A strong spring storm system produced high winds. The winds increased during the morning hours and persisted through the afternoon as northwest winds of 35 to 45 mph with gusts to around 60 mph were observed.
Every event with a place to put it; 6 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 strong spring storm system produced high winds. The winds increased during the morning hours and persisted through the afternoon as northwest winds of 35 to 45 mph with gusts to around 60 mph were observed. The strong winds created reduced visibility from blowing dust across southwest 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 Mar 31, 5:58 AM CST, 1 hour 2 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE 658 AM CDT MON MAR 31 2014 .UPDATE... ISSUED AT 458 AM CDT MON MAR 31 2014 EXPANDED THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY SOUTHWARD FOR TODAY. SHORT TERM MODELS CONTINUE TO BRING THE STRONG FRONTOGENETICAL BAND OF SNOW FURTHER SOUTH...TO NEAR HIGHWAY 92. FELT WITH THE WINDS BLOWING UP AROUND 30 MPH SUSTAINED...CONDITIONS WILL DETERIORATE ENOUGH FOR TRAVEL TO BECOME HAZARDOUS DESPITE ACTUAL SNOWFALL AMOUNTS BEING FAIRLY LIGHT. WILL BE WATCHING THE TEMPERATURES IN THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS AND WHERE THE PRECIPITATION BAND SETS OF FOR POTENTIAL NEED OF FURTHER UPGRADES/EXPANSIONS. && .SHORT TERM...(TODAY AND TONIGHT) ISSUED AT 359 AM CDT MON MAR 31 2014 BUSY WEATHER DAY AHEAD WITH A STRONG SYSTEM CROSSING NEBRASKA THROUGH THE DAY. AT 08Z THE UPPER LEVEL LOW WAS JUST MOVING INTO SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA WITH A CLEAR DRY SLOT INTO SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA. HAVE BEEN OBSERVING SHOWERS ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS...WHICH WERE SEEING WIND SPEEDS UP TO 50 MPH AS VERY DRY AIR UP TO AROUND 600-500MB /AS SEEN WITH INVERTED-V SOUNDING FROM KLBF AT 31.00Z/ WAS PUSHING DOWN THESE STRONGER WINDS. LOOKING TO THE NORTH COLDER AIR WAS JUST NORTH OF THE FORECAST AREA WITH THE COLD FRONT SITTING ROUGHLY FROM SOUTH CENTRAL WYOMING INTO SOUTHWEST SOUTH DAKOTA /KRWL TO SOUTH OF KPIR/. TEMPERATURES BEHIND THE FRONT DROP INTO THE 20S AND LOW 30S WITH PRECIPITATION CHANGING OVER TO SNOW. THE SURFACE LOW WHICH WAS CENTERED OVER THE WESTERN SANDHILLS AT 08Z WILL PROGRESS NORTHEAST THIS MORNING AND IS EXPECTED TO BE OVER SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA AT 18Z. THE WHOLE SYSTEM WILL BE WRAPPING UP THROUGH THE MORNING WITH MODELS INDICATING A CLOSED LOW AT 500MB BY LATE MORNING. AS THIS OCCURS...FRONTOGENETICAL FORCING STRENGTHENS AND EXPECT A GOOD DEFORMATION BAND TO DEVELOP OVER SHERIDAN/CHERRY COUNTIES. TEMPERATURE/MOISTURE PROFILES ALONG WITH UPWARD MOTION WOULD SUGGEST WHEREVER THIS BAND DEVELOPS...COULD GET A FEW HOURS OF HIGH SNOW TO LIQUID RATIOS...AND WITH LIQUID AMOUNTS OF 0.15 TO 0.25 EXPECTED IN THIS BAND 3 TO 6 INCHES IS CERTAINLY POSSIBLE. TIME-FRAME OF THE HIGHER AMOUNTS OF PRECIPITATION WILL BE DURING THE MORNING AND AS THE SURFACE LOW PROGRESSES EASTWARD THIS AFTERNOON ALL FORCING WILL DIMINISH OVER THE AREA SO LESSER AMOUNTS ARE EXPECTED BEYOND 18Z. TEMPERATURES WILL DROP THROUGH THE DAY TODAY AS STRONG COLD AIR ADVECTION WILL BE ONGOING. BY 01.00Z 850MB TEMPERATURES