Nebraska, 2017

Winter Weather in Nebraska, January 5, 2017

January 5, 2017 · NWS GID · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

A narrow band of snow deposited generally 2 to 4 inches of snow over much of south central Nebraska on this Wednesday. The snow began around 1 am CST in the Lexington area and ended across the region at 11 pm.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 11 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
11

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.

A narrow band of snow deposited generally 2 to 4 inches of snow over much of south central Nebraska on this Wednesday. The snow began around 1 am CST in the Lexington area and ended across the region at 11 pm. The band ebbed and waned at various locations and times throughout the day, but light snow was steadiest over the largest area during the afternoon and evening hours. The highest amount reported was 4.9 inches in the town of Cozad.

At the surface, arctic air was firmly entrenched over the Great Plains. The front that introduced the arctic air was over the Gulf of Mexico and the Rio Grande River. Throughout the day, arctic high pressure gradually slipped from Montana into Nebraska. In the upper-levels, the Westerlies were zonal. This snow band was generated by persistent mid-level frontogenesis. There was no synoptic-scale forcing, so snowfall amounts were light.

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 5, 2:22 PM CST, 38 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 5, 2:22 PM CST, 38 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Hastings NE
222 PM CST Thu Jan 5 2017

.SHORT TERM...(This evening through Friday)
Issued at 150 PM CST Thu Jan 5 2017

Light snow across north central Kansas gradually tapered off
this morning, leaving dry conditions the rest of the day. When
all said and done storm total snow amounts have ranged from 1 to 4
inches across our area. An upper trough axis responsible for
generating the snow was working across the plains bringing
another surge of cold air. A 1032mb surface high pressure system
will settle in tonight, reinforcing the cold airmass and allowing
for a frigid night.

With high temperatures just in the single digits and teens today and
good radiating conditions tonight under the influence of the surface
ridge, look for temperatures to plummet well below zero overnight.
Model guidance has trended colder with lows and believe the colder
temperatures are the way to go with the bitter cold airmass in
place and new snowcover. Have followed closer to the RAP for lows
which are even colder than MOS with lows in the -5 to -15 range.
These temperatures combined with any wind at all will produce
wind chill values of -15 to -25 degrees and have expanded the wind
chill advisory across our entire cwa.

Although still cold, Friday will begin to see a slight moderation
in temperatures as the surface ridge axis slides southeast into
the southern plains states and heights begin to rise aloft as the
eastern trough begins to depart and upper ridging expands east of
the Rockies. The airmass moderates roughly 10C from today to Friday
and despite the snow on the ground, temperatures should rise near
or into the 20s in the slightly warmer airmass.

.LONG TERM...(Friday night through Thursday)
Issued at 150 PM CST Thu Jan 5 2017

Overall the extended models are in decent agreement with a dry
weather forecast over the weekend, with the next chance for
precipitation arriving in the Monday night/early Tuesday time
frame.

Saturday will see some cold air backing in from the northeast
associated with a strong 1045mb surface high building south from the
Upper Midwest Region along the Missouri River. There will be a
gradient in temperatures from northeast to southwest in this
thermal trough.

By Sunday, the airmass will be noticeably warmer with mid level
temperatures warming another 6C ahead of an approaching cold frontal
boundary. Temperatures should be near or in the 30s for highs and it
is shaping up to be a good snow melt day. The boundary which moves
in Sunday night is proggred to stall and lift back to the north as a
warm front on Monday. Monday temepratures should be some of the
warmest of the next several days, tempered only by snowmelt/snow on
the ground.

A mid level shortwave trough and frontal passage Monday night may
generate a quick shot of light precipitation. The extended models
diverge more so for the middle/latter part of the workweek with the
strength and timing of another progressive trough and didn't deviate
from ensembles. In a progressive pattern we will see varying
periods of warm air advection/cold air advection with readings
fairly seasonal or above.

&&

.AVIATION...(For the 18Z KGRI/KEAR TAFS through 18Z Friday afternoon)
Issued at 1100 AM CST Thu Jan 5 2017

VFR conditions are forecast through the taf period. In deeper
mixing this afternoon, wind gusts around 25kts are possible. There
is some concern for blowing snow due to the recent fluffy snowpack
however the potential for this is not great enough to include in
the TAFs just yet. Wind speeds will subside tonight as surface
high pressure settles onto the Plains.

