Between the later evening of Monday the 14th and the early evening of Tuesday the 15th, most of South Central Nebraska received at least a shallow coating of snow, although only a handful of counties in the western half of the area reported amounts as high as 3-5 inches. Within these five counties (Dawson, Buffalo, Gosper, Furnas, Phelps), a few of the highest CoCoRaHS/NWS cooperative observer measurements included: 5 at Sumner and six miles southwest of Lexington, 4.5 six miles south-southeast of Lexington, 4.1 four miles south of Cozad, 3.8 at Cambridge and 3.2 eight miles south of Elwood. Outside of these five counties, the vast majority of the remainder of South Central Nebraska received anywhere from a light dusting up to around 2. Winds were not much of a factor, with sustained speeds only averaging 5-15 MPH. Temperatures were also not overly-cold through this event, mainly low-mid 20s F.
Breaking down event evolution and timing, snow got underway in western local counties mainly between 9 p.m. and midnight, and then continued intermittently throughout much of the morning and afternoon of the 15th while gradually expanding eastward to affect more of the area. Within the western counties that received the most snow, the majority of accumulation occurred by noon, but at least occasional light snow/flurries hung around until late in the afternoon. In the mid-upper levels, the main player behind this relatively low-key snow event was a shortwave trough traversing eastward across the central United States, but with the primary closed low/vorticity maximum focused a bit south of the local area, generally along the Kansas-Oklahoma border. At the surface, the relatively light winds across South Central Nebraska were largely a result of the primary surface low pressure system remaining hundreds of miles to the south-southwest (mainly over eastern New Mexico/west Texas).

Winter Weather in DAWSON, NEBRASKA
From 14-DEC-20 21:00:00 to 15-DEC-20 16:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Snowfall totals from area CoCoRaHS observers included 5 inches from 6 miles southwest of Lexington as well as from Sumner, 4.1 inches from 4 miles south of Cozad, and 3.5 inches from 1 mile east of Lexington.

Winter Weather in GOSPER, NEBRASKA
From 14-DEC-20 22:00:00 to 15-DEC-20 16:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Snowfall totals from area Cooperative Observers included 4.5 inches from 6 miles south-southeast of Lexington and 3.2 inches from 8 miles south of Elwood.

Winter Weather in FURNAS, NEBRASKA
From 14-DEC-20 22:00:00 to 15-DEC-20 16:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Snowfall totals from area Cooperative Observers included 3.8 inches from Cambridge and 3.5 inches from Wilsonville.

Winter Weather in BUFFALO, NEBRASKA
From 14-DEC-20 21:00:00 to 15-DEC-20 17:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

A snowfall total of 3.0 inches was reported at the Kearney Regional Airport.

Winter Weather in PHELPS, NEBRASKA
From 14-DEC-20 22:00:00 to 15-DEC-20 17:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Snowfall totals were estimated to range from 2 to 4 inches across the northern half of the county (based on nearby reports and NOHRSC Snowfall Analysis).