A strong cold front and plentiful moisture combined to produce a mix of wintery weather and heavy rain across south central Nebraska on November 9th into the 10th. Strong southerly wind gusts from the previous day (see November 8th Storm Data entry) continued into the early morning hours of November 9th, which allowed for copious amounts of atmospheric moisture to advect into the region ahead of a cold front. The cold front moved through the area from northwest to southeast during the morning and afternoon hours, with little in the way of precipitation. The front slowed down by late afternoon as surface low pressure organized over the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles, and the cold front eventually stalled out from central Kansas to central Iowa, just southeast of the NWS Hastings County Warning Area (CWA). This resulted in a sharp temperature gradient at the surface across the area, with cold air in the 20s across northwest portions of the CWA, 30s to low 40s across the far southeast CWA, and the surface freezing line from north central Kansas to east central Nebraska. Later during the evening hours, showers and even weak thunderstorms blossomed as moisture and weak instability interacted with the stalled cold front and shallow low level cold air mass. This set the stage for a wintry mix of sleet and freezing rain across south central Nebraska during the evening hours of November 9th. Rain rates were impressive by November standards, and with surface temperatures below freezing, ice accretion began quickly. The greatest ice accretion occurred from around 8pm on the 9th until 2am on the 10th before mid level dry air was advected in from the southwest. The system was not done causing wintry weather across the area, however, as the surface and upper level low pressure ejected northeast from the southern High Plains into the Lower MO Valley and wrap around moisture brought a period of light to moderate snow during the morning hours of the 10, mainly after 4am. Several inches of snow fell across areas mainly north of Interstate 80, with the highest amounts of 4 to 6 inches observed in Greeley County. Only lingering light snow and flurries continued into the afternoon hours of the 10th.
Impacts from the ice were widespread from Webster and Nuckolls Counties northeast to Nance and Polk Counties, particularly in terms of tree damage, where ice accretion of at least one quarter of an inch was observed. Within the broader zone of ice damage, a smaller swath around 30-40 miles wide of more severe impacts appears to have occurred from Adams and Clay Counties northeast to portions of York and Polk Counties. This is where large tree limbs (10 to 15 inches in diameter) were snapped and where power outages were most common and long-lasting, some in excess of 24 hours (mainly rural areas). Also, some of the large tree limbs fell onto roadways and further complicated already hazardous travel conditions. A Cooperative Observer just northeast of Shelby, NE (in Polk County) reported ice accumulation as high as one half inch. School and business closures were numerous not only in the areas affected by ice, but also further north where snow was more prevalent. Meteorologically speaking, this event was impressive due to very high amounts of moisture, and even some instability, that overlapped with near or below freezing temperatures at the surface. Precipitable water values (PWATs) were as high as 1.0 to 1.2 inches, again, anomalously high for November. While this event was certainly towards the higher end of recent ice events, the area was fortunate it wasn���t worse for several reasons: 1) Rain rates, while impressive, were actually too high for optimal and efficient ice accretion 2) surface temperatures were generally one to two degrees too warm for optimal ice accretion 3) Surface winds were relatively light and 4) duration of ice accretion was limited to around 6 hrs. We can say with relatively high confidence that if even one of the above factors was worse, this event could���ve been much more severe. Finally, it's worth noting that for many, this was the most significant precipitation event in around two months, as many areas along and east of Highway 281 received 0.75��� to 1��� or more of moisture.

Winter Weather in VALLEY, NEBRASKA
From 09-NOV-20 22:00:00 to 10-NOV-20 12:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Snow amounts of 1 to 3 inches fell across the county, with the highest amounts across far eastern portions of the county. A light glaze of ice from freezing rain and freezing drizzle occurred.

Winter Weather in SHERMAN, NEBRASKA
From 09-NOV-20 22:00:00 to 10-NOV-20 12:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Snow amounts of 1 to 3 inches fell across the county, with the highest amounts across far eastern portions of the county. A light glaze of ice from freezing rain and freezing drizzle occurred.

Winter Weather in GREELEY, NEBRASKA
From 09-NOV-20 22:00:00 to 10-NOV-20 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Snow amounts of 4 to 6 inches fell across the county, with the highest amounts across central and northern portions of the county. A light glaze of ice from freezing rain and freezing drizzle occurred.