LOOK TO RANGE FROM NEAR 0C IN THE SOUTHWEST TO NEAR -13C OVER THE NORTHEAST PART OF THE FORECAST AREA...WHICH IS 20 TO 25 DEGREES COLDER THAN WHAT WAS OBSERVED AT 31.00Z. LOOKING AT PRECIPITATION TYPES...LOOKING FOR ALL AREAS TO TRANSITION OVER TO SNOW AS THE COLDER AIR MOVES IN. HOWEVER WHERE THE STRONGER FORCING IS...THIS TRANSITION WILL BE A VERY SHORT TIME-SPAN...SO GENERALLY JUST WENT WITH SNOW IN THOSE AREAS FOR THE FORECAST THIS MORNING. IN ADDITION TO THE SNOW...THE PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL BE VERY TIGHT AS THE SYSTEM WRAPS UP AND MOVES ACROSS THE AREA THIS MORNING. VERTICAL PROFILES SHOW THE LOW LEVELS STAYING WELL MIXED THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS AND WITH WIND SPEEDS OF 50 TO 60KTS AT THE TOP OF THE MIXED LAYER...WILL BE A VERY WINDY DAY. LOOKS LIKE THE STRONGEST CORRIDOR OF WINDS WILL BE ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST PORTION OF THE FORECAST AREA...ROUGHLY SOUTH OF A LINE FROM ALLIANCE DOWN THROUGH HAYES CENTER. THESE WINDS WILL CAUSE ISSUES WITH VISIBILITIES IN AREAS WHERE SNOW IS FALLING...SO NO CHANGES TO WINTER HEADLINES AT THIS TIME. WILL NEED TO WATCH HOW THINGS PROGRESS THIS MORNING AS CONDITIONS DON/T LOOK TO BE AS BAD OVER THE EASTERN PART OF THE ADVISORY AREA. IN TERMS OF WIND ADVISORY...DID CONSIDER UPGRADING THE SOUTHWEST PART TO HIGH WIND WARNING...BUT RIGHT NOW HAVE JUST VERY HIGH WIND ADVISORY WINDS IN THE FORECAST. WILL CLOSELY WATCH THE WINDS AS THEY INCREASE THIS MORNING IN CASE THE NEED ARISES. .LONG TERM...(TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY) ISSUED AT 359 AM CDT MON MAR 31 2014 TRANSITORY RIDGE TO QUICKLY GIVE WAY TO SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT TUESDAY AS AN UPPER TROUGH DIGS INTO THE WESTERN UNITED STATES. THIS TROUGH WILL EJECT A LEAD SHORTWAVE INTO THE CENTRAL ROCKIES AND EVENTUALLY ONTO THE PLAINS. WEAK ISENTROPIC LIFT IN ADVANCE OF THE WAVE WILL ALLOW FOR LIGHT QPF AS INCREASING CONFLUENCE ALOFT APPROACHES FROM THE WEST. BUFR SOUNDINGS INDICATE A FAIRLY RAPID SATURATION FROM TOP DOWN TUESDAY...WITH LIGHT QPF TARGETING MAINLY OUR NORTHWESTERN ZONES BY EARLY AFTERNOON. LOWER TROPOSPHERIC THERMAL PROFILES SUPPORT ALL SNOW EARLY...BUT WAA PUSHING OFF THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF EASTERN COLORADO/WYOMING MAY ALLOW FOR RAIN OR A MIX DURING THE AFTERNOON. REGARDLESS...QPF AMOUNTS WILL BE LIGHT...WITH LITTLE TO NO ACCUMULATION EXPECTED /SAVE FOR GRASSY/ELEVATED SURFACES/ IF SNOW FALLS. LIGHT QPF IS ONCE AGAIN BE POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY AS WEAK THERMAL ADVECTION/ISENTROPIC LIFT TARGETS THE NW SANDHILLS REGION WITHIN A EASTERLY UPSLOPE LOW LEVEL WIND REGIME. THE FORECAST LATE WEDNESDAY AND BEYOND IS PROBLEMATIC...OWING MAINLY TO LOCATIONAL AND TIMING DIFFERENCES OF THE DEVELOPING LONGWAVE TROUGH/ASSOCIATED PV ANOMALIES. THUS...FORECAST CONFIDENCE REMAINS LOW CONCERNING THE POTENTIAL MID TO LATE WEEK WINTER STORM. ATTM GENERALLY FAVORING THE 31.00Z GFS AND THE ENSEMBLE MEAN WHICH IS A GOOD COMPROMISE OF THE AVAILABLE SOLUTIONS IN TIMING AND MEAN LOCATIONAL TRACK OF THE H7/H5 LOW. THE NAM REMAINS A FAST OUTLIER...WITH THE ECMWF DEEMED A BIT QUICK TOO. BOTH MODELS HOWEVER SEEMED TO SLOW THE PROGRESSION