Nebraska, 2018

Extreme Cold in Nebraska, January 1, 2018

January 1, 2018 · NWS LBF · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

A bitter cold arctic air mass brought dangerous wind chills to portions of north central Nebraska during the overnight and morning hours on Sunday, December 31st, 2017 and continued to produce dangerous wind chills during the overnight and morning hours on Monday, January 1st, 2018. Lowest wind chills of 30 to 39 below were common.

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

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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 LBF wrote it up.

A bitter cold arctic air mass brought dangerous wind chills to portions of north central Nebraska during the overnight and morning hours on Sunday, December 31st, 2017 and continued to produce dangerous wind chills during the overnight and morning hours on Monday, January 1st, 2018. Lowest wind chills of 30 to 39 below were common.

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 North Platte, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 31, 11:25 PM CST, 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 31, 11:25 PM CST, 35 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 31, 3:18 PM CST, 8 hours 42 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, Eastern Cherry

When
January 1, 12:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where
Eastern Cherry forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
42.545, -101.119 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dangerous wind chills of 30 to 35 below zero occurred across eastern Cherry County during the overnight and morning hours on Monday, January 1st. The Valentine ASOS recorded a lowest wind chill of 35 below at 352 am CST while a mesonet station 14 miles north northeast of Brownlee recorded a lowest wind chill of 30 below at 614 am CST.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Keya Paha

When
January 1, 12:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where
Keya Paha forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
42.879, -99.712 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dangerous wind chills of 30 to 35 below zero occurred across Keya Paha County during the overnight and morning hours on Monday, January 1st. The nearby Valentine ASOS recorded a lowest wind chill of 35 below at 352 am CST while the nearby Ainsworth AWOS recorded a lowest wind chill of 32 below at 515 am CST.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Rock

When
January 1, 12:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where
Rock forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
42.421, -99.450 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dangerous wind chills of 30 to 39 below zero occurred across Rock County during the overnight and morning hours on Monday, January 1st. The nearby Ainsworth AWOS recorded a lowest wind chill of 32 below at 515 am CST while the nearby O'Neill AWOS recorded a lowest wind chill of 39 below at 800 am CST.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Boyd

When
January 1, 12:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where
Boyd forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
42.900, -98.766 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dangerous wind chills of 30 to 39 below zero occurred across Boyd County during the overnight and morning hours on Monday, January 1st. The nearby O'Neill AWOS recorded a lowest wind chill of 39 below at 800 am CST.

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 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Nebraska, January 2018

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 728668, 728669, 728670, 728671.