A winter storm brought heavy snow with blowing and drifting to portions of Sheridan County on December 22-23, 2014. The highest snowfall totals were across northwest Sheridan County ranging from 12 inches near Hayes Springs and 6 inches near Rushville.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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 winter storm brought heavy snow with blowing and drifting to portions of Sheridan County on December 22-23, 2014. The highest snowfall totals were across northwest Sheridan County ranging from 12 inches near Hayes Springs and 6 inches near Rushville. Across the remainder of the county, amounts ranged from 2 to 4 inches. Northwest winds increasing to 20 to 30 mph on December 23rd, caused blowing and drifting snow and visibilities as low as a quarter mile at times during the morning hours.
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 22, 3:03 PM MST, 57 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE 403 PM CST MON DEC 22 2014 .SHORT TERM...(THIS EVENING THROUGH TUESDAY) ISSUED AT 403 PM CST MON DEC 22 2014 COMPLICATED NEXT 24 HOURS AS A POTENT STORM SYSTEM MOVES ACROSS THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL PLAINS. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY AT 20 SHOWED AMPLIFIED UPPER LEVEL FLOW WITH A STRONG RIDGE OVER THE EASTERN PACIFIC WITH A DEEP TROUGH ACROSS THE CENTRAL PART OF THE CONUS PUTTING THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL PLAINS IN NORTHWEST FLOW. A PV ANOMALY WAS NOTED OVER SOUTHERN KANSAS WHILE IT APPEARS THE UPPER LOW OVER SOUTH DAKOTA IS IN THE PROCESS OF CLOSING OFF. ALSO...A FEW EMBEDDED SHORTWAVES UP TOWARDS THE TOP OF THE RIDGE...ONE OVER SOUTHWEST COLORADO AND ANOTHER OVER NORTHWEST MONTANA. AT THE SURFACE...THE LOW HAS BECOME ELONGATED THROUGH THE DAY AND WAS LOCATED FROM SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA INTO SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA. THE PRESSURE GRADIENT TIGHTENED THROUGH THE DAY AND WITH SUNSHINE ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA...THE BOUNDARY LAYER HAS BEEN ABLE TO MIX WELL...IN SOME LOCATIONS UP NEAR 700-750MB. THIS HAS CAUSED WINDS GUSTING TO 30KTS TO MIX TO THE SURFACE...AND HAS ALLOWED TEMPERATURES TO RISE INTO THE MID 40S FOR MUCH OF THE AREA. FOR TONIGHT AND TUESDAY...THE UPPER LOW WILL DROP A BIT FURTHER SOUTH OVER NEBRASKA THEN WILL BEGIN TO PIVOT AND HEAD EAST SLOWLY THROUGH THE DAY TUESDAY WHILE THE PV ANOMALY OVER KANSAS WILL LIFT INTO EASTERN IOWA. AS THIS IS A SLOW PROGRESSION...THE SURFACE LOW WILL ALSO SEE SLOW EASTERN PROGRESSION AND BY 00Z WEDNESDAY WILL HAVE MOVED INTO EASTERN IOWA. MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE TO BE PULLED SOUTH ACROSS NEBRASKA ON THE BACKSIDE OF THE SYSTEM AS SHOW BY MOISTURE TRANSPORT VECTORS FROM 925MB THROUGH 700MB. THE AMOUNT OF MOISTURE ISN/T OVERLY ANOMALOUS...BUT THE NAM SHOWS PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES BETWEEN 100 AND 150 PERCENT OF NORMAL FOR MUCH OF THE AREA TONIGHT THEN GOING DOWN SLIGHTLY FOR TUESDAY. LOOKING FOR THE HEAVIEST SNOW AMOUNTS OVER NORTHERN SHERIDAN COUNTY WHERE