An intense storm system moved through western and north central Nebraska on December 15th. This storms brought rain and a few thunderstorms, as well as some light snow accumulations.
Every event with a place to put it; 24 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.
An intense storm system moved through western and north central Nebraska on December 15th. This storms brought rain and a few thunderstorms, as well as some light snow accumulations. High winds were most notable, with northwest winds gusting to 60 to 70 mph for many locations during the afternoon hours. The Imperial ASOS recorded the highest wind gust at 74 mph.
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 15, 10:58 AM MST, 1 hour 2 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service North Platte NE 1158 AM CST Wed Dec 15 2021 .UPDATE... Issued at 1113 AM CST Wed Dec 15 2021 Included Grant, Hooker, Thomas, Blaine, Brown, Keya Paha, Arthur, and McPherson Counties to the Winter Weather Advisory for this afternoon and early evening. Latest mesoscale models have trended accumulating snow further southeast. Also introduced areas of blowing dust near and south of I80. Blowing dust already becoming widespread across portions of eastern CO and western KS. && .SHORT TERM...(Today through Tonight) Issued at 406 AM CST Wed Dec 15 2021 Vigorous upper trof has come ashore over southern California and is poised to move into the southern Rockies early this morning. Guidance remains consistent with this system taking on a negative tilt as it rapidly deepens this afternoon. The associated surface low will move out of Colorado and track directly over central and eastern Nebraska this afternoon on its way to becoming a sub-980mb low moving into Minnesota and Wisconsin tonight. This system will have a remarkable amount of energy which will translate into extremely windy conditions as it crosses the area this afternoon with wind values exceeding the 99th percentile across a good portion of central Nebraska.Anticipate the highest wind gusts will occur after passage of the low and associated cold front this afternoon into this evening as colder air rapidly moves in and enhances lapse rates in the boundary layer for efficient downward momentum transfer. A High Wind Warning remains in effect with wind gusts expected to exceed 60mph across all of central and western Nebraska, and guidance is strongly suggesting development of a sting jet that will enhance winds in a corridor right around Interstate 80 mid to late this afternoon where gusts to 70mph or possibly higher are expected at some locations. Thankfully the system is moving rapidly and the period of strongest winds will generally be confined to mid afternoon into early this evening with winds slackening overnight. A burst of precipitation will accompany the low as it passes this afternoon. Model soundings in Bufkit show some long and very skinny CAPE values that will favor development of convective elements and, with rapidly falling temperatures behind the low resulting in a quick changeover to snow, some snow squalls. Some thunder can not be rules out but the best potential for deeper organized convection will reside further into eastern Nebraska and the midwest. Some snow accumulation is expected generally north of Route 2 and west of Route 183 where accumulations of 1 to 3 inches are possible especially up near the Pine Ridge. There is some uncertainty as to exactly how much precipitation will occur due to the rapid movement of the low and potential for convective elements to enhance precipitation, and it is possible snow amounts may start to trend upward. Have expanded the Winter Weather Advisory to cover Sheridan and all of Cherry county where confidence in snowfall is highest and will monitor trends in later mesoscale guidance closely to see if snowfall expands further south and east. Impacts from the snowfall will be mainly due to reduced visibility in snow and blowing snow. While some slick spots on roadways will be possible, confidence in flash freeze potential is low since strong winds will have a chance to blow snow off roads and dry pavement before temperatures become cold enough to freeze the road surface. Snowfall looks to ens shortly after nightfall with no additional precipitation expected for the overnight period. Before the low passes and colder air arrives, temperatures will warm into the 60s across south central Nebraska and create relative humidity values approaching critical levels. However the primary concern for fire conditions today will be the very strong winds. .LONG TERM...