Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Nebraska, January 24, 2017

Name: Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Nebraska, January 24, 2017
Start: 2017-01-24T03:00
End: 2017-01-24T15:00
Location: Nebraska

January 24, 2017 · NWS GID · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

Several inches of snow fell along and north of a line from Lexington to St. Paul to Fullerton on this Tuesday and Wednesday.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 8 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: 8

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 GID wrote it up.

Several inches of snow fell along and north of a line from Lexington to St. Paul to Fullerton on this Tuesday and Wednesday. Accumulations averaged 2 to 4 inches along and just north of that line, and progressively increased to 6 to 8 inches across northern Valley and Greeley Counties. Narrow east-west oriented bands of snow began developing north of Interstate 80 during the predawn hours Tuesday. The strongest of these bands briefly produced heavy snow as it lifted north after sunrise. This band expanded across the Sandhills and northeast Nebraska; it became the dominant deformation zone band of this event. This resulted in a break, over south central Nebraska, as the dry slot overtook the area. Meanwhile, a separate small area of snow developed with the compact upper low over northwest Kansas. Snowfall expanded around the northern and western periphery of this low as it lifted into south central Nebraska. A semi-comma-shaped area of snow evolved, affecting areas west and north of Grand Island from the late morning into the mid-afternoon hours. This area of snow lifted north and merged with the larger band to the north, again resulting in another break. While it was snowing, snowfall rates must have been impressive where the 6 to 8 inches fell. The snow bands were very transient and it was almost hard to believe that much snow was measured there. Between 9 pm CST and midnight, a new deformation band of much lighter snow formed from south central Nebraska northeast to Sioux City, Iowa. This band gradually drifted east during the early morning hours, and it exited south central Nebraska by sunrise Wednesday. Very little additional accumulation occurred with this band.

This snow was associated with a 995 mb low pressure system that tracked from Colorado across Kansas Tuesday and into the Great Lakes Wednesday. In the upper-levels, a large trough was over the Western U.S., with a ridge over the East. Several vorticity maxima were embedded in the western trough, and this snowfall was associated with the lead vorticity maximum.

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 Hastings, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 23, 11:35 PM CST, 3 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 23, 11:35 PM CST, 3 hours 25 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Hastings NE
1135 PM CST Mon Jan 23 2017

.SHORT TERM...(This evening through Tuesday)
Issued at 354 PM CST Mon Jan 23 2017

Due to the shortness of the hour and that much of the afternoon
was dedicated to extensive fcst collaboration...this AFD will be
brief. Please refer to the fcst HWO and WSW for details as
currently envisioned.

First thing to say right out of the gate is confidence in the
precip fcst Tue-Tue night is below average. Just not sure how this
evolves. There are too many models depicting too many different
scenario's...especially the mesoscale models. Release of
convective instability and the associated release of latent heat
is resulting in bands of narrow but significant QPF and resulting
in the formation of a new low and/or altering the path of the
primary low.

This fcst is a broad-brush approach looking primarily at synoptic
features (track of 700 mb and 500 mb lows). However...the
mesoscale will play a role and that will necessitate changes to
the fcst that will have short lead-time.

We've hoisted a Winter Wx Advisory for all the counties along Neb
Hwy 92 north to include Valley/Greeley/Nance as well.

However...it is important to understand that this is just our
first swing at highlighting the potential with this system. I
would venture to say it is likely this advisory will be expanded.
There is even a chance part of the fcst area may need to be
upgraded to a warning with little advance notice.

Fcst issues...

1) Fog. Low stratus has lingered from GRI-AUH and conds are
favorable for it to rapidly expand across the fcst area this eve.
Would not be surprised to see dense fog (vsby 1/4 mi or less).

2) Frzg drzl. Confidence is low on this. The soundings have the
look...but do temps even radiate to frzg? Temps made it into the
40s and 50s over much of the fcst area. Does this warmth radiate
away before clouds move in? Nudge low temps up. Gut feeling is
that we may have over-played this threat. Watch temperatures.

3) Thunder? It's possible. There is enough elevated instability
that we could see some lightning late tonight. Mesoscale models
are indicating some mid-lvl convection after midnight tonight that
lifts across the fcst area in the morning.

4) A break? Much of the day could be dry tomorrow. Am concerned
the fcst sounds too wet.

5) We are unsure of how the snow evolves. We probably see a
significant band of snow develop over Nrn Neb during the day and
current expectation is that it will curl around the backside of
the 700mb low as it moves across the area in the late afternoon
hrs. Believe most of the snow will fall from 4 pm-4 am.

6) Snowfall amts: this advisory is a first shot...but it may not
fully encompass the area or the amounts correctly just yet. There
have been multiple runs of the NAM and RGEM that indicate a narrow
band of 4-8" of snow somewhere in cntrl Neb. Please allow us room
for fcst adjustments.

