLY HAVE THE HIGHEST POPS MAINLY DURING THE 09-18Z TIME FRAME...WITH POPS THEN DIMINISHING WITH TIME THROUGH THE AFTERNOON HOURS AS ISENTROPIC LIFT BEGINS TO WANE WITH THE PASSAGE OF THE MID/UPPER LEVEL TROUGH AXIS...PUSHING THE BETTER CHANCES OFF TO THE EAST OF OF THE CWA. THANKFULLY...STILL EXPECTING WIND TO NOT BE A MAJOR CONCERN WITH THIS SNOW EVENT. LITTLE CHANGE IS EXPECTED THIS EVENING/OVERNIGHT...AS THE CWA REMAINS IN BETWEEN HIGH PRESSURE NOW SHIFTING TOWARD THE GREAT LAKES AND LOW PRESSURE OVER COLORADO...KEEPING WINDS SOUTHEASTERLY WITH SPEEDS IN THE 10 TO 15 MPH RANGE. INTO THE DAYTIME HOURS TOMORROW...AS THE SYSTEM SLIDES THROUGH THE REGION...A COLD FRONT WILL DO THE SAME. WINDS DURING THE MORNING HOURS DIMINISH IN SPEED AS THAT FRONT APPROACHES...WITH IT PASSING THROUGH THE CWA ARND MIDDAY/EARLY AFTERNOON. WINDS WILL SWITCH TO THE NW BEHIND THE FRONT...BUT WITHOUT A STRONG PUSH...SPEEDS REMAIN ON THE LIGHTER SIDE THROUGH THE END OF THE SNOW EVENT. AS FAR AS SNOW TOTALS GO...OVERALL NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES APPEARED IN THE 12Z MODELS...AND NONE WERE MADE TO THE FORECAST. WITH THE COLDER AIRMASS IN PLACE...SNOW/WATER RATIOS WILL BE HIGHER...AND KEPT THOSE RATIOS CLOSE TO HPC AT 16:1. MODELS REMAINED FAIRLY SIMILAR WITH HIGHER AMOUNTS OF LIQUID QPF ARND 0.15 OF AN INCH...MAINLY AFFECTING THE ERN THIRD OF THE CWA. KEPT SNOWFALL TOTALS ACROSS THE CWA FROM WEST TO EAST IN THE 1 TO 3 INCH RANGE...WITH THE ARND 3 INCH AMOUNTS GENERALLY CONFINED TO THE ERN PORTIONS OF NORTHEASTERN HIGHWAY 81 CORRIDOR /MAINLY POLK AND YORK COUNTIES/. DECIDED TO HOLD OFF ON ANY HEADLINES AT THIS TIME...DUE TO THE MARGINAL SNOWFALL AMOUNTS FORECAST /NEED 3+ INCHES FOR A WINTER WX ADV/ AND THE FACT THAT WINDS ARE NOT A MAJOR CONCERN. WHAT HAPPENS THIS EVENING IN THE 00-06Z TIME FRAME WILL PLAY AT LEAST A LITTLE PART IN TOTALS...SOME MODELS SAY THE CWA SEES VERY LITTLE...OTHERS SAY PERHAPS AROUND A HALF INCH. CURRENT SF FORECAST FOR THAT PERIOD IS IN BETWEEN. THE EVENING CREW WILL SEE THAT PLAY OUT...AND GET A LOOK AT THE 00Z RUN OF THE MODELS...AND CAN MAKE ADJUSTMENTS AS NECESSARY. .LONG TERM...(SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY) ISSUED AT 346 PM CST SAT DEC 7 2013 GUIDANCE SUGGESTS A MID TO UPPER LEVEL LONG WAVE TROUGH WILL BE NOTED OVER THE WESTERN TWO-THIRDS OF THE CONUS AT 00Z MONDAY. THIS TROUGH IS EXPECTED TO MOVE EAST/NORTHEAST WITH THE TROUGH AXIS CLEARING THE PLAINS BY 00Z TUESDAY...AND DEPARTING THE ENTIRE CONUS TO THE NORTHEAST BY 00Z SATURDAY. BY 00Z THURSDAY A MID TO UPPER LEVEL LONG WAVE RIDGE IS EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO THE SOUTHWESTERN CONUS. THIS RIDGE IS EXPECTED TO MOVE EAST WHILE WEAKENING THROUGH 00Z FRIDAY...WITH THIS RIDGE EXPECTED TO HAVE COMPLETELY DISSIPATED BY 00Z SATURDAY. THE EC ALSO SUGGESTS A MID TO UPPER LEVEL LONG WAVE TROUGH WILL ADVANCE EAST INTO SOUTHWESTERN CONUS TOWARDS THE END OF THE FORECAST PERIOD...BUT THIS IS IN