Extreme Cold in Nebraska, December 21 to 23, 2022

Name: Extreme Cold in Nebraska, December 21 to 23, 2022
Start: 2022-12-21T21:00
End: 2022-12-23T22:00
Location: Nebraska

December 21 to 23, 2022 · NWS OAX · 30 events in 28 counties and zones

A cold air outbreak resulted in low temperatures between -20 and -10 December 22 and 23. On Thursday Dec 23, most ground stations in the area did not observe a high temperature above 0 .

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 30 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: 30

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 OAX wrote it up.

A cold air outbreak resulted in low temperatures between -20 and -10 December 22 and 23. On Thursday Dec 23, most ground stations in the area did not observe a high temperature above 0 . Strong wind gusts were observed all 3 days with the strongest gusts occurring on Dec 23. Peak wind gusts were between 30-50 mph. The coldest wind chills observed were between -51 and -30 . The city of Omaha did not observe a wind chill temperature warmer than -19 on the 23rd.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Antelope

When: December 21, 9:00 PM CST to December 23, 2:00 PM CST
Where: Antelope forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 42.177, -98.067 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Interpolation of ground stations near the area had Antelope County mostly below -30 wind chills for approximately 41 hours.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Cedar

When: December 21, 9:00 PM CST to December 23, 10:00 PM CST
Where: Cedar forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 42.599, -97.252 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Interpolation of ground stations near the area had Cedar County mostly below -30 wind chills for approximately 49 hours.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Knox

When: December 21, 9:00 PM CST to December 23, 10:00 PM CST
Where: Knox forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 42.637, -97.892 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Interpolation of ground stations near the area had Knox County mostly below -30 wind chills for approximately 49 hours.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Wayne

When: December 21, 10:00 PM CST to December 23, 1:00 PM CST
Where: Wayne forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS
Coordinates: 42.209, -97.119 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures at the Wayne AWOS remained mostly below -30 for 39 hours.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Pierce

When: December 21, 10:00 PM CST to December 23, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Pierce forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 42.264, -97.601 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Interpolation of ground stations near the area had Pierce County mostly below -30 wind chills for approximately 38 hours.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Platte

When: December 21, 11:00 PM CST to December 23, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Platte forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS
Coordinates: 41.571, -97.521 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures at the Columbus AWOS remained mostly below -30 for 34 hours.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Stanton

When: December 21, 11:00 PM CST to December 23, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Stanton forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 41.917, -97.194 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Interpolation of ground stations near the area had Stanton County mostly below -30 wind chills for approximately 37 hours.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Burt

When: December 22, 12:00 AM CST to December 23, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Burt forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS
Coordinates: 41.852, -96.329 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures at the Tekamah AWOS remained mostly below -30 for 35 hours.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Butler

When: December 22, 12:00 AM CST to December 23, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Butler forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 41.226, -97.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Interpolation of ground stations near the area had Butler County mostly below -30 wind chills for approximately 33 hours.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Colfax

When: December 22, 12:00 AM CST to December 23, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Colfax forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 41.574, -97.086 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Interpolation of ground stations near the area had Colfax County mostly below -30 wind chills for approximately 33 hours.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Cuming

When: December 22, 12:00 AM CST to December 23, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Cuming forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 41.916, -96.787 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Interpolation of ground stations near the area had Cuming County mostly below -30 wind chills for approximately 36 hours.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Seward

When: December 22, 12:00 AM CST to December 23, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Seward forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 40.872, -97.139 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Interpolation of ground stations near the area had Seward County mostly below -30 wind chills for approximately 30 hours.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Thurston

When: December 22, 12:00 AM CST to December 23, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Thurston forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 42.158, -96.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Interpolation of ground stations near the area had Thurston County mostly below -30 wind chills for approximately 36 hours.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Thurston

When: December 22, 12:00 AM CST to December 23, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Thurston forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 42.158, -96.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Interpolation of ground stations near the area had Thurston County mostly below -30 wind chills for approximately 36 hours.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Washington