UPSLOPE FLOW WILL PROMOTE STRONGER LIFT AND HIGHER AMOUNTS. SNOW TO LIQUID RATIOS DON/T LOOK REAL HIGH WITH THIS EVENT...AND A RANGE OF 11:1 TO 14:1 WERE USED. THIS LED TO AMOUNTS OF 4 TO 6 INCHES OVER NORTHERN SHERIDAN COUNTY...WITH LESSER AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 4 INCHES ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST AREA. COLDER AIR WILL ALSO BE FUNNELED INTO THE AREA OVERNIGHT AND TUESDAY WITH 850MB TEMPERATURES FALLING TO -5C TO -8C. THIS ISN/T TERRIBLY COLD BUT AS OF THE CURRENT TIME THE ENTIRE COLUMN /EXCEPT FOR THE NEAR SURFACE LAYER/ HAS DROPPED BELOW 0C SO ALL PRECIPITATION WILL SWITCH OVER TO SNOW THIS EVENING AS TEMPERATURES DROP INTO THE MID 20S TO LOW 30S. THEN ON TUESDAY...NOT EXPECTING MUCH OF A DIURNAL RISE IN TEMPERATURES AS COLD AIR ADVECTION WILL BE ONGOING...WITH PRECIPITATION AND OVERCAST SKIES SO HIGHS IN THE UPPER 20S TO MID 30S ARE EXPECTED. THE LAST CONCERN IS WINDS THROUGH THE PERIOD. THE PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL BE TIGHTEST INTO THE DAY TUESDAY WITH 6HR PRESSURE RISES OF 7MB. CLOSELY EXAMINED FORECAST SOUNDINGS WITH WINDS AT THE TOP OF THE MIXED LAYER OF 50-60KTS THROUGH THE DAY. JUST NOT QUITE SURE HOW WELL THIS WILL TRANSLATE TO THE SURFACE AS SOME OF THE SPEED WILL BE LOST. THE STRONGEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED WEST OF HIGHWAY 83 WHERE THE TIGHTEST PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL BE LOCATED...MIXING WILL BE DEEPER...AND WINDS ALOFT WILL BE STRONGER. SUSTAINED WINDS MAY APPROACH 40 MPH WITH GUSTS NEARING 55 MPH AT TIMES. ALTHOUGH A FEW LOCATIONS COULD HIT HIGH WIND WARNING...NOT CONFIDENT ON WIDESPREAD HIGH WIND WARNING CRITERIA BEING MET SO WILL NOT ISSUE ANY HEADLINES CONSIDERING THIS THREAT AT THIS TIME. WHAT THE WINDS WILL DO IS BLOW THE SNOW AROUND THAT DOES FALL THROUGH TUESDAY. HAVE UPGRADED THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SHERIDAN COUNTY AS NEAR 6 INCHES AND 30-40 MPH WINDS WILL CAUSE LOW VISIBILITIES AND HAZARDOUS WINTER CONDITIONS. ALSO EXPANDED THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA WHERE AT LEAST 2 INCHES OF SNOW IS EXPECTED IN COMBINATION WITH THE STRONG WINDS. WILL NEED TO KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON HOW CONDITIONS EVOLVE THROUGH TONIGHT AND TOMORROW WITH THE WINDS AND SNOW AS AREAS FURTHER SOUTH COULD NEED TO BE ADDED TO THE ADVISORY IF THERE IS ENOUGH SNOW TO CAUSE BLOWING SNOW LEADING TO HAZARDOUS TRAVEL CONDITIONS. .LONG TERM...(TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY) ISSUED AT 403 PM CST MON DEC 22 2014 MODELS HAVING PROBLEMS IN THE MID TERM WITH TIMING AND PLACEMENT OF UPPER FEATURES. TOMORROW NIGHT HAVE ENDED PRECIPITATION AND ACCOUNTED FOR SOME PARTIAL CLEARING FROM WEST TO EAST WITH COLDER LOWS OVER THE SNOW FIELD TO THE NORTH. AS TODAYS SYSTEM PUSHES EAST INTO INDIANA THROUGH THE DAY WEDNESDAY A TROUGH DROPS INTO THE WEST COAST AND A RIDGE OF WARMER DRIER AIR BUILDS NORTH INTO THE ROCKIES AND NORTHERN PLAINS. 