Blizzard in Knox, Nebraska

While no visibility observations were available within the county, surrounding counties measured several hours of visibility down to a quarter of a mile or less under snow and strong wind gusts. Wind gusts in the county were estimated in the 45-55 mph range with snowfall totals of 3-4 inches.

On March 15, 2026, strong non-thunderstorm wind gusts impacted eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa. During the morning hours, a deepening mid-level trough moved into the region and intensified an existing surface low pressure system. This intensification caused a considerable tightening of the regional pressure gradient, resulting in strong northwest winds that overspread the area from the late morning through the remainder of the day. Behind the departing surface low, strong cold air advection steepened low-level lapse rates. This deep mixing tapped into a potent 60 to 70 knot jet descending on the backside of the system, efficiently transferring momentum to the surface and resulting in multiple measured wind gusts in the 58 to 64 mph range.

Additionally, the combination of snowfall and gusty winds reduced visibility to under a quarter mile for extended periods across portions of northeast Nebraska. Although snowfall totals peaked at just 3.5 inches in northern Cedar County, this was sufficient to produce several hours of blizzard conditions in the region. Further south, across the rest of eastern Nebraska, intermittent snow bands dropped 0.5 to 2 inches of snow, resulting in more sporadic reductions in visibility.