Extreme Cold in Nebraska, December 21 to 23, 2022

Name: Extreme Cold in Nebraska, December 21 to 23, 2022
Start: 2022-12-21T08:22
End: 2022-12-23T09:19
Location: Nebraska

December 21 to 23, 2022 · NWS CYS · 9 events in 9 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 9 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: 9

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 CYS wrote it up.

An intense arctic cold front tracked rapidly from north to south across western Nebraska during the morning and afternoon hours on 12/21. Numerous records were set for the most rapid and extreme temperature drops in history. Morning low temperatures fell to -20 to -40 degrees F across the western Nebraska Panhandle on 12/22, with many sites remaining below zero through the day. Wind chills plummeted to between -45 and -65 degrees F for many. The cold frontal passage on 12/21 was also accompanied by scattered snow showers and locally intense snow squalls, resulting in a period of extremely low visibilities and dangerous travel conditions due to a flash freeze.

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 Cheyenne, WY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 21, 5:44 AM MST, 2 hours 38 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 21, 5:44 AM MST, 2 hours 38 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 21, 8:09 AM MST, 13 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

In the hours before

Local storm report, Dec 21, 2:45 AM MST, 5 hours 37 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Local storm report, Dec 21, 2:46 AM MST, 5 hours 36 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Local storm report, Dec 21, 5:56 AM MST, 2 hours 26 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Local storm report, Dec 21, 8:09 AM MST, 13 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Dawes

When: December 21, 8:22 AM MST to December 23, 7:22 AM MST
Where: Dawes forecast zone
Reported by: RAWS
Coordinates: 42.720, -103.135 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Overnight low temperatures ranged from -17 F to -24 F across Dawes County from 12/21 into 12/22, with daytime highs remaining under -5 F during the afternoon on 12/22. Sustained winds 20-30 MPH resulted in a prolonged period of extreme wind chills under -30 F. The most extreme wind chills occurred between 8:00 PM MST on 12/21 and 11:00 AM MST on 12/22. The Chadron Airport ASOS (KCDR) recorded a wind chill of -51 F at 6:45 AM MST on 12/22. Minimum observed wind chill values reached -57 F at HRSN1 (Kings Canyon, 7 S of Chadron) between 1:22 AM and 7:22 AM MST on 12/22.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, North Sioux

When: December 21, 8:24 AM MST to December 23, 8:24 AM MST
Where: North Sioux forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 42.488, -103.759 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Overnight low temperatures ranged from -22 F to -26 F across northern Sioux County from 12/21 into 12/22, with daytime highs generally remaining under -10 F during the afternoon on 12/22. Sustained winds 15-30 MPH resulted in a prolonged period of extreme wind chills under -30 F. The most extreme wind chills occurred between 7:00 PM MST on 12/21 and 9:00 AM MST on 12/22. Minimum observed wind chills reached -57 F at EW9698 (Harrison) at 2:35 AM MST on 12/22.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Box Butte

When: December 21, 9:10 AM MST to December 23, 7:55 AM MST
Where: Box Butte forecast zone
Reported by: Department of Highways
Coordinates: 42.220, -103.086 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Overnight low temperatures fell to around -20 F across Box Butte County from 12/21 into 12/22, with daytime highs generally remaining above -5 F during the afternoon on 12/22. Sustained winds 15-25 MPH resulted in a prolonged period of extreme wind chills under -30 F. The most extreme wind chills occurred between 8:00 PM MST on 12/21 and 12:00 PM MST on 12/22. The Alliance Airport ASOS (KAIA) recorded a wind chill of -50 F between 12:00 AM and 3:30 AM MST on 12/22. Minimum observed wind chill values reached -52 F at NB033 (Flaherty's Corner Highway 71, 19 ESE of Agate) at 2:05 AM MST on 12/22.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Cheyenne