&&

.GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NE...Wind Chill Advisory from 8 PM this evening to 10 AM CST Friday
     for NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087.

KS...Wind Chill Advisory from 8 PM this evening to 10 AM CST Friday
     for KSZ005>007-017>019.

&&

SHORT TERM...Fay
LONG TERM...Fay
AVIATION...Fay
Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 5, 2:39 PM CST, 21 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
239 PM CST THU JAN 5 2017

KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087-
061200-
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-
239 PM CST THU JAN 5 2017

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

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT.

A WIND CHILL ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT TONIGHT FOR BITTER COLD WIND
CHILLS OF -15 TO -25 DEGREES. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST ADVISORY
MESSAGE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

A WIND CHILL ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM FRIDAY FOR
BITTER COLD WIND CHILLS OF -15 TO -25 DEGREES. PLEASE REFER TO THE
LATEST ADVISORY MESSAGE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.

.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)

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 5, 9:04 AM CST, 5 hours 56 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
904 AM CST THU JAN 5 2017

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0800 AM     SNOW             6 SSE LEXINGTON         40.69N 99.70W
01/05/2017  M4.0 INCH        GOSPER             NE   CO-OP OBSERVER

            STORM TOTAL.

0800 AM     SNOW             AURORA                  40.87N 98.00W
01/05/2017  M2.5 INCH        HAMILTON           NE   EMERGENCY MNGR

            FELL BTWN 2 AND 11 PM YESTERDAY.

0830 AM     SNOW             1 N MINDEN              40.52N 98.95W
01/05/2017  M3.6 INCH        KEARNEY            NE   CO-OP OBSERVER

            STORM TOTAL.

&&

NWS HASTINGS NE
IRIS SYSTEM
Local storm report, Jan 5, 9:05 AM CST, 5 hours 55 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
905 AM CST THU JAN 5 2017

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0700 AM     SNOW             4 ENE KEARNEY           40.73N 99.01W
01/05/2017  M3.0 INCH        BUFFALO            NE   CO-OP OBSERVER

            STORM TOTAL.

&&

MANGELS

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, York

When
January 5, 3:00 PM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where
York forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
40.873, -97.597 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A narrow band of 2-4 of snow was reported across the area.

Winter Weather, Hamilton

When
January 5, 3:00 PM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where
Hamilton forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
40.874, -98.023 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A narrow band of 2-4 of snow was reported across the area.

Winter Weather, Hall

When
January 5, 3:00 PM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where
Hall forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations
Coordinates
40.873, -98.502 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A narrow band of 2-4 of snow was reported across the area.

Winter Weather, Adams

When
January 5, 4:00 PM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where
Adams forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations
Coordinates
40.525, -98.501 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A narrow band of 2-4 of snow was reported across the area.

Winter Weather, Fillmore

When
January 5, 4:00 PM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where
Fillmore forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
40.525, -97.596 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A narrow band of 2-4 of snow was reported across the area.

Winter Weather, Clay

When
January 5, 4:00 PM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where
Clay forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
40.524, -98.051 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A narrow band of 2-4 of snow was reported across the area.

Winter Weather, Dawson

When
January 5, 4:00 PM CST to 9:30 PM CST
Where
Dawson forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
40.870, -99.820 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A narrow band of 2-4 of snow was reported across the area.

Winter Weather, Buffalo

When
January 5, 4:00 PM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where
Buffalo forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
40.855, -99.075 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A narrow band of 2-4 of snow was reported across the area.

Winter Weather, Gosper

When
January 5, 5:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Gosper forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
40.515, -99.831 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A narrow band of 2-4 of snow was reported across the area.

Winter Weather, Phelps

When
January 5, 5:00 PM CST to 9:30 PM CST
Where
Phelps forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
40.511, -99.414 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A narrow band of 2-4 of snow was reported across the area.

Winter Weather, Kearney

When
January 5, 5:00 PM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where
Kearney forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
40.507, -98.948 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A narrow band of 2-4 of snow was reported across the area.

What these are

Winter Weather
Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Nebraska in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 669171, 669172, 669173, 669174, 669175, 669176, 669178, 669182, 669179, 669180, 669181.