A deepening low over the Ohio River Valley led to strengthening northwesterly flow in eastern Nebraska, allowing very cold air to sink southward into the area. Temperatures fell into the single digits above and below 0 with wind chill values of -10 to -20 owing to 20 mph winds.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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 OAX wrote it up.
A deepening low over the Ohio River Valley led to strengthening northwesterly flow in eastern Nebraska, allowing very cold air to sink southward into the area. Temperatures fell into the single digits above and below 0 with wind chill values of -10 to -20 owing to 20 mph winds.
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 Omaha, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 15, 10:54 PM CST, 1 hour 6 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Omaha/Valley NE
1054 PM CST Sat Feb 15 2025
.KEY MESSAGES...
- Another round of snow is forecast late Sunday night into
Tuesday. All of the area is expected to see measurable
snowfall (>90%) with the best chance (40-70%) of 4+" existing
along and south of an Albion to Wahoo to Red Oak Iowa line.
- Dangerously cold temperatures expected Sunday through much of
next week. Nighttime/early morning wind chill values 15 to 35
below. A cold weather advisory is in effect tonight into
Sunday morning with additional advisories and/or extreme cold
warnings likely throughout the week.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 302 PM CST Sat Feb 15 2025
Late this afternoon through Sunday...
The early-day snow band that developed across portions of eastern NE
and west-central IA deposited a narrow swath of 4-7" accumulations
from the Fremont and Valley vicinities northeast through Blair,
Missouri Valley, Logan, and Woodbine IA. Surface observations and
road cameras indicate some visibility restrictions due to blowing
snow in those areas, and as such the Winter Weather Advisory
continues until 6 PM. We'll re-evaluate the situation later this
afternoon for a possible early cancellation. Otherwise, saturation
within the dendritic-growth zone has supported a few flurries this
afternoon, which could continue into this evening.
An Arctic air mass will continue to overspread the region with
overnight lows ranging from -2 near the SD border to around 5 along
the KS and MO borders. The coldest wind chills of 20 to 25 below are
forecast across northeast NE into west-central IA late tonight
into Sunday morning where a cold weather advisory is in effect
from midnight tonight to 9 AM Sunday. Some patchy blowing snow
could linger into tonight, mainly in areas that received the
heaviest snow.
Surface high pressure will build through the region on Sunday with
high temperatures of 10-15.
Sunday night into Tuesday...
Considerable tightening of the midlevel temperature gradient is
forecast across the central Plains from Sunday night through Monday.
In response, a frontogenetically forced band of snow is expected to
develop from the northern High Plains into the mid and lower MO
Valley. That snow band will gradually settle south Monday night into
Tuesday as stronger midlevel height falls overspread the southern
High Highs. These developments will lead to a prolonged period of
snow potential during this timeframe (Sun night-Tue) with the
highest snow rates expected late Sunday night through Monday
morning; coincident with 70-90% PoPs. All of the area is
expected to see measurable snowfall (> 90%) with the best chance
(40-70%) of 4+" existing along and south of an Albion to Wahoo
to Red Oak Iowa line. Snow ratios of 18-20:1 will result in
light, fluffy snow. Currently, it appears that winds will
remain relatively light, so no significant blowing and/or
drifting is expected.
A reinforcing shot of Arctic air is forecast Monday night into
Tuesday. Highs in the single digits and teens on Monday will fall
into the single digits above and below zero by Tuesday. A cold
weather advisory will continue to be necessary during the early
morning hours on Monday with the northern half of the area
potentially requiring an extreme cold warning early Tuesday
morning for wind chills of -30 to -35.
Wednesday through Friday...
Very cold conditions continue through Thursday morning with
daytime highs eventually warming into the teens by Friday.
Thursday morning is forecast to be the coldest of the week with
air temperatures of -10 to -20 and wind chills of -25 to -35.
Cold headlines will remain necessary on Wednesday and Thursday
mornings for the dangerous wind chills.
&&
.AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z MONDAY/...
Issued at 1054 PM CST Sat Feb 15 2025
We're starting to see cigs lift to VFR across northeast
Nebraska. Expect this trend to continue, with KOMA improving
last as a band of light snow has kept lower cigs socked in over
the terminal. North-northwesterly winds are gradually weakening,
which will continue overnight as well with gusts dropping off by
mid-morning. Confidence is increasing (60%) in scattered to
broken MVFR cigs (2500 ft) moving back in this afternoon. Went
ahead and included these in the TAFs. These should clear back
out around 00Z with increasing higher clouds ahead of our next
system bringing more snow Sunday night into Monday.
&&
.OAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NE...Cold Weather Advisory until 9 AM CST Sunday for NEZ011-012-
015>018-030>034-042>045-050-051.
IA...Cold Weather Advisory until 9 AM CST Sunday for IAZ043-055-056.
&&
DISCUSSION...Mead
AVIATION...McCoyHazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Omaha/Valley NE 915 PM CST Sat Feb 15 2025 IAZ043-055-056-069-079-080-090-091-NEZ011-012-015>018-030>034- 042>045-050>053-065>068-078-088>093-161715- Monona-Harrison-Shelby-Pottawattamie-Mills-Montgomery-Fremont- Page-Knox-Cedar-Thurston-Antelope-Pierce-Wayne-Boone-Madison- Stanton-Cuming-Burt-Platte-Colfax-Dodge-Washington-Butler- Saunders-Douglas-Sarpy-Seward-Lancaster-Cass-Otoe-Saline- Jefferson-Gage-Johnson-Nemaha-Pawnee-Richardson- 915 PM CST Sat Feb 15 2025 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of southwest Iowa...west central Iowa...east central Nebraska...northeast Nebraska and southeast Nebraska. .DAY ONE...Tonight and Sunday Areas of blowing snow are expected to continue into tonight with rapid visibility reductions possible on east-west roads. Locations most likely to experience these conditions are from the Fremont and Valley vicinities northeast through Blair, Missouri Valley, Logan, and Woodbine Iowa. Bitter cold wind chills develop tonight with values of 15 to 25 below zero. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday night through Saturday More snow is likely from late Sunday night into Tuesday. All of the area is expected to see measurable snowfall with the best chance of four or more inches existing along and south of an Albion to Wahoo to Red Oak Iowa line. It will be very cold from Monday through Thursday with dangerous wind chills developing each night into the morning hours. The coldest period is expected from Tuesday night into Thursday morning when wind chills of 25 to 35 below zero are forecast. Cold weather advisories and warnings will eventually be needed. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotters are encouraged to report snowfall amounts to the National Weather Service in Omaha.
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Omaha/Valley NE
1014 PM CST Sat Feb 15 2025
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0600 PM Snow 3 SSW Bennington 41.33N 96.17W
02/15/2025 M2.0 Inch Douglas NE NWS Employee
0430 PM Snow 1 ENE Nickerson 41.54N 96.45W
02/15/2025 M4.1 Inch Dodge NE Public
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
Temperatures in the single digits and northwest winds of 20 mph led to wind chills in the -5 to -15 range in Douglas County. A 40 year old woman was found deceased in a tent in a homeless encampment in Omaha. An autopsy confirmed that she died from hypothermia.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cold/Wind Chill, Douglas | 2025-02-16 | 40 | Female | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nebraska in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in Nebraska, February 2025
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: 1240199.