Drought conditions remained unchanged across western and north central Nebraska in January. Precipitation for the month was below normal, generally west of a line from Valentine to North Platte.
Every event with a place to put it; 14 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.
Drought conditions remained unchanged across western and north central Nebraska in January. Precipitation for the month was below normal, generally west of a line from Valentine to North Platte. East of this line, precipitation for the month was near normal to slightly above normal. Temperatures for the month were well above normal across western and north central Nebraska. Even with the slightly above normal precipitation east of highway 83, the abnormally warm temperatures, led to no changes in drought severity across western and north central 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 Dec 31, 11:20 PM CST, 40 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service North Platte NE 1120 PM CST Thu Dec 31 2020 .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Friday night) Issued at 238 PM CST Thu Dec 31 2020 Very quiet conditions continue through the short term across western and north central Nebraska. Surface high pressure and upper level ridging across the western US will continue to bring dry weather to the region. Despite plenty of sunshine, recent snowfall will keep both daytime and nighttime temperatures on the cooler side of guidance. Overnight temperatures tonight will drop into the low to mid teens with daytime temperatures tomorrow rising only into the mid to upper 30s. The main concern headed into tonight will be the potential for some patchy fog. Model soundings indicate that the best chance for fog development will be across portions of central Nebraska and into south central Nebraska. For the most part, the best and densest fog development (areas) looks to be just east of our region, but locations southeast of a line from Hayes Center to Arnold to Ewing could see patchy fog. At this time minimal impacts will be expected, but those traveling across central Nebraska should be prepared for rapidly changing visibilities early Friday morning. .LONG TERM...(Saturday through Thursday) Issued at 238 PM CST Thu Dec 31 2020 The quiet weather pattern will continue through the middle of next week with the best precipitation systems tracking to the south of the region. A continued surge of warmer 850mb temperatures (2C to 6C) will allow surface temperatures to return to the 40s. These warmer temperatures should be able to melt off much of our snowpack from the most recent system. However, until the snowpack is completely melted, temperatures may be slightly cooler than guidance for both highs and lows. For now, will continue to go with straight guidance for the extended period temperatures as confidence remains low in how much snowpack will affect temperatures this far in advance. && .AVIATION...(For the 06Z TAFS through 06Z Friday night) Issued at 1120 PM CST Thu Dec 31 2020 VFR will continue for most of western and north central Nebraska as a shield of cirrus overspreads the area and winds remain generally light. Patchy fog is possible for central Neb terminals overnight into early this morning, but impacts should be either brief or MVFR. && .LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && SHORT TERM...Kulik LONG TERM...Kulik AVIATION...Snively
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service North Platte NE 302 PM CST Thu Dec 31 2020 NEZ004>010-022>029-035>038-056>059-069>071-094-012115- 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- 302 PM CST Thu Dec 31 2020 /202 PM MST Thu Dec 31 2020/ This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of western and north central Nebraska. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. 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.
14 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
During the month of January, extreme (D3) drought conditions remained unchanged across all of Hayes County. The cooperative station at Hayes Center reported 0.41 inches of precipitation for January. This was 0.05 inches below the normal of 0.46 inches.
During the month of January, extreme (D3) drought conditions remained over the southern half of Lincoln county. Along the Platte River Valley in central Lincoln county, severe (D2) drought conditions remained unchanged during January. The cooperative station at Wallace 2W reported 0.40 inches of precipitation for January. This was 0.12 inches above the normal of 0.28 inches. The cooperative station at Hershey 5SSE reported 0.41 inches of precipitation in January. This was 0.04 inches above the normal of 0.37 inches. At the North Platte Airport, 0.41 inches of precipitation fell which was 0.07 inches above the normal of 0.34 inches. At the cooperative station in Brady, 0.11 inches of precipitation fell.
Extreme (D3) drought conditions remained unchanged during the month of January in Frontier County. The cooperative station at Curtis reported 0.32 inches of precipitation for the month. This was 0.09 inches below the normal of 0.41 inches. The cooperative station at Eustis 2NW reported 0.54 inches of precipitation in January. This was 0.03 inches below the normal of 0.57 inches.
During the month of January, severe (D2) drought continued over far southern Custer county. The cooperative observer at Callaway 8WSW reported 0.62 inches of precipitation for the month. The cooperative observer at Broken Bow 2W reported 0.51 inches of precipitation. This was 0.17 inches above the normal of 0.34 inches.
Severe (D2) drought conditions continued across southeastern Garfield county through January. The cooperative station at Ericson 8WNW tallied 0.49 inches of precipitation for the month. This was 0.10 inches below the normal of 0.59 inches.
Severe (D2) drought conditions remained unchanged across the southern half of Wheeler county in January. The cooperative station at Bartlett 1W reported 0.60 inches of precipitation for the month. This was 0.17 inches below the normal of 0.77 inches.
During the month of January, drought severity remained unchanged across Sheridan County. The western half of the county was in extreme (D3) drought with the eastern half of the county in severe (D2) drought. The cooperative station at Gordon 6N reported 0.36 inches of precipitation for the month. This was 0.04 inches below the normal of 0.40 inches. The cooperative station at Ellsworth 2W reported 0.11 inches of precipitation for the month. This was 0.10 inches below the normal of 0.21 inches.
During the month of January, drought severity remained unchanged across Garden County. Extreme (D3) drought conditions persisted over the western 2/3rds of Garden county with severe (D2) drought conditions over the eastern third of the county. The cooperative station at Lisco reported 0.03 inches of precipitation for the month. This was 0.53 inches below the normal of 0.56 inches. The cooperative station at Oshkosh reported 0.08 inches of precipitation for the month. This was 0.14 inches below the normal of 0.22 inches. The cooperative station at Crescent Lakes National Wildlife Refuge reported 0.08 inches of precipitation for the month. This was 0.21 inches below the normal of 0.29 inches. The cooperative station at Oshkosh 8SW reported 0.18 inches of precipitation for the month. This was 0.15 inches below the normal of 0.33 inches.
Drought conditions remained unchanged across Deuel county in January. The eastern quarter of the county remained in severe (D2) drought, while the western 3/4ths of the county remained in extreme (D3) drought.
For the month of January, drought conditions remained unchanged over Grant county. Severe (D2) drought conditions persisted over southwestern portions of the county.
During the month of January, drought severity remained unchanged across Arthur county. Severe (D2) drought conditions were present over the western half of the county. The cooperative station at Arthur reported 0.46 inches of precipitation for the month. This was 0.12 inches above the normal of 0.34 inches.
During the month of January, extreme (D3) drought conditions remained present over far southern Keith County. Over the remainder of the county, severe (D2) drought conditions persisted through January. The cooperative observer at Kingsley Dam reported 0.38 inches of precipitation for the month. This was 0.02 inches above the normal of 0.36 inches. The cooperative station at Ogallala reported 0.21 inches and was 0.28 inches below the normal of 0.49 inches.
During the month of January, extreme (D3) drought conditions remained unchanged for all of Perkins County. The cooperative station at Madrid reported 0.45 inches of precipitation for the month. This was 0.03 inches above the normal of 0.42 inches.
During the month of January, extreme (D3) drought conditions remained unchanged across all of Chase County. The cooperative station at Imperial reported 0.49 inches of precipitation for the month. This was 0.19 inches above the normal of 0.30 inches.
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, January 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: 940592, 940593, 940594, 940595, 940596, 940597, 938788, 938789, 938790, 938791, 938792, 938795, 938796, 940591.