Blizzard — Furnas, Nebraska

2024-01-08 to 2024-01-09 · Furnas, Nebraska

Event narrative

Snowfall amounts ranged from 2 to 5 inches across the county. Highest totals included the following: 5.0 inches, reported by the NWS Cooperative Observer located in Wilsonville; 4.5 inches, reported by the NWS Cooperative Observer located six miles north-northwest of Oxford; 4.0 inches, reported by a CoCoRaHS observer located five miles southwest of Beaver City; 3.0 inches, reported by the NWS Cooperative Observer located in Cambridge.

Wider weather episode

A closed upper low-pressure system moved east across Kansas and into Missouri overnight on January 8th and into the morning hours of January 9th. South central Nebraska was in the left exit region of an upper jet stream which increased lift over the area. Moisture was advected into the area from a low-level jet with a surface low over Texas, Oklahoma, and then southern Missouri. Snow began during the day on January 8th across Nebraska and Kansas and started to decrease from west to east after midnight on January 9th and ended across the area during the day on the 9th. Widespread snow totals of 4-8 inches, with locally higher amounts of 9-12 inches, were reported across the area, with the highest totals focused over areas east of Highway 183. Grand Island and Hastings both shattered the liquid equivalent precipitation and snowfall records for January 8th. Winds started to increase across the region during the evening on January 8th and into the overnight hours on January 9th which resulted in blizzard conditions. Northerly wind gusts of 40-45 MPH were common, with a few gusts over 50 MPH reported, including a gust of 52 MPH from the Hastings Airport ASOS. Temperatures dropped into the teens during the overnight period with wind chill values dropping into the negative single digits. Winds began to decrease from west to east during the day on January 9th.

The heavy snow and strong winds resulted in near white-out to blizzard conditions, prompting widespread road closures, as well as school and event cancellations. A light wintry mix was reported ahead of the main snow event, also contributing to slick conditions across the area. Interstate 80 was closed in both directions by mid-afternoon on January 8th, and did not fully reopen until mid-afternoon on January 9th. Many area state and county highways also experienced closures. The Nebraska State Patrol reported over 300 weather related incidents across the entire area during this storm, including 310 motorist assists and 37 crashes. One accident the morning of January 8th resulted in one fatality and one injury near Lexington in Dawson County.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1151217. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.