850MB TEMPERATURES INCREASE FROM -7C 6Z WED TO +8C 12Z THURSDAY. HAVE WARMED TEMPERATURES OVER THE WEST ON WEDNESDAY WITH SUN AND RIDGE BUILDING EAST. HAVE KEPT TEMPERATURES IN THE 20S WEDNESDAY NIGHT WITH SOUTHWEST FLOW INCREASING CLOUDS. THURSDAY WITH TIMING ISSUES WITH THE FRONT HAVE GONE WITH DELAYING SNOW CHANCES INTO THE AFTERNOON AND THEN ONLY A SLIGHT CHANCE AND HAVE GONE WITH HIGHER TEMPERATURES AHEAD OF THE FRONTAL PASSAGE. OPEN WAVE AND VERY PROGRESSIVE HAVE ABOUT AN INCH OF ACCUMULATION GOING. COLD AIR ADVECTION WILL GET RAMPED UP THROUGH THE EVENING WITH GOOD NORTHWESTERLY FLOW. TEMPERATURES FALLING INTO THE TEENS. ON FRIDAY AFTER A COLD START AND CONTINUING COLD AIR ADVECTION OVER FRESH SNOW COVER WILL SEE DAYTIME TEMPERATURES ONLY IN THE 20S. WITH PARTIAL CLEARING FRIDAY NIGHT AND 1034MB SURFACE HIGH OVER HEAD WILL SEE TEMPERATURES IN THE SINGLE DIGITS AND LOW TEENS. HIGHS IN THE 20S AND 30S ON SATURDAY WITH SOUTHERLY FLOW AHEAD OF THE NEXT SYSTEM MOVING EAST INTO WESTERN NEBRASKA. SIMILAR CONDITIONS ON SUNDAY AS WAVE MOVES OUT OF THE WESTERN CONUS INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS. TEMPERATURES RISE INTO THE 30S AHEAD OF THE COOL FRONT WHICH WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA SUNDAY NIGHT. SLIGHT CHANCE OF SNOW SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY WITH TEMPERATURES FALLING INTO THE 20S BEHIND THE FRONT ON MONDAY. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z TUESDAY AFTERNOON) ISSUED AT 1140 AM CST MON DEC 22 2014 DETERIORATING CONDITIONS ARE LIKELY ACROSS NEBRASKA OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS. WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON...AND WILL BE STRONGEST DURING THE DAY TUESDAY WITH SUSTAINED WINDS OUT OF THE NORTHWEST AT 20-30KTS AND GUSTS UP TO 40KTS. WINDS WILL DIMINISH TUESDAY EVENING. PRECIPITATION CHANCES HAVE BEEN DELAYED FOR THE AREA...WITH CHANCES FOR SNOW INCLUDED IN THE FORECAST THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. IT IS POSSIBLE TO SEE SOME LIGHT RAIN OVER NORTHERN NEBRASKA THIS AFTERNOON...BUT IT WILL MOST LIKELY STAY EAST OF KVTN WITH NO IMPACTS TO VISIBILITY. CEILINGS WILL DROP AS WELL WITH CONDITIONS EXPECTED TO DROP TO IFR LATE TONIGHT AT KVTN AND TUESDAY MORNING AT KLBF. SNOW SHOULD LOOSE INTENSITY BY LATE TUESDAY MORNING...BUT STRONG WINDS COULD CREATE SOME BLOWING SNOW TO FURTHER CAUSE REDUCED VISIBILITIES. && .LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM CST /5 PM MST/ TUESDAY FOR NEZ005>010-022>029-035>037-094. WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 5 PM MST TUESDAY FOR NEZ004. && SHORT TERM...BROOKS LONG TERM...POWER AVIATION...BROOKS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE 437 PM CST MON DEC 22 2014 NEZ004>010-022>029-035>038-056>059-069>071-094-232245- 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- 437 PM CST MON DEC 22 2014 /337 PM MST MON DEC 22 2014/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. SNOW AND STRONG WINDS WILL IMPACT WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA TONIGHT. SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 4 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS NORTHERN NEBRASKA AND WITH STRONG WINDS...BLOWING SNOW WILL BE A THREAT TONIGHT AS VISIBILITIES DOWN TO 1 