Winter Storm in Pawnee, Nebraska

The office received snowfall reports of 5.5 to 6.1 across the county from both Trained Spotters and the Public. The heaviest snowfall was estimated around the northern edge of the county.

A shortwave trough moving across the central and southern Plains provided the necessary forcing for ascent, resulting in a round of snowfall over southeast Nebraska and southwest Iowa. Light snow began during the afternoon of Tuesday, February 11, as strong height falls and frontogenetical forcing developed. As dry low-level air gradually became saturated, snowfall rates increased into the evening and overnight hours. Rates reached 0.5 to 1 inch per hour in parts of extreme southeast Nebraska and southwest Iowa before tapering off by the afternoon of Wednesday, February 12. The heaviest snowfall occurred in a narrow band, with totals ranging from 5 to 6.3 inches across extreme southeast Nebraska and southeast Iowa, gradually decreasing to the north of the band.