An intense spring storm system tracked across western and north central Nebraska on April 14th and 15th, 2011.  As cold air was drawn into the system, light snow accumulations began in Sheridan county the morning of April 14th, with rain changing to snow in adjacent western counties by early afternoon.  By 3 pm CDT, western counties changed over to light and moderate snow, and after 5 pm, heavy snow began over much of the area west of a line from Cody in Cherry county through Hayes Center in Hayes county.  Visibilities, particularly near and east of highway 61 were a half mile or less and frequently a quarter mile or less through the evening hours.  These areas received the heaviest snowfall with 10 inches of snowfall common with as much as 16 inches at Paxton in eastern Keith county.  North winds of 30 to 45 mph developed across southwestern into west central Nebraska by late afternoon, creating blizzard conditions into the overnight hours.  Interstate 80 was closed for nearly 17 hours between North Platte and Sidney from about 9 pm Thursday until 245 pm Friday.  Dozens of motorists were stranded along the interstate, especially between Paxton and Ogallala within a construction zone.  Other motorists were reported stranded on highways 2 and 92 as well.  Snow drifts as high as 4 to 5 feet were reported.

Blizzard in LINCOLN, NEBRASKA
From 14-APR-11 16:00:00 to 15-APR-11 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

Heavy snow combined with northwest winds of 25 to 40 mph to create blizzard conditions during the late evening and overnight hours on April 14th across Lincoln County.  Snowfall amounts of 6 to 14 inches fell across the northwestern two thirds of the county with snow drifts of 2 to 4 feet. By 10 p.m. CDT, Interstate 80 was shutdown further west at North Platte as the impacts from strong winds and deteriorating visibilities due to the combination of wind and snow led to numerous traffic accidents. The interstate opened at 3 p.m. on the 15th.

Blizzard in MCPHERSON, NEBRASKA
From 14-APR-11 15:00:00 to 15-APR-11 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

Heavy snow combined with northwest winds of 25 to 40 mph to create blizzard conditions during the evening and overnight hours on April 14th across McPherson County.  Snowfall amounts of 6 to 9 inches fell across McPherson County with snow drifts up to 3 feet.  Road closure occurred on Highway 92.

Blizzard in HAYES, NEBRASKA
From 14-APR-11 15:00:00 to 15-APR-11 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Heavy snow combined with northwest winds of 30 to 45 mph to create blizzard conditions during the evening and overnight hours on April 14th across Hayes County.  Snowfall amounts of 6 to 10 inches fell across Hayes County with snow drifts up to 3 to 5 feet, resulting in widespread power outages.

Winter Storm in HOOKER, NEBRASKA
From 14-APR-11 12:00:00 to 15-APR-11 09:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Heavy snow combined with northwest winds of 20 to 35 mph to create blowing snow with visibilities below a half mile at times during the evening and overnight hours on April 14th across Hooker County. Snowfall amounts of 6 to 9 inches fell across Hooker County.

Winter Storm in GARDEN, NEBRASKA
From 14-APR-11 12:00:00 to 15-APR-11 09:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Heavy snow combined with northwest winds of 20 to 35 mph to create blowing snow with visibilities below a half mile at times during the evening and overnight hours on April 14th across Garden County. Snowfall amounts of 6 to 8 inches fell across Garden County.

Blizzard in LOGAN, NEBRASKA
From 14-APR-11 15:00:00 to 15-APR-11 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Heavy snow combined with northwest winds of 25 to 40 mph to create blizzard conditions during the late evening and overnight hours on April 14th across Logan County.  Snowfall amounts of 6 to 8 inches fell across Logan County with snow drifts of 2 to 3 feet.

Blizzard in KEITH, NEBRASKA
From 14-APR-11 15:00:00 to 15-APR-11 09:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Heavy snow combined with northwest winds of 30 to 45 mph to create blizzard conditions during the evening and overnight hours on April 14th across Keith County.  Snowfall amounts of 8 to 16 inches fell across Keith County with snow drifts of 3 to 4 feet.  Interstate 80 was closed for a period of 17 hours.

Winter Storm in SHERIDAN, NEBRASKA
From 14-APR-11 12:00:00 to 15-APR-11 09:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Heavy snow combined with northwest winds of 15 to 30 mph to create blowing snow with visibilities below a half mile at times during the evening and overnight hours on April 14th across Sheridan County. Snowfall amounts of 6 to 8 inches fell across Sheridan County.

Blizzard in CHASE, NEBRASKA
From 14-APR-11 15:00:00 to 15-APR-11 09:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Heavy snow combined with northwest winds of 30 to 45 mph to create blizzard conditions during the evening and overnight hours on April 14th across Chase county.  Snowfall amounts of 9 to 12 inches fell across Chase county with snow drifts of 3 to 5 feet, resulting in widespread power outages and the closure of Highway 61.

Winter Storm in WESTERN CHERRY, NEBRASKA
From 14-APR-11 13:00:00 to 15-APR-11 09:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Heavy snow combined with northwest winds of 15 to 30 mph to create blowing snow with visibilities below a half mile at times during the evening and overnight hours on April 14th across Western Cherry County. Snowfall amounts of 6 to 8 inches fell across Western Cherry County.

Winter Storm in GRANT, NEBRASKA
From 14-APR-11 12:00:00 to 15-APR-11 09:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Heavy snow combined with northwest winds of 20 to 35 mph to create blowing snow with visibilities below a half mile at times during the evening and overnight hours on April 14th across Grant County. Snowfall amounts of 6 to 9 inches fell across Grant County.

Blizzard in PERKINS, NEBRASKA
From 14-APR-11 15:00:00 to 15-APR-11 09:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Heavy snow combined with northwest winds of 30 to 45 mph to create blizzard conditions during the evening and overnight hours on April 14th across Perkins County.  Snowfall amounts of 8 to 14 inches fell across Perkins County with snow drifts of 3 to 4 feet, resulting in the closure of Highway 61.

Winter Storm in THOMAS, NEBRASKA
From 14-APR-11 21:00:00 to 15-APR-11 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Heavy snow combined with northwest winds of 20 to 35 mph to create blowing snow with visibilities below a half mile at times during the evening and overnight hours on April 14th across Thomas County. Snowfall amounts of 5 to 8 inches fell across Thomas County.

Winter Storm in BROWN, NEBRASKA
From 14-APR-11 21:00:00 to 15-APR-11 12:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Heavy snow combined with northwest winds of 20 to 30 mph to create blowing snow with visibilities below a half mile at times during the overnight hours on April 14th and morning hours of April 15th across Brown County. Snowfall amounts of 4 to 8 inches fell across Brown County.

Blizzard in ARTHUR, NEBRASKA
From 14-APR-11 15:00:00 to 15-APR-11 09:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

Heavy snow combined with northwest winds of 25 to 40 mph to create blizzard conditions during the evening and overnight hours on April 14th across Arthur County.  Snowfall amounts of 6 to 10 inches fell across Arthur County with snow drifts of 3 feet.  Road closures occurred on highways 61 and 92.

Winter Storm in EASTERN CHERRY, NEBRASKA
From 14-APR-11 21:00:00 to 15-APR-11 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Heavy snow combined with northwest winds of 20 to 30 mph to create blowing snow with visibilities below a half mile at times during the late evening and overnight hours on April 14th and morning hours of April 15th across Eastern Cherry County. Snowfall amounts of 6 to 10 inches fell across Eastern Cherry County.