GREAT DISAGREEMENT WITH THE OPERATIONAL GFS WHICH SUGGESTS NO SUCH TROUGH WILL BE REALIZED. RESULTANT MID TO UPPER LEVEL JET ENERGY AT 00Z MONDAY IS EXPECTED TO EXTEND FROM WESTERN CANADA...SOUTH ACROSS THE WESTERN CONUS..AND THEN NORTHEAST ACROSS THE CENTRAL CONUS AND THEN INTO THE NORTHEASTERN CONUS AND SOUTHEASTERN CANADA. THIS AXIS OF JET ENERGY IS EXPECTED TO SLOWLY MOVE EAST/NORTHEAST ACROSS THE CONUS AS THE AFOREMENTIONED LONG WAVE TROUGH DOES THE SAME. A MID LEVEL SHORT WAVE...EJECTING FROM THE LONG WAVE TROUGH...IS EXPECTED OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS AT 00Z MONDAY. THIS MID LEVEL SHORTWAVE IS EXPECTED TO QUICKLY MOVE NORTHEAST OUT OF THE AREA BETWEEN 00Z MONDAY AND 12Z MONDAY. A SECONDARY MID LEVEL SHORTWAVE...TRAILING JUST BEHIND THE LONG WAVE TROUGH AXIS...IS ALSO EXPECTED TO MOVE ACROSS THE NORTHERN PLAINS AND UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY BETWEEN 00Z TUESDAY AND 00Z WEDNESDAY. A THIRD MID LEVEL SHORTWAVE IS THEN EXPECTED TO PUSH ACROSS THE NORTHERN PLAINS AND UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY 00Z FRIDAY THROUGH 00Z SATURDAY. AT THE SURFACE AN AREA OF LOW BAROMETRIC PRESSURE IS EXPECTED OVER THE MID MISSISSIPPI VALLEY AT 00Z MONDAY...WITH SURFACE RIDGING EXTENDING FROM THE NORTHERN HIGH PLAINS INTO THE CENTRAL HIGH PLAINS. THE SURFACE LOW IS EXPECTED TO QUICKLY DEPART TO THE NORTHEAST...ALONG WITH THE AFOREMENTIONED MID LEVEL SHORTWAVE...AS A SURFACE HIGH PUSHES THROUGH OUR AREA AND SETTLES JUST TO OUR SOUTH BY 00Z TUESDAY. ANOTHER SURFACE LOW IS THEN EXPECTED TO PUSH EAST ACROSS THE NORTHERN PLAINS AND UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY BETWEEN 00Z TUESDAY AND 00Z WEDNESDAY...ALONG WITH THE SECOND MID LEVEL SHORTWAVE...ALLOWING A LOW LEVEL BAROCLINIC ZONE TO CLEAR OUR AREA BETWEEN 00Z WEDNESDAY AND 12Z WEDNESDAY. YET ANOTHER SURFACE HIGH IS THEN EXPECTED TO SLIDE ACROSS THE CENTRAL PLAINS AND MID MISSISSIPPI VALLEY 00Z THURSDAY THROUGH 00Z FRIDAY. ON FINAL SURFACE LOW IS THEN EXPECTED TO MOVE ACROSS THE NORTHERN PLAINS AND UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY 00Z FRIDAY THROUGH 00Z SATURDAY ALONG WITH THE THIRD MID LEVEL SHORTWAVE. THIS SHOULD ALLOW ONE MORE LOW LEVEL BAROCLINIC ZONE TO CLEAR OUR AREA ON FRIDAY. RESULTANT LOW LEVEL FLOW SHOULD BE FROM THE NORTHWEST AT 00Z MONDAY...BUT THIS FLOW SHOULD BECOME MORE WEST/SOUTHWESTERLY LATE MONDAY INTO MONDAY NIGHT AND CONTINUE THROUGH TUESDAY. A NORTHWESTERLY LOW LEVEL WIND FIELD IS THEN EXPECTED HEADING INTO THE DAY WEDNESDAY AS A LOW LEVEL BAROCLINIC ZONE CLEARS THE AREA. THIS NORTHWESTERLY FLOW WILL BE SHORT-LIVED HOWEVER AS THE SURFACE HIGH PUSHES OFF TO OUR EAST/SOUTHEAST...MORE INTO THE MID MISSISSIPPI VALLEY...WITH SOUTH/SOUTHWESTERLY LOW LEVEL FLOW EXPECTED 00Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH 12Z FRIDAY. NORTHWESTERLY LOW LEVEL FLOW WILL THEN BE REALIZED ONCE AGAIN FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. AN