Winter Weather — Clay, Nebraska

2025-01-04 to 2025-01-05 · Clay, Nebraska

Event narrative

Storm total amounts generally in the 2 to 4 inch range were reported across the county.

Wider weather episode

A large upper level trough was approaching Nebraska from the Intermountain west. A surface high extended from Canada to the Plains and Midwest. Light freezing drizzle started moving across south central Nebraska during the early morning hours of January 4th with enhanced lift over the area. Freezing drizzle and freezing rain continued across south central and central Nebraska through much of the day on January 4th with temperatures generally in the teens and 20s. This resulted in slick roads and hazardous travel. The changeover to snow occurred in the mid afternoon to early evening hours. Northerly winds increased during the evening of the 4th and into the 5th with gusts ranging from 25 to 35 MPH. These winds were driven by a pressure gradient from a strong surface high over the North Dakota/Canada border area and a strong surface low over central Oklahoma. The upper level low pressure system passed from southern Kansas to Missouri on Sunday January 5th. Snow continued across the area until around mid afternoon to early evening on January 5th with high temperatures mostly in the low to mid teens. Wind speeds across the area started gradually decreasing late in the afternoon into the evening.

The overall heaviest snow was in Webster, Nuckolls, and Thayer Counties. Storm total snow amounts in Webster and Nuckolls Counties ranged from 3 to 6 inches. This was combined with northerly winds gusting between 30 to 35 mph which resulted in low visibility and hazardous conditions. Storm total snow amounts in Thayer County generally ranged from 4 to 8 inches. This was also combined with northerly winds gusting between 30 to 35 mph which resulted in low visibility and hazardous conditions. Storm total snow amounts across northern portions of the area generally ranged from 1 to 3 inches. While no widespread road closure occurred, Interstate 80 was closed briefly due to an accident near the Grand Island Interchange.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1227941. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.