Good afternoon everyone! Taking a look at the current radar as of 4:30pm CST, light to moderate snows are persisting across portions of northern NE with scattered rain showers with perhaps a few rumbles of thunder further south and east across western IA and northwestern MO. We’ll find as we progress through the night that the snows will become lighter but linger even into tomorrow for the northern areas as energy hangs around.
Current look at the weather alerts across the region: Many of the Blizzard Warnings that were found across central NE and western KS have been allowed to expire. However, there are still a few counties in the middle of NE that remain under this warning. Winter Storm Warnings remain in effect in northwestern KS into central NE with Winter Weather Advisories in northwestern/eastern NE. This continues to be an impactful system that is leading to significant reductions in visibility, blowing and drifting snow, and blizzard conditions in some areas.
Simulated radar through 6am CST Friday: The large storm system will continue wind down snow coverage in southern NE through the evening hours with light snows continuing well through the night in northern NE (especially northeastern portions of the state). Further east, scattered rain showers and perhaps a few isolated storms will push eastward across the remainder of IA and MO before gradually exiting to the east by 4am CST. Colder air will work into IA and with some upper-level energy skirting through the area, areas of light snow will push into the western portions of the state this evening and lifting further east during the nighttime hours. Most of KS will be dry through this time, though some lingering flurries will be possible in the far northern areas and light showers in far eastern areas.
Strong wind gusts will persist through the remainder of the day into tonight leading to blowing and drifting snow, especially in NE. Wind gusts approaching 45mph will be common this evening, which will reduce visibilities down to near zero for many hours. These strong winds and lower visibilities will lead to blizzard conditions, mainly in the blizzard-warned areas. Major travel issues are expected to continue in these areas that observed heavy snow and blizzard conditions with issues lingering even after the snow comes to an end. Winds will slowly degrade overnight and especially during the day Friday.
Simulated radar from 6am CST Friday through 12am CST Saturday: Backside snow showers accompanying the upper-level energy will linger in northeastern NE and northern IA while also slowly coming to an end as the day progresses in northeastern NE. By 3pm CST Friday, the bulk of the light snow showers will have departed eastern NE and eventually IA late Friday evening. Only light additional snow accumulations are expected with these backside snows. KS and MO will remain dry through the day Friday.
Additional snowfall through Friday reveals the snows gradually starting to wind down with no additional accumulations expected in KS. Portions of northeastern NE, including O’Neil, can still pick out 3-6″ of more snow before all is set and done. Further east in IA, accumulations will be lighter with most in the northern half of the state receiving less than an inch of snow. Northwestern IA can receive 1-3″ of snow. Even with the snows coming to an end in some areas, expect continued problems with roadways along with blowing snow.
Total additional precipitation through Friday: Localized pockets of 0.1-0.15″ of liquid is likely in MO and the southern half of IA with 0.1-3″ more likely in northern IA and north-central NE. KS will remain largely dry through this duration.
Temperatures behind this system are expected to fall considerably, especially in the areas that have fresh snowpack on the ground. By Saturday morning (depicted below), temperatures will fall well into the teens for most areas with single digits likely in far western KS into northwestern IA. Saturday morning lows below 0ºF will be common in central/northeastern NE given the greater snowpack.
If you have any questions do not hesitate to reach out! Have a great evening!