(Thursday through Tuesday) Issued at 555 AM CST Wed Dec 15 2021 Ensemble guidance continues to indicate a progressive pattern with a mean upper ridge over the western US. This will bring generally dry weather to the upper plains through the first part of next week. Temperature anomalies start showing a robust trend toward positive anomalies indicating above normal temperatures as we get deeper into next week. A cold front will move thorugh Nebraska on Friday. This will bring a good dose of cold air to the region with lows Saturday morning in the single digits to around 10 degrees. However the core of the cold air will push down to our east and temperatures will rebound considerably for Sunday with highs in the 50s. Another cold front pushes through the region on Monday though there does not appear to be a big push of cold air behind the front and temperatures will start to warm heading into the middle of next week. && .AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Thursday afternoon) Issued at 1144 AM CST Wed Dec 15 2021 Winds have started to increase and will continue to remain very strong through the afternoon and early evening hours. Winds will shift to the northwest this afternoon, gust of 55kts or greater will be possible at the surface. Along with strong low level wind sheer of 60 kts or more across portions of northern Nebraska including KVTN terminal. Precipitation is possible this afternoon with light blowing snow possible across northern Nebraska and a rain/wintry mix to brief periods of light snow farther south across southwest Nebraska, including KLBF terminal. Cigs will also lower as precipitation moves in, bringing MVFR and IFR conditions. VFR conditions will gradually return overnight into tomorrow morning. && .LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... High Wind Warning until 9 PM CST /8 PM MST/ this evening for NEZ004>010-022>029-035>038-056>059-069>071-094. Winter Weather Advisory until 9 PM CST /8 PM MST/ this evening for NEZ004>006-008-023>026-035-036-094. && UPDATE...Roberg SHORT TERM...MBS LONG TERM...MBS AVIATION...Gomez
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service North Platte NE 1048 AM CST Wed Dec 15 2021 NEZ004>010-022>029-035>038-056>059-069>071-094-161700- 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- 1048 AM CST Wed Dec 15 2021 /948 AM MST Wed Dec 15 2021/ This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of western and north central Nebraska. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. A low pressure system will cross through the state today, bringing high winds and wintry precipitation. A High Wind Warning is in effect from 9 AM to 9 PM CST as wind gusts up to 70 mph are possible throughout the day across the state. Precipitation is anticipated to begin as rain this afternoon before changing over to snow late afternoon into this evening. Forecasted accumulations are expected to be light, but hazardous travel conditions are anticipated. The strong winds combined with falling snow will lead to significant blowing snow and rapid reductions in visibility. A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for Sheridan, Cherry, Keya Paha, Brown, Blaine, Thomas, Hooker, Grant, Arthur and McPherson counties from 1 PM to 9 PM CST. Along with blowing snow, there is also the possibility for blowing dust to reduce visibility across portions of southwest Nebraska. Near-critical fire weather conditions are expected across southwest Nebraska today due to the combination of low humidity and very strong wind gusts. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. No hazardous weather is expected 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
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
24 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The nearby Ogallala AWOS recorded a peak wind gust of 67 mph at 1255 pm MST. Northwest winds of 35 to 45 mph with gusts to over 60 mph were common across Garden County during the early to mid afternoon hours.
Nearby Ogallala AWOS recorded a peak wind gust of 67 mph at 1255 pm MST. Northwest winds of 35 to 45 mph with gusts to over 60 mph were common across Deuel County during the early to mid afternoon hours.
Nearby Ogallala AWOS recorded a peak wind gust of 67 mph at 1255 pm MST. Northwest winds of 35 to 45 mph with gusts to over 60 mph were common across Arthur County during the early to mid afternoon hours.
The Ogallala AWOS recorded a peak wind gust of 67 mph at 1255 pm MST. Northwest winds of 35 to 45 mph with gusts to over 60 mph were common across Keith County during the early to mid afternoon hours.
The nearby Ogallala AWOS recorded a peak wind gust of 67 mph at 1255 pm MST. the nearby Imperial ASOS recorded a peak wind gust of 74 mph at 149 pm MST. Northwest winds of 35 to 45 mph with gusts to around 70 mph were common across Perkins County during the early to mid afternoon hours.
The Imperial ASOS recorded a peak wind gust of 74 mph at 149 pm MST. Northwest winds of 40 to 50 mph with gusts to around 70 mph were common across Chase County during the early to mid afternoon hours.