WITH THEIR RESPECTIVE 31.00Z RUNS...TRENDING TOWARD THE GFS. GEM MODEL WAS DISCOUNTED DUE TO THE SLOWEST PROGRESSION OF THE SYSTEM...UPSTREAM TROUGH DIGGING INTO THE PAC NW SHOULD HELP KEEP THE ATMOSPHERE SOMEWHAT MOVING ALONG. THE PREVIOUS FORECAST NOTED THAT LARGE SCALE PV DESTRUCTION ALOFT OVER THE MID MISSISSIPPI VALLEY SHOULD HELP BUILD AN EASTERN CONUS RIDGE MID WEEK...WHICH WOULD SLOW THE OVERALL PROGRESSION OF THE SYSTEM LENDING CREDENCE TO A SLIGHTLY SLOWER SOLUTION. THUS THE GFS SEEMS TO BE A REASONABLE SOLUTION ATTM. WITH THE FAVORABLE GFS TRACK OF THE H5/H7/SFC LOW THROUGH THE CENTRAL PLAINS...A STRONG FRONTOGENETIC BAND WILL FOCUS QPF FROM SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA THROUGH NORTHEASTERN PORTIONS OF THE CWA...POTENTIALLY IMPACTING MAJOR THOROUGHFARES AND SEVERAL POPULATION CENTERS. NOTE THAT THE GFS SOLUTION IS ONLY MARGINALLY SUPPORTIVE OF SNOW FOR MUCH OF THE EVENT...THUS SHOULD THE STRONGEST MID LEVEL FORCING MATERIALIZE WITHIN THE CWA...WOULD SNOW ACCUMULATE SUFFICIENTLY FOR WINTER HEADLINES? WILL EMPLOY THE USE OF RAIN/SNOW WORDING FOR MUCH OF THE EVENT ATTM WITH SNOW WHERE TEMP FORECAST CONFIDENCE IS BETTER. BUT CHANGES IN THE RAIN/MIX/SNOW LINE ARE ANTICIPATED. ATTM...WHERE TEMPERATURES SUPPORT MAINLY ALL SNOW...3 INCHES /LOCALLY HIGHER WITHIN THE FGEN BAND/ WOULD BE POSSIBLE. IT WAS NOTED IN THE PREVIOUS FORECAST DISCUSSION THAT SIGNIFICANT CONVECTION SOUTHEAST OF THE DEVELOPING LOW WOULD HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPACT TO THE SYSTEM FURTHER NORTH. THE GFS HAS TRENDED WITH THIS 31.00Z SOLUTION TO A MORE NEUTRAL TO POSITIVE TILT AS THE SYSTEM WORKS ACROSS THE REGION...MANY DETAILS ARE STILL IN QUESTION. TRANSITORY RIDGE TO BUILD ACROSS THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL PLAINS BEHIND THE MID/LATE WEEK SYSTEM...WITH A SLIGHT WARMUP TO FOLLOW....BUT ATTM ENOUGH SPREAD IN THE LONG RANGE SOLUTIONS YIELD A LOW CONFIDENCE FORECAST. WILL GO WITH SEASONAL TEMPERATURES FOR THE WEEKEND. THE ECM DEVELOPS ANOTHER LONGWAVE TROUGH IN THE DESERT SOUTHWEST WITH A SHORTWAVE PROGRESSING THROUGH THE SOUTHERN PLAINS ON SUNDAY...PRECIPITATION MAY RETURN TO OUR SOUTH. THE GFS DEVELOPS A SIMILAR LONGWAVE TROUGH...BUT A NORTHERN STREAM SHORTWAVE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR LIGHT QPF ACROSS THE SANDHILLS LATE SATURDAY. DETAILS ARE BLURRY LATE IN THE EXTENDED...WILL LEAVE THE BLENDED PROCEDURE AS IS FOR NOW. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z TUESDAY MORNING) ISSUED AT 657 AM CDT MON MAR 31 2014 WINDS WILL BE STRONG TODAY ACROSS ALL OF WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AS A LATE SEASON WINTER STORM MOVES FROM THE CENTRAL PLAINS TOWARDS THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY. A PATCH OF STRATUS AND FOG HAS MOVED INTO KVTN AND KANW EARLY THIS MORNING WHICH WILL PERSIST FOR A FEW HOURS BEFORE THE BOUNDARY LATER BEGINS TO MIX. ALSO...PRECIPITATION HAS DEVELOPED ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE SYSTEM...WHICH IS GENERALLY SNOW AS COLDER AIR FILTERS INTO THE REGION. THE SNOW IS PRIMARILY EXPECTED NORTH OF A LINE FROM KOGA TO KTIF TO KONL...AND COULD BE MODERATE TO HEAVY AT TIMES...WITH VISIBILITIES LIKELY TO GO DOWN TO 1/2 MILE OR LESS. CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE THIS AFTERNOON AS THE SNOW EXITS...HOWEVER WINDS WILL PERSIST INTO THE EARLY EVENING HOURS. CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE FURTHER OVERNIGHT...TO VFR AND LIGHT WINDS BY LATE EVENING. && .LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 9 PM CDT /8 PM MDT/ THIS EVENING FOR NEZ007>010-022>029-035>038-056>059-069>071. