Winter Storm — Pawnee, Nebraska

2025-01-05 · Pawnee, Nebraska

Event narrative

Multiple reports of 6 to 7 inches of snow came out of Pawnee County from the public and trained spotters in the area. Given the sharp gradient in snowfall amounts and its proximity to additional higher end reports in Richardson County and Kansas, it is likely that far southern and eastern portions of Pawnee County saw upwards of 10 to 12 inches of snow.

Wider weather episode

On January 4th, upper-level analysis showed a potent shortwave trough positioned over the northern Rockies. The night of the 4th and into the 5th, this trough amplified as it dove southeast into the central CONUS. At the surface, a low-pressure developed in the Texas Panhandle around midnight on January 5th. During the day on the 5th and into the 6th, this surface low tracked east along a baroclinic zone across the state of Oklahoma and into the lower-Mississippi River Valley.

A widespread region of blizzard conditions developed across Kansas on the northwest side of this storm system. However, a strong arctic high pressure in the northern Great Plains and the upper Midwest led to strong dry air intrusion into much of the Omaha/Valley National Weather Service forecast area. This resulted in a very sharp cut-off in snowfall amounts across southeast Nebraska. Nonetheless, winter storm conditions were experienced near the Nebraska-Kansas border. The highest snowfall amounts were observed in southeastern Richardson County, where upwards of 16 inches of snow fell.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1223433. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.