The nearby Imperial ASOS recorded a peak wind gust of 74 mph at 249 pm CST. Northwest winds of 40 to 50 mph with gusts to around 70 mph were common across Hayes County during the mid afternoon hours.
The North Platte ASOS recorded a peak wind gust of 63 mph at 314 pm CST. Northwest winds of 35 to 45 mph with gusts to around 60 mph were common across Lincoln County during the mid to late afternoon hours.
The nearby North Platte ASOS recorded a peak wind gust of 63 mph at 314 pm CST. Northwest winds of 35 to 45 mph with gusts to around 60 mph were common across McPherson County during the mid to late afternoon hours.
The nearby North Platte ASOS recorded a peak wind gust of 63 mph at 314 pm CST. Northwest winds of 35 to 45 mph with gusts to around 60 mph were common across Logan County during the mid to late afternoon hours.
The nearby McCook ASOS recorded a peak wind gust of 63 mph at 325 pm CST. Northwest winds of 35 to 45 mph with gusts to around 60 mph were common across Frontier County during the mid to late afternoon hours.
The Thedford AWOS recorded sustained winds of 40 mph between 300 pm and 430 pm CST. Northwest winds gusted to 54 mph at 335 pm CST. These high winds were common across Thomas County during the mid to late afternoon hours.
A mesonet site 6 miles northwest of Dunning recorded a wind gust of 57 mph at 315 pm CST. Also, the nearby Thedford AWOS recorded sustained winds of 40 mph between 300 pm and 430 pm CST. Northwest winds gusted to 54 mph at 335 pm CST. These high winds were common across Blaine County during the mid to late afternoon hours.
A nearby mesonet site 6 miles northwest of Dunning recorded a wind gust of 57 mph at 315 pm CST. Also, the nearby Thedford AWOS recorded sustained winds of 40 mph between 300 pm and 430 pm CST. Northwest winds gusted to 54 mph at 335 pm CST. These high winds were common across Loup County during the mid to late afternoon hours.
The Valentine ASOS recorded a peak wind gust of 61 mph at 529 pm CST. These high winds were common across eastern Cherry County during the mid afternoon to early evening hours.
The nearby Valentine ASOS recorded a peak wind gust of 61 mph at 429 pm MST. These high winds were common across western Cherry County during the mid afternoon to early evening hours.
The Broken Bow ASOS recorded a peak wind gust of 64 mph at 447 pm CST. Northwest winds of 35 to 45 mph with gusts to around 60 mph were common across Custer County during the late afternoon and early evening hours.
A nearby Ord ASOS recorded a peak wind gust of 72 mph at 453 pm CST. These high winds were common across Garfield County during the late afternoon to mid evening hours.
A nearby Ord ASOS recorded a peak wind gust of 72 mph at 453 pm CST. These high winds were common across Wheeler County during the late afternoon to mid evening hours.
A mesonet site located 7 miles southeast of Mills recorded a peak wind gust of 61 mph at 415 pm CST. These high winds were common across Keya Paha County during the mid afternoon to early evening hours.
A mesonet site located 20 miles south of Long Pine recorded a peak wind gust of 58 mph at 420 pm CST. These high winds were common across Brown County during the mid afternoon to early evening hours.
A nearby mesonet site located 20 miles south of Long Pine recorded a peak wind gust of 58 mph at 420 pm CST. These high winds were common across Rock County during the mid afternoon to early evening hours.
The O'Neill AWOS recorded a peak wind gust of 60 mph at 435 pm CST. These high winds were common across Holt County during the late afternoon to mid evening hours.
The nearby O'Neill AWOS recorded a peak wind gust of 60 mph at 435 pm CST. These high winds were common across Boyd County during the late afternoon to mid evening hours.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nebraska in 2021Every state in 2021This day in weather historyWarnings in Nebraska, December 2021
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: 989463, 989438, 989439, 989440, 989441, 989442, 989443, 989444, 989446, 989447, 989448, 989450, 989451, 989452, 989459, 989462, 989449, 989453, 989454, 989460, 989464, 989465, 989456, 989458.