High winds occurred behind a cold front on this Monday afternoon, with near dust storm conditions at times. West-northwest winds were sustained between 30 and 40 mph, mainly along and south of Interstate 80. Wind gusts around 55 mph were common. However, at times, some locations measured sustained winds around 45 mph, with gusts to 60 mph. The highest gust observed was 63 mph near Kearney. Blowing dust was visible everywhere, generally reducing the visibility to 3 to 7 miles. There were some very localized areas that experienced severely reduced visibility to one quarter mile or less, including on Interstate 80 between Grand Island and Kearney. Near zero visibility 8 miles south of Hastings resulted in a six vehicle pileup. These extremely low visibilities were due the poor decision by some farmers to disc their fields. Satellite imagery showed the dust originated in eastern Colorado, and it was transported northeastward just ahead of a cold front. However, winds behind the front picked up additional dust. The last time dust reduced visibilities significantly, in south central Nebraska, was in October 2012. These high winds combined with extremely low relative humidity (RH) values to create dangerous fire weather conditions. Afternoon minimum RH values were between 10 and 15%. Two wild fires occurred in Clay and Nuckolls Counties. Each fire was a few hundred acre fires and multiple fire departments responded. No structures were affected.
At dawn, a deep low pressure system (983 mb) was over South Dakota with a warm front extending east into the Great Lakes, and a cold front extending southwest to Arizona. A dryline extended south into the warm sector, through western Nebraska and Kansas to New Mexico. As the day progressed, both the dryline and cold front swept through the region as the low occluded and deepened further to 978 mb. In the upper-levels, a trough was over the Western U.S., with a ridge in the East. During the day, a strong shortwave trough over Utah lifted northeast out of the base of the western trough and into Nebraska and South Dakota.

High Wind in WEBSTER, NEBRASKA
From 06-MAR-17 14:45:00 to 06-MAR-17 15:45:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 37.00 MS
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

The average sustained wind speed over the hour was 43 MPH.

High Wind in BUFFALO, NEBRASKA
From 06-MAR-17 17:38:00 to 06-MAR-17 17:38:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 55.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

A 63 MPH wind gust was measured by a mesonet site located 3 miles east-southeast of Kearney.

High Wind in GOSPER, NEBRASKA
From 06-MAR-17 15:08:00 to 06-MAR-17 15:08:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 54.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

A 62 MPH wind gust was measured by a mesonet site located 1 mile west-northwest of Johnson Lake.

High Wind in KEARNEY, NEBRASKA
From 06-MAR-17 13:53:00 to 06-MAR-17 13:53:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 51.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

A 59 MPH wind gust was measured by a mesonet site located 2 miles north-northeast of Norman.

High Wind in WEBSTER, NEBRASKA
From 06-MAR-17 16:25:00 to 06-MAR-17 16:25:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 50.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

A 58 MPH wind gust was measured by a mesonet site located 3 miles southwest of Cowles.

High Wind in ADAMS, NEBRASKA
From 06-MAR-17 16:42:00 to 06-MAR-17 16:42:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 52.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

A 60 MPH wind gust was measured by the Hastings Airport ASOS.

High Wind in DAWSON, NEBRASKA
From 06-MAR-17 17:35:00 to 06-MAR-17 17:35:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 50.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: AWOS

A 58 MPH wind gust was measured by the Lexington Airport AWOS.