Winter Storm — Otoe, Nebraska

2024-01-11 to 2024-01-13 · Otoe, Nebraska

Event narrative

This winter storm brought an estimated 5 to 7 inches of snow across the county. These snowfall estimates utilized public reports from adjacent counties. Peak wind gusts across the county during this storm were estimated to be between 35 and 45 miles per hour. This included a 40 mile per hour wind gust that was observed at the Nebraska City Airport. Strong and gusty winds brought periods of near-blizzard conditions across the county throughout this event. Significant blowing and drifting snow continued well after the snow stopped falling due to persistent strong wind on the back side of the storm system.

Wider weather episode

A potent shortwave trough analyzed on the morning of the 11th amplified and ejected out into the Plains that afternoon. Strong surface cyclogenesis in the central High Plains developed a deep surface low in eastern Colorado on the morning of the 11th. Over the course of the day, this surface low moved southeast into the southern Plains as a strong arctic cold front pushed south across the central Plains and the Midwest.

By 19Z on the 11th, areas of snow began to work its way into eastern Nebraska from the west. Moderate to heavy snow became widespread across eastern Nebraska and southwestern Iowa by 00Z on the 12th with several town and cities declaring snow emergencies for the 12th and the 13th. Heavy snow and gusty winds persisted through the overnight hours into the 12th with many road across eastern Nebraska and western Iowa becoming impassible. The Nebraska Department of Transportation reported over 100 stranded drivers by the afternoon of the 12th with sections of I-80 closing due to blowing and drifting snow. While dry air worked into southeast Nebraska temporarily ending snow between 11Z and 16Z on the 12th, snow redeveloped across the entire region on the back side of the system bringing continued near-blizzard conditions region-wide into the night of the 12th. Snow ended across the region from west to east between 00Z and 06Z on the 13th. However, strong winds gusting from 30 to 50 miles per hour continued to bring blowing and drifting snow, and near-blizzard conditions across much of eastern Nebraska and southwestern Iowa for an additional 18 to 24 hours after snow had stopped falling. This resulted in great difficulty in measuring snowfall totals for this event.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1158468. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.