Winter Weather in HOWARD, NEBRASKA
From 09-NOV-20 22:00:00 to 10-NOV-20 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Snow amounts of 2 to 4 inches fell across the county, with the highest amounts across  northern and western portions of the county. A light glaze of ice from freezing rain and freezing drizzle occurred.

Ice Storm in HALL, NEBRASKA
From 09-NOV-20 22:00:00 to 10-NOV-20 06:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Freezing rain and freezing drizzle resulted in a coating of ice at least one-quarter inch thick. Travel was hazardous, and numerous tree limbs were downed. Power lines were also affected, causing power outages.

Ice Storm in NANCE, NEBRASKA
From 09-NOV-20 22:00:00 to 10-NOV-20 06:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Freezing rain and freezing drizzle resulted in a coating of ice at least one-quarter inch thick. Travel was hazardous, and numerous tree limbs were downed. Power lines were also affected, causing power outages.

Ice Storm in MERRICK, NEBRASKA
From 09-NOV-20 22:00:00 to 10-NOV-20 06:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Freezing rain and freezing drizzle resulted in a coating of ice at least one-quarter inch thick. Travel was hazardous, and numerous tree limbs were downed. Power lines were also affected, causing power outages.

Ice Storm in HAMILTON, NEBRASKA
From 09-NOV-20 22:00:00 to 10-NOV-20 06:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Freezing rain and freezing drizzle resulted in a coating of ice at least one-quarter inch thick. Travel was hazardous, and numerous tree limbs were downed. Power lines were also affected, causing power outages.

Ice Storm in ADAMS, NEBRASKA
From 09-NOV-20 22:00:00 to 10-NOV-20 06:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Freezing rain and freezing drizzle resulted in a coating of ice at least one-quarter inch thick. Travel was hazardous, and numerous tree limbs were downed. Power lines were also affected, causing power outages. There were reports of large tree limbs that had fallen onto roadways, adding to the travel issues.

Ice Storm in WEBSTER, NEBRASKA
From 09-NOV-20 22:00:00 to 10-NOV-20 06:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Freezing rain and freezing drizzle resulted in a coating of ice at least one-quarter inch thick. Travel was hazardous, and numerous tree limbs were downed. Power lines were also affected, causing power outages.

Ice Storm in CLAY, NEBRASKA
From 09-NOV-20 22:00:00 to 10-NOV-20 06:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Freezing rain and freezing drizzle resulted in a coating of ice at least one-quarter inch thick. Travel was hazardous, and numerous tree limbs were downed. Some limbs were as large as 10 inches in diameter, and there were limbs that had fallen onto area roadways, adding to ongoing travel issues. Power lines were also affected, causing power outages.

Ice Storm in NUCKOLLS, NEBRASKA
From 09-NOV-20 22:00:00 to 10-NOV-20 07:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Freezing rain and freezing drizzle resulted in a coating of ice at least one-quarter inch thick. Travel was hazardous, and numerous tree limbs were downed. Power lines were also affected, causing power outages.

Ice Storm in POLK, NEBRASKA
From 09-NOV-20 22:00:00 to 10-NOV-20 07:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Freezing rain and freezing drizzle resulted in a coating of ice at least one-quarter inch thick. Travel was hazardous, and numerous tree limbs were downed. Power lines were also affected, causing power outages. A cooperative observer located 3 miles northeast of Shelby reported ice accumulation closer to one-half inch, with tree limbs as large as 15 inches in diameter brought down.

Ice Storm in YORK, NEBRASKA
From 09-NOV-20 22:00:00 to 10-NOV-20 07:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Freezing rain and freezing drizzle resulted in a coating of ice at least one-quarter inch thick. Travel was hazardous, and numerous tree limbs were downed. Power lines were also affected, causing power outages.

Ice Storm in FILLMORE, NEBRASKA
From 09-NOV-20 22:00:00 to 10-NOV-20 07:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Freezing rain and freezing drizzle resulted in a coating of ice at least one-quarter inch thick. Travel was hazardous, and numerous tree limbs were downed. Power lines were also affected, causing power outages.