When: December 21, 12:58 PM MST to December 23, 9:19 AM MST
Where: Cheyenne forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 41.220, -102.995 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Overnight low temperatures ranged from -19 F to -25 F across Cheyenne County from 12/21 into 12/22, with daytime high temperatures generally remaining under -5 F during the afternoon on 12/22. Sustained winds 20-30 MPH resulted in a prolonged period of extreme wind chills under -30 F. The most extreme wind chills occurred between 11:00 PM MST on 12/21 and 12:00 PM MST on 12/22. The Sidney Airport (KSNY) recorded a wind chill of -54 F at 5:00 AM MST on 12/22. Minimum observed wind chills reached -57 F at UP286 (1 WNW of Brownson) at 7:52 AM and 11:44 AM MST on 12/22.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, South Sioux

When: December 21, 1:13 PM MST to December 22, 6:13 PM MST
Where: South Sioux forecast zone
Reported by: RAWS
Coordinates: 42.488, -103.759 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Overnight low temperatures fell to as low as -23 F across southern Sioux County from 12/21 into 12/22, with daytime highs generally remaining under -10 F during the afternoon on 12/22. Sustained winds 15-25 MPH resulted in a prolonged period of extreme wind chills under -30 F. The most extreme wind chills occurred between 1:00 AM and 8:00 AM MST on 12/22. Minimum observed wind chill values reached -52 F at AGTN1 (3 NE of Agate) at 1:13 AM MST on 12/22.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Banner

When: December 21, 1:55 PM MST to December 22, 12:00 PM MST
Where: Banner forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS
Coordinates: 41.546, -103.710 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

An overnight low temperature of -23 F, combined with sustained winds 25-35 MPH resulted in a period of extreme wind chills across Banner County. Minimum observed wind chill values reached -58 F at K1BW (Bravo, 9 NE of Albin) at 6:55 AM MST on 12/22.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Kimball

When: December 21, 1:55 PM MST to December 23, 6:55 AM MST
Where: Kimball forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS
Coordinates: 41.198, -103.715 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Overnight low temperatures fell to as low as -22 F at multiple sites across Kimball County from 12/21 into 12/22, with daytime highs generally remaining at or below -10 F during the afternoon on 12/22. Sustained winds 15-30 MPH resulted in a prolonged period of extreme wind chills under -30 F. The most extreme wind chills occurred between 11:00 PM MST on 12/21 and 11:00 AM MST on 12/22. The Kimball Airport AWOS (KIBM) recorded a persistent wind chill of -52 F between 3:15 AM MST and 7:35 AM MST on 12/22. Minimum observed wind chill values reached -55 F at K1DW (Delta, 11 NNE of Bushnell) at 5:55 AM MST on 12/22.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Scotts Bluff

When: December 21, 3:04 PM MST to December 23, 7:34 AM MST
Where: Scotts Bluff forecast zone
Reported by: RAWS
Coordinates: 41.851, -103.708 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Overnight low temperatures ranging from -16 F to -19 F were observed across Scotts Bluff County from 12/21 into 12/22, with daytime highs remaining in the single digits below zero during the afternoon on 12/22. Sustained winds 15-25 MPH resulted in a prolonged period of extreme wind chills under -30 F. The most extreme wind chills occurred between 10:00 PM MST on 12/21 and 10:00 AM MST on 12/22. The Scottsbluff Airport ASOS (KBFF) recorded a wind chill of -51 F at 4:10 AM MST on 12/22. Minimum observed wind chill values reached -52 F at SBFN1 (2 W of Gering) at 1:34 AM and 4:34 AM MST on 12/22.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Morrill

When: December 21, 4:25 PM MST to December 23, 3:59 AM MST
Where: Morrill forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 41.716, -103.010 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Overnight low temperatures fell to as low as -19 F across Morrill County from 12/21 into 12/22, with daytime highs generally remaining under -5 F during the afternoon on 12/22. Sustained winds 20-30 MPH resulted in a prolonged period of wind chills under -30 F. The most extreme wind chills occurred between 2:00 AM and 10:00 AM MST on 12/22. Minimum observed wind chill values reached -49 F at UP023 (8 WNW of Bridgeport) at 6:39 AM MST on 12/22.

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

Every storm in Nebraska in 2022 Every state in 2022 This day in weather history Warnings in Nebraska, December 2022

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: 1062779, 1063084, 1062780, 1063083, 1063085, 1062782, 1063082, 1062781, 1063081.