Nebraska, 2014

Extreme Cold in Nebraska, January 5 to 6, 2014

January 5 to 6, 2014 · NWS CYS · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

The combination of gusty westerly winds and temperatures in the single digits and teens below zero produced very cold wind chill values from 20 to 40 degrees below zero throughout much of the western Nebraska Panhandle.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
4

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS CYS wrote it up.

The combination of gusty westerly winds and temperatures in the single digits and teens below zero produced very cold wind chill values from 20 to 40 degrees below zero throughout much of the western Nebraska Panhandle.

What forecasters said that day

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 Cheyenne, WY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 4, 10:53 PM MST, 1 hour 7 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 4, 10:53 PM MST, 1 hour 7 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 4, 2:28 PM MST, 9 hours 32 minutes before
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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Box Butte

When
January 5, 12:00 AM MST to January 6, 10:00 AM MST
Where
Box Butte forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations
Coordinates
42.220, -103.086 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Minimum temperatures ranged from -10 to -11 degrees. Sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph created wind chill values of -20 to -35 degrees.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Dawes

When
January 5, 12:00 AM MST to January 6, 10:00 AM MST
Where
Dawes forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations
Coordinates
42.720, -103.135 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Minimum temperatures ranged from -9 to -13 degrees. Sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph created wind chill values of -20 to -35 degrees.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Scotts Bluff

When
January 5, 12:00 AM MST to January 6, 10:00 AM MST
Where
Scotts Bluff forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations
Coordinates
41.851, -103.708 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Minimum temperatures ranged from -9 to -11 degrees. Sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph created wind chill values of -20 to -35 degrees.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Cheyenne

When
January 5, 12:00 AM MST to January 6, 10:00 AM MST
Where
Cheyenne forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations
Coordinates
41.220, -102.995 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Minimum temperatures ranged from -9 to -13 degrees. Sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph created wind chill values of -20 to -35 degrees.

What these are

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Nebraska in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Nebraska, January 2014

Sources

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 497389, 497390, 497391, 497393.