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM CDT /6 PM MDT/ THIS EVENING FOR NEZ004>006-022>024-035-036-094. && UPDATE...BROOKS SHORT TERM...BROOKS LONG TERM...JACOBS AVIATION...BROOKS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE 508 AM CDT MON MAR 31 2014 NEZ004>010-022>029-035>038-056>059-069>071-094-011015- 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- 508 AM CDT MON MAR 31 2014 /408 AM MDT MON MAR 31 2014/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. SNOW WILL DEVELOP ACROSS THE WESTERN SANDHILLS INTO NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA THIS MORNING. WIDESPREAD AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 4 INCHES ARE EXPECTED...WITH AMOUNTS UP TO 6 INCHES ACROSS PARTS OF SHERIDAN AND WESTERN CHERRY COUNTIES BY THE END OF THE DAY. IN ADDITION...STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS OF 30 TO 35 MPH...WITH GUSTS TO 55 MPH WILL OCCUR ACROSS ALL OF WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA THROUGH THE DAY. WHERE THE SNOW AND WINDS COMBINE...HAZARDOUS WINTER CONDITIONS ARE LIKELY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. ACCUMULATING SNOW IS AGAIN POSSIBLE AS ANOTHER SPRING STORM COULD AFFECT THE REGION WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY. THE IMPACT OF THIS POTENTIAL STORM REMAINS UNCERTAIN AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED THROUGH TONIGHT. && GET YOUR WEATHER...HYDROLOGICAL...AND CLIMATE INFORMATION AT HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/NORTHPLATTE (ALL LOWERCASE) BROOKS
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
6 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Nearby Imperial ASOS recorded sustained winds to 40 mph or higher and wind gusts in excess of 60 mph. The strong winds created areas of blowing dust that reduced visibilities to 1 to 3 miles across Hayes County.
Nearby McCook ASOS recorded sustained winds to 40 mph or greater and wind gusts to 60 mph. The strong winds created areas of blowing dust that reduced visibilities to 1 to 3 miles across Frontier County.
Imperial ASOS recorded winds sustained at 40 mph with gusts in excess of 60 mph. The strong winds created areas of blowing dust that reduced visibilities to 1 to 3 miles.
Nearby Imperial ASOS recorded sustained winds to 40 mph or greater and wind gusts in excess of 60 mph. The strong winds created areas of blowing dust that reduced visibilities to 1 to 3 miles across Perkins County.
Ogallala AWOS recorded sustained winds of 40 mph with wind gusts frequently ranging from 50 to 55 mph across Keith County.
Nearby Sidney ASOS recorded sustained winds of 40 mph with wind gusts near 60 mph during the late morning hours across Deuel County.
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, March 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: 499465, 499466, 499464, 499468, 499469, 499470.