MILE ARE POSSIBLE. WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 40 MPH ARE LIKELY THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. THE STORM SYSTEM WILL CONTINUE TO IMPACT THE AREA ON TUESDAY. AS A RESULT...ACCUMULATING SNOW REMAINS LIKELY...WITH TOTAL AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES EXPECTED...WITH HIGHER AMOUNTS UP NEAR 6 INCHES OVER NORTHERN SHERIDAN COUNTY. STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MUCH OF THE DAY...WITH SUSTAINED WINDS OF 25 TO 40 MPH AND GUSTS OF 50 TO 55 MPH EXPECTED. WHERE SNOW FALLS...THE COMBINATION OF WINDS AND SNOW WILL CAUSE HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS. CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE TUESDAY EVENING. ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM IS EXPECTED ACROSS THE CENTRAL PLAINS LATER THIS WEEK. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE POSSIBLE WITH THIS SYSTEM ACROSS WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY. THE EXACT TRACK OF THE SYSTEM IS STILL IN QUESTION...THEREFORE AMOUNTS ARE UNCERTAIN AT THIS TIME. THOSE PLANNING TRAVEL ACROSS NEBRASKA DURING THE HOLIDAY WEEK SHOULD KEEP UP TO DATE WITH THE LATEST FORECASTS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED THROUGH TONIGHT...HOWEVER SNOWFALL REPORTS THROUGH TUESDAY WOULD BE APPRECIATED. && GET YOUR WEATHER...HYDROLOGICAL...AND CLIMATE INFORMATION AT HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/NORTHPLATTE (ALL LOWERCASE) BROOKS
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE 413 PM CST MON DEC 22 2014 NEZ038-056>059-069>071-231215- CUSTER-DEUEL-KEITH-PERKINS-LINCOLN-CHASE-HAYES-FRONTIER- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...BROKEN BOW...CHAPPELL...BIG SPRINGS... OGALLALA...GRANT...NORTH PLATTE...IMPERIAL...HAYES CENTER... CURTIS...EUSTIS 413 PM CST MON DEC 22 2014 /313 PM MST MON DEC 22 2014/ ...STRONG WINDS AND LIGHT SNOW FOR TONIGHT AND TUESDAY... NORTHWEST WINDS ACROSS SOUTHERN NEBRASKA WILL INCREASE TONIGHT AND TUESDAY. THE STRONGEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED WEST OF A LINE FROM TRYON TO HAYES CENTER WHERE SUSTAINED WINDS OF 30 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 55 MPH ARE POSSIBLE. EAST OF THIS LINE...SUSTAINED WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 50 MPH ARE POSSIBLE. IN ADDITION...LIGHT SNOW IS POSSIBLE TONIGHT AND TUESDAY. ALTHOUGH SNOWFALL AMOUNTS ARE EXPECTED TO BE LIGHT WITH ACCUMULATIONS OF AN INCH OR TWO...THE STRONG WINDS COULD CAUSE BLOWING SNOW...WITH LIMITED VISIBILITIES AT TIMES. CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE BY LATE TUESDAY AFTERNOON AS SNOWFALL ENDS AND WINDS BEGIN TO DIMINISH. BROOKS
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Law enforcement in Rushville reported 6 inches of snowfall. Visibility was low, ranging from a quarter to half mile along with blowing and drifting during the morning hours on December 23rd.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nebraska in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Nebraska, December 2014
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: 546758.