Blizzard — Kimball, Nebraska

2023-12-25 to 2023-12-26 · Kimball, Nebraska

Event narrative

AWOS station including Delta (Kimball) - K1DW reported visbility between half and one-quarter mile in snow and blowing snow 11 mile northeast of Bushnell with wind gusts up to 56 mph. Numerous nearby AWOS stations including Echo (Pine Bluffs) - K1EW located 9 miles south-southwest of Bushnell and Foxtrot (Dix) - K1FW located 9 miles north of Dix reported one-half mile visibility with wind gusting 45 to 55 mph. Trained spotter located in Dix also reported one-quarter mile visibility or less during the morning hours of 12/26. Interstate 80 through Kimball County was closed due to winter conditions for an extended period of time. CoCoRaHS observer 9 miles north of Kimball reported 8 inches of storm total snowfall.

Wider weather episode

A strong cutoff upper level low across the central US began retrograding westward with wrap around moisture and strong winds leading to heavy snowfall and blizzard conditions, especially along the Pine and Cheyenne Ridges in the Nebraska Panhandle. Snowfall persisted longest near the Pine Ridge where the Chadron area received 10 to 16 inches of snowfall. Further south near Kimball and Sidney, snowfall totals ranged from 4 to 9 inches with strong winds gusting 50 to 60 mph leading to low visibility and blizzard conditions.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1145870. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.