When: December 22, 12:30 AM CST to December 23, 9:30 AM CST
Where: Washington forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS
Coordinates: 41.531, -96.222 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures at the Blair AWOS remained mostly below -30 for 33 hours.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Dodge

When: December 22, 12:30 AM CST to December 23, 9:30 AM CST
Where: Dodge forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS
Coordinates: 41.578, -96.654 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures at the Fremont AWOS remained mostly below -30 for 31 hours.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Saunders

When: December 22, 1:00 AM CST to December 23, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Saunders forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS
Coordinates: 41.226, -96.637 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures at the Wahoo AWOS remained mostly below -30 for 32 hours.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Saline

When: December 22, 1:00 AM CST to December 23, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Saline forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 40.524, -97.141 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Interpolation of ground stations near the area had Saline County mostly below -30 wind chills for approximately 27 hours.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Saunders

When: December 22, 1:00 AM CST to December 23, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Saunders forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 41.226, -96.637 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Interpolation of ground stations near the area had Saunders County mostly below -30 wind chills for approximately 32 hours.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Douglas

When: December 22, 2:00 AM CST to December 23, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Douglas forecast zone
Reported by: ASOS
Coordinates: 41.295, -96.154 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures at Eppley Airfield remained mostly below -30 for 32 hours.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Otoe

When: December 22, 2:00 AM CST to December 23, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Otoe forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS
Coordinates: 40.649, -96.135 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures at the Nebraska City AWOS remained mostly below -30 for 31 hours.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Lancaster

When: December 22, 2:00 AM CST to December 23, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Lancaster forecast zone
Reported by: ASOS
Coordinates: 40.784, -96.688 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures at the Lincoln ASOS remained mostly below -30 for 27 hours.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Jefferson

When: December 22, 2:00 AM CST to December 23, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Jefferson forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 40.176, -97.143 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Interpolation of ground stations near the area had Jefferson County mostly below -30 wind chills for approximately 25 hours.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Gage

When: December 22, 2:30 AM CST to December 23, 3:30 AM CST
Where: Gage forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS
Coordinates: 40.262, -96.689 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures at the Beatrice AWOS remained mostly below -30 for 25 hours.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Cass

When: December 22, 2:30 AM CST to December 23, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Cass forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS
Coordinates: 40.910, -96.141 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures at the Plattsmouth AWOS remained mostly below -30 for 31.5 hours.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Sarpy

When: December 22, 3:00 AM CST to December 23, 8:00 AM CST
Where: Sarpy forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS
Coordinates: 41.113, -96.112 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures at the Offutt AFB AWOS remained mostly below -30 for 29 hours.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Johnson

When: December 22, 3:00 AM CST to December 23, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Johnson forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 40.393, -96.265 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Interpolation of ground stations near the area had Johnson County mostly below -30 wind chills for approximately 27 hours.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Nemaha

When: December 22, 4:00 AM CST to December 23, 8:00 AM CST
Where: Nemaha forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 40.388, -95.850 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Interpolation of ground stations near the area had Nemaha County mostly below -30 wind chills for approximately 28 hours.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Pawnee

When: December 22, 5:00 AM CST to December 23, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Pawnee forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 40.132, -96.237 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Interpolation of ground stations near the area had Pawnee County mostly below -30 wind chills for approximately 24 hours.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Richardson

When: December 22, 6:00 AM CST to December 23, 8:00 AM CST
Where: Richardson forecast zone
Reported by: ASOS
Coordinates: 40.125, -95.717 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill temperatures at the Falls City ASOS remained mostly below -30 for 26 hours.

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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1065073, 1065131, 1065139, 1065070, 1065144, 1065074, 1065149, 1065076, 1065130, 1065133, 1065135, 1065147, 1065150, 1065151, 1064973, 1065068, 1064959, 1065145, 1065146, 1064957, 1064958, 1065071, 1065137, 1064969, 1065075, 1065072, 1065138, 1065140, 1065141, 1065069.