OVERALL LACK IN OMEGA SUGGESTS DRY CONDITIONS WILL BE OBSERVED DURING THE LONG TERM FORECAST PERIOD. LITTLE CHANGE IN THE LOW LEVEL AIRMASS BUT DECREASING CLOUD COVER SUGGESTS LOWS NEAR 0 WILL BE REALIZED SUNDAY NIGHT. SIMILAR HIGHS...WHEN COMPARED TO SUNDAY...SHOULD THEN BE OBSERVED MONDAY AS TEMPERATURES CLIMB INTO THE TEENS. SLIGHTLY WARMER LOWS ARE THEN EXPECTED MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY NIGHT...AS WELL AS DURING THE DAY TUESDAY WITH LOWS IN THE UPPER SINGLE DIGITS AND TEENS AND HIGHS IN THE 20S TO LOW 30SS. THE PASSAGE OF A LOW LEVEL BAROCLINIC ZONE SHOULD THEN ALLOW FOR SLIGHTLY COOLER HIGHS ON WEDNESDAY...GENERALLY IN THE LOWER TO MID 20S. SOUTHERLY FLOW AND RESULTANT LOW LEVEL WARM AIR ADVECTION SHOULD THEN PROVIDE SLIGHTLY WARMER TEMPERATURES WITH HIGHS ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY IN THE 30S TO NEAR 40. ONE MORE COOL DOWN IS THEN EXPECTED SATURDAY...WITH HIGHS IN THE LOW TO MID 30S FOLLOWING THE PASSAGE OF ANOTHER BAROCLINIC ZONE. FINALLY...THE CURRENT APPARENT TEMPERATURE FORECAST CALLS FOR READINGS TO DROP BELOW -15 F...AND PERHAPS APPROACH -20 F...SUNDAY NIGHT INTO EARLY MONDAY MORNING...PRIMARILY ALONG AND NORTHWEST OF A LINE FROM PHG...TO HSI AND JYR. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 00Z KGRI TAF THROUGH 00Z SUNDAY EVENING) ISSUED AT 550 PM CST SAT DEC 7 2013 DETERIORATING CONDITIONS EXPECTED AT KGRI OVERNIGHT AS AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE CROSSES THE ROCKIES AND EMERGES INTO THE PLAINS. FOR THE EVENING HOURS...EXPECT PLENTY OF MID LEVEL CLOUD COVER TO CONTINUE TO STREAM ACROSS THE TERMINAL WITH CEILING LOWERING TO MVFR LEVELS BY 08/04Z WHEN LIGHT SNOW IS EXPECT TO DEVELOP. FURTHER DETERIORATING CONDITIONS...WITH IFR CIGS AND VSBYS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP AROUND DAYBREAK AS THE BRUNT OF THIS STORM SYSTEM CROSSES THE LOCAL AREA. && .GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NE...NONE. KS...NONE. && SHORT TERM...ADO LONG TERM...BRYANT AVIATION...ROSSI
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE 321 PM CST SAT DEC 7 2013 KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087- 081200- PHILLIPS-SMITH-JEWELL-ROOKS-OSBORNE-MITCHELL-VALLEY-GREELEY-NANCE- SHERMAN-HOWARD-MERRICK-POLK-DAWSON-BUFFALO-HALL-HAMILTON-YORK- GOSPER-PHELPS-KEARNEY-ADAMS-CLAY-FILLMORE-FURNAS-HARLAN-FRANKLIN- WEBSTER-NUCKOLLS-THAYER- 321 PM CST SAT DEC 7 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS. .DAY ONE...THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT. SNOW IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE ACROSS THE OUTLOOK AREA THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT. BY SUNRISE SUNDAY MORNING...ACCUMULATIONS OF AROUND 1 TO 1.5 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. DURING THE DAYTIME HOURS ON SUNDAY...ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATING SNOWFALL IS EXPECTED ACROSS THE OUTLOOK AREA. THE BETTER CHANCES WILL BE DURING THE MORNING...AND WILL DIMINISH THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. THIS IS EXPECTED TO RESULT IN STORM TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 1.5 TO 3 INCHES...WITH THE HIGHEST AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 3 INCHES EXPECTED EAST OF A LINE FROM ORD NEBRASKA TO BELOIT KANSAS. SUSTAINED WIND SPEEDS DURING THIS EVENT ARE FORECAST TO AVERAGE 10 TO 15 MPH...HELPING TO MINIMIZE IMPACTS OF BLOWING SNOW. SUNDAY NIGHT INTO EARLY MONDAY MORNING...WIND CHILL VALUES WILL DROP BELOW 15 DEGREES BELOW ZERO ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE OUTLOOK AREA...PRIMARILY ALONG AND NORTHWEST OF A LINE FROM PHILLIPSBURG KANSAS...TO HASTINGS AND YORK IN NEBRASKA. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED THROUGH TONIGHT. && MORE INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE FOLLOWING WEB PAGE: HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/HASTINGS (ALL LOWERCASE)
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
9 heavy snow, 5 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
A snowfall total of 5 inches occurred in the community of Holdrege.
A snowfall total of 6.5 inches occurred in the community of Minden.
A snowfall total of 6 inches occurred in the community of Wilsonville. Also, 4.5 inches occurred at Beaver City, 4.4 inches occurred 6 miles north northwest of Oxford, 4.3 inches occurred in Edison, and 3 inches occurred in Cambridge.
A snowfall total of 8 inches occurred at Harlan Lake.
A snowfall total of 7 inches occurred 2 miles northeast of the community of Upland, 7 inches in Naponee, and 5. 7 inches in Franklin.
A snowfall total of 6.5 inches occurred in the community of Red Cloud. A snowfall total of 4.5 inches fell four miles southwest of Blue Hill.
A total snowfall of 6.5 inches occurred in the community of Nelson and 5.2 inches fell four miles east of Superior.
A snowfall total of 6.5 inches occurred in the community of Hebron, 6 inches occurred in Bruning and 5 inches fell at Hubbell.
A snowfall total of 4 inches occurred four miles north of Aurora.
A snowfall total of 7.5 inches occurred 3 miles north of the community of York, 6 inches in Bradshaw, and 4. 5 inches three miles west of Gresham.
A snowfall total of 4.4 inches occurred at the National Weather Service Office, four miles north of Hastings.
A snowfall total of 7 inches occurred in the community of Clay Center and also 6 miles east southeast of Clay Center.
A snowfall total of 5 inches occurred in the community of Geneva and also four miles south of Shickley.
A snowfall total of 3 inches occurred in the community of Polk.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nebraska in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Nebraska, December 2013
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: 491411, 491416, 491440, 491457, 491472, 491475, 491478, 491481, 490858, 490873, 491420, 491423, 491429, 490850.