For most of South Central Nebraska, this Sunday featured the earliest autumn snow since at least 2009, and in a few spots, the most significant early-season snow in decades! That being said, for most of the 24 local counties, totals were fairly minimal...no more than 1-2. The notable exception focused south-southeast of a line from Ayr-Harvard-Gresham, where amounts of at least 3-5 were common. Within that broader primary snow zone , a roughly 10-20 mile wide swath piled up as much as 5-7, primarily within the following counties: most of Fillmore, northern Thayer, northeastern Nuckolls, southeastern Clay and southeastern York. Per CoCoRaHS and NWS cooperative observers, some of the highest official totals featured: 7 in Geneva, 6.8 four miles south of Shickley, 5 six miles east-southeast of Clay Center and 4.6 in Hebron. Unofficial totals (including social media reports) included 6.6 in Milligan, 6.5 in Fairmont, 5 at Waco and 4.5 seven miles northeast of Superior. While only a small percentage of South Central Nebraska observed these highest totals, many counties endured at least a few hours of reduced visibility, and even brief near-blizzard conditions, thanks to sustained north winds averaging 15-25 MPH and gusting up to around 35 MPH. Climatologically, this was clearly an unusually-early snow event. As just a few examples: Geneva had its 2nd-earliest snowfall of 5+ inches on record (and the most significant early-season snow since 1970), and Hastings reported its 4th-earliest snowfall of 1+ inches.
Timing-wise, this was a fairly quick-hitter, with most areas tallying the brunt of accumulation within a 4-8 hour period, starting in most counties between 6-8 a.m. CDT and largely ending from southwest-to-northeast during the 1-5 p.m. CDT time frame. In the mid-upper levels, the large scale regime featured a broad trough sinking southward into the central United States, anchored by a closed low tracking through the Manitoba-North Dakota-Minnesota border region. However, on the smaller scale, the driving force locally was a pronounced ribbon of mid-level frontogenesis (especially evident at 700 millibars). This resulted in mesoscale banding, and the aforementioned higher-than-expected snow totals centered over the Fillmore County area. At the surface, the gusty north winds were driven by an enhanced pressure gradient between a seasonably-strong cold front that bisected Kansas from southwest-to-northeast at daybreak, and a strong high pressure system (around 1034 millibars) centered over the Northern Rockies. The overall-strongest winds occurred during the morning, slowly letting up through the afternoon and evening. Temperature-wise, this event served as the grand finale to a markedly-cold start to October; in fact, most of the area endured a Top-5 coldest first half of the month. However, just two days later on the 16th temperatures soared into the upper 60s to around 70, quickly melting this early-season snow into a memory.

Winter Weather in NUCKOLLS, NEBRASKA
From 14-OCT-18 06:30:00 to 14-OCT-18 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Snow totals generally averaged 3-5 across most of Nuckolls County, including CoCoRaHS totals of 3.0 in Superior and 4.5 seven miles northeast of Superior. An unofficial public report of 3.5 occurred in Nelson. Sustained north winds averaged 15-25 MPH with gusts up to around 35 MPH during the heaviest snow, promoting brief, near-blizzard conditions.

Winter Weather in WEBSTER, NEBRASKA
From 14-OCT-18 06:00:00 to 14-OCT-18 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Snow totals generally averaged 2-4 across most of Webster County, including official NWS observer totals of 3.7 four miles southwest of Blue Hill and 2.5 in Red Cloud. Sustained north winds averaged 15-25 MPH with gusts up to around 35 MPH during the heaviest snow, promoting brief, near-blizzard conditions.

Winter Weather in YORK, NEBRASKA
From 14-OCT-18 06:30:00 to 14-OCT-18 14:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Snow totals across York County ranged from as little as 1-2 in north-northwest areas, up to 3-5 in south-southeast areas, including official NWS observer totals of 3.0 three miles north of York, three miles west of Gresham and also in Bradshaw. Also, unofficial public reports featured 5.0 in Waco and 4.5 in McCool Junction. Sustained north winds averaged 15-25 MPH with gusts up to around 35 MPH during the heaviest snow, promoting brief, near-blizzard conditions.

Winter Weather in THAYER, NEBRASKA
From 14-OCT-18 07:00:00 to 14-OCT-18 16:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Snow totals generally averaged 3-6 across most of Thayer County, including official NWS observer totals of 4.6 in Hebron and 4.1 in Hubbell. Reports from northern portions of the county were scarce, but observations from neighboring counties along with satellite data strongly suggest that 5-6 likely fell, especially in the far north central and northwest. Sustained north winds averaged 15-25 MPH with gusts up to around 35 MPH during the heaviest snow, promoting brief, near-blizzard conditions.

Winter Weather in ADAMS, NEBRASKA
From 14-OCT-18 06:00:00 to 14-OCT-18 12:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: NWS Employee

Snow totals across Adams County ranged from as little as 1-2 in northern areas (including 1.1 at the NWS Hastings office), up to around 4 in southern areas (including an NWS employee's residence near Pauline). Sustained north winds averaged 15-25 MPH with gusts up to around 35 MPH during the heaviest snow, promoting brief, near-blizzard conditions.

Winter Weather in CLAY, NEBRASKA
From 14-OCT-18 06:00:00 to 14-OCT-18 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Snow totals averaged around 4 across much of Clay County, including official NWS observer totals of 4.0 in Clay Center and 5.0 six miles east-southeast of Clay Center. Sustained north winds averaged 15-25 MPH with gusts up to around 35 MPH during the heaviest snow, promoting brief, near-blizzard conditions.

Winter Weather in FILLMORE, NEBRASKA
From 14-OCT-18 06:30:00 to 14-OCT-18 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Within South Central Nebraska, Fillmore County likely bore the biggest brunt of this event, with snow totals across nearly the entire county averaging 4-7, including official NWS observer totals of 7.0 in Geneva and 6.8 four miles south of Shickley. Unofficial, public reports also featured 6.6 in Milligan, 6.5 in Fairmont and 5.5 in Exeter. Sustained north winds averaged 15-25 MPH with gusts up to around 35 MPH during the heaviest snow, promoting brief, near-blizzard conditions.