.LONG TERM...(Tuesday night through Monday)
Issued at 354 PM CST Mon Jan 23 2017

Much of the above will cross over into this section. Please see
above.

After this system departs...temps much closer to normal will
settle over the region thru Sat...but more warm appears to be on
the horizon next week. Dry.

&&

.AVIATION...(For the 06Z KGRI/KEAR TAFS through 06Z Tuesday night)
Issued at 1130 PM CST Mon Jan 23 2017

Low confidence in the forecast for this TAF period. An upper level
low pressure system sliding across the region today will bring
less than ideal ceiling/visibility conditions to the terminal
areas, as well as precipitation chances. Am pretty pessimistic
with cigs/visby through the period, with sub-1000ft cigs
throughout. Visibilities will vary with precipitation moving
in/out of the area. Kept a mention of -fzdz this morning going,
but confidence in it actually occurring is not high. May see a
passing area of precip around 12Z or so, but then may have a bit
of a lull, before better chances return this afternoon and
evening. As far as winds go, current easterly winds look to stick
around well into the daytime hours, then later today/this evening,
switch to the north-northwest and start ramping up in speed.

&&

.GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NE...Winter Weather Advisory from 3 AM Tuesday to 9 AM CST Wednesday
     for NEZ039>041-046>049.

KS...None.
&&

SHORT TERM...Kelley
LONG TERM...Kelley
AVIATION...ADP

Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 23, 3:39 PM CST, 11 hours 21 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
339 PM CST MON JAN 23 2017

KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087-
242145-
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-
339 PM CST MON JAN 23 2017

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND
PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

FOG WILL EXPAND OVER MUCH OF THE OUTLOOK AREA TONIGHT...REDUCING
THE VISIBILITY TO LESS THAN 1 MILE. DENSE FOG WITH VISIBILITIES
ONE-QUARTER MILE OR LESS IS POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY OVER PORTIONS
OF SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA.

THERE IS A CHANCE OF FREEZING DRIZZLE AFTER MIDNIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY.

WIDESPREAD FOG WILL CONTINUE UNTIL NOON TUESDAY...AND IT COULD BE
ONE-QUARTER MILE OR LESS IN SOME LOCATIONS.

FREEZING DRIZZLE WILL BE POSSIBLE UNTIL NOON TUESDAY. SNOW WILL
DEVELOP TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EXPAND ACROSS MUCH OF THE OUTLOOK
AREA FOR A TIME TUESDAY NIGHT. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN
EFFECT UNTIL WEDNESDAY MORNING...ALONG AND NORTH OF NEBRASKA
HIGHWAY 92 WHERE 1 TO 4 INCHES OF SNOW IS LIKELY. LOCALLY HIGHER
AMOUNTS ARE POSSIBLE. THIS ADVISORY MAY NEED TO BE EXPANDED TO A
LARGER PORTION OF THE OUTLOOK AREA AS THIS SYSTEM EVOLVES.

NORTHWEST WINDS WILL BE SUSTAINED 25 TO 30 MPH TUESDAY NIGHT INTO
WEDNESDAY MORNING...WITH GUSTS OF 40 TO 45 MPH.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED THROUGH TONIGHT.

&&

MORE INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE FOLLOWING WEB PAGE:
   HTTPS://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/HASTINGS  (ALL LOWERCASE)

KELLEY

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 winter weather, 2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Dawson

When: January 24, 3:00 AM CST to 2:00 PM CST
Where: Dawson forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 40.870, -99.820 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 2-4.

Winter Weather, Buffalo

When: January 24, 3:00 AM CST to 2:00 PM CST
Where: Buffalo forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 40.855, -99.075 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 2-4.

Winter Weather, Gosper

When: January 24, 3:00 AM CST to 1:00 PM CST
Where: Gosper forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 40.515, -99.831 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 2-4.

Winter Weather, Phelps

When: January 24, 3:00 AM CST to 1:00 PM CST
Where: Phelps forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 40.511, -99.414 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 2-4.

Winter Weather, Sherman

When: January 24, 4:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where: Sherman forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 41.221, -98.976 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 3-6, with the highest totals being recorded across the northern half of the county.

Winter Weather, Howard

When: January 24, 4:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where: Howard forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 41.220, -98.517 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 3-6, with the highest totals being recorded across the northern half of the county.

Winter Storm, Valley

When: January 24, 5:00 AM CST to 2:30 PM CST
Where: Valley forecast zone
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 41.567, -98.982 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 4-8, with the highest totals being recorded across the northern half of the county.

Winter Storm, Greeley

When: January 24, 5:00 AM CST to 2:30 PM CST
Where: Greeley forecast zone
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 41.567, -98.521 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 4-7, with the highest totals being recorded across the northern half of the county.

What these are

Winter Weather: Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.
Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Nebraska in 2017 Every state in 2017 This day in weather history Warnings in Nebraska, January 2017

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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 669197, 669198, 669199, 669200, 669195, 669196, 669192, 669193.