Only a few days after South Central Nebraska had melted off the vast majority of lingering snow cover from earlier in the month, a moderately-strong winter storm rolled through between the evening of Monday the 28th and afternoon of Tuesday the 29th, dropping a fresh blanket of 2-8 inches of snow in most locales, followed by a light coating of sleet and freezing rain/drizzle especially in southeast counties. Overall though, snow was clearly the main story, especially within northern counties along/north of Highway 92 where the highest amounts of 5-8 concentrated, including CoCoRaHS/NWS cooperative observer totals of: 7.4 in St. Paul and Ord, 6.8 at Greeley, 6.5 in Loup City and also two miles west of Genoa, and 6.1 in North Loup. Southward from there, slightly-lower amounts of 3-5 prevailed within counties along the Interstate 80/Highway 6 corridors, including totals of 5 at Sumner, 4.1 at NWS Hastings, 4.0 in Grand Island and 3.5 in Clay Center and Geneva. Farther south yet, the overall-lowest snowfall of 1-3 fell within far southern counties along the Kansas border. However, especially areas in/near Nuckolls and Thayer counties saw some steadier periods of light freezing rain and sleet showers during the latter stages of the event, although ice accumulation was generally only around one-tenth of an inch and potential travel issues solely from icing were likely muted given that it fell onto freshly-fallen snow. Locations farther north and west (including the Tri Cities area) also saw a light wintry mix of sleet and freezing drizzle in the wake of departing snow, but icing amounted to just a light glaze and the travel impacts from snow-covered roads were far more of a factor (though no closures of main highways occurred). Winds were not overly-strong during the main period of snow, but steady east-southeast speeds of 10-20 MPH with occasional gusts as high as 25-30 MPH were enough to cause some modest blowing/drifting. Temperatures during most of the event hovered in the 20s F.
Taking a closer look at how things unfolded, the majority of snow accumulation occurred between 9 p.m. on the 28th and sunrise on the 29th, as a northwest-to-southeast oriented band of moderate to briefly-heavy snow steadily advanced across South Central Nebraska from southwest-to-northeast. This primary band was driven by a fairly classic case of low-mid level isentropic lift and mid level frontogenesis (especially evident at 700 millibars), with this forcing focused downstream from a larger-scale, positively-tilted trough positioned from the Desert Southwest into the Central Rockies. However, things changed character near and especially after sunrise on the 29th in the wake of the main snow band, as the combination of lower-level warm air advection and an intrusion of drier mid-level air from the southwest (with resultant steepening lapse rates) allowed precipitation to transition from predominantly snow to mainly isolated to scattered sleet showers and areas of light freezing rain/drizzle. Any steadier/measurable precipitation gradually departed the majority of the local area from west-to-east between sunrise and noon, although pesky light freezing drizzle hung around in some places until early evening. At the surface, the modestly-breezy east-southeast winds that peaked between midnight-noon were driven by a decent pressure gradient between a strong/expansive 1035 millibar high departing eastbound through the Midwest and a 1008 millibar low centered over Colorado.

Winter Storm in VALLEY, NEBRASKA
From 29-DEC-20 00:00:00 to 29-DEC-20 11:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Storm total snow amounts ranged from 5 to 8 inches across the county. Cooperative Observer reports included 7.4 inches at Ord, 6.1 inches at North Loup, and 5.1 inches from 2 miles west of Arcadia. CoCoRaHS observer reports included 6.7 inches from 5 miles southwest of Elyria and 5.0 inches from 9 miles northwest of Ord.

Winter Storm in GREELEY, NEBRASKA
From 29-DEC-20 00:00:00 to 29-DEC-20 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Storm total snow amounts ranged from 5 to 8 inches across the county. The Cooperative Observer in Greeley reported 6.8 inches. A CoCoRaHS observer 4 miles east of Scotia reported 6.0 inches.

Winter Storm in NANCE, NEBRASKA
From 29-DEC-20 01:00:00 to 29-DEC-20 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Storm total snow amounts ranged from 5 to 7 inches across the county. Cooperative Observer reports included 6.5 inches from 2 miles west of Genoa and 6.0 inches in Belgrade.

Winter Storm in POLK, NEBRASKA
From 29-DEC-20 00:00:00 to 29-DEC-20 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Storm total snow amounts ranged from 4 to 7 inches across the county. Cooperative Observer reports included 5.4 inches from 3 miles northeast of Shelby, 5.3 inches from Osceola, and 5.0 inches from Polk. A CoCoRaHS observer from 7 miles west of Osceola reported 6.0 inches. Light snow continued on into the mid afternoon hours.

Winter Storm in MERRICK, NEBRASKA
From 28-DEC-20 23:00:00 to 29-DEC-20 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Storm total snow amounts ranged from 4 to 7 inches across the county (highest north). A CoCoRaHS observer 2 miles west of Palmer reported 4.5 inches. Amounts were likely higher in northern portions of the county based on nearby reports and NOHRSC analysis. Light snow continued on into the mid afternoon hours.

Winter Storm in HOWARD, NEBRASKA
From 28-DEC-20 23:00:00 to 29-DEC-20 13:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Storm total snow amounts ranged from 5 to 8 inches across the county. The Cooperative Observer located in St. Paul reported a total of 7.4 inches. Light snow continued on into the mid afternoon hours.

Winter Storm in SHERMAN, NEBRASKA
From 28-DEC-20 22:00:00 to 29-DEC-20 11:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Storm total snow amounts ranged from 5 to 7 inches across the county. The Cooperative Observer located in in Loup City reported a total of 6.5 inches. Light snow continued on into the mid afternoon hours.

Winter Weather in YORK, NEBRASKA
From 28-DEC-20 23:00:00 to 29-DEC-20 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Storm total snow amounts ranged from 3 to 5 inches across the county. Cooperative Observer reports included 4.8 inches from 3 miles north of York and 4.5 inches from 3 miles west of Gresham. A CoCoRaHS observer in McCool Junction also reported a total of 4.5 inches.

Winter Weather in HAMILTON, NEBRASKA
From 28-DEC-20 22:00:00 to 29-DEC-20 14:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Storm total snow amounts ranged from 3 to 5 inches across the county. The Cooperative Observer 4 miles north of Aurora reported 4.3 inches. A CoCoRaHS observer from 2 miles south of Hordville reported 5.0 inches.

Winter Weather in HALL, NEBRASKA
From 28-DEC-20 22:00:00 to 29-DEC-20 14:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Storm total snow amounts ranged from 3 to 5 inches across the county. A total of 4.0 inches was reported at the Grand Island Central Nebraska Regional Airport. An NWS employee in Doniphan reported 4.6 inches.

Winter Weather in BUFFALO, NEBRASKA
From 28-DEC-20 21:00:00 to 29-DEC-20 11:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Storm total snow amounts ranged from 3 to 5 inches across the county. Cooperative Observer reports included 5.3 inches at Ravenna, 4.9 inches at Miller, and 3 inches at the Kearney Airport. A CoCoRaHS observer in Gibbon reported a total of 4.8 inches.

Winter Weather in DAWSON, NEBRASKA
From 28-DEC-20 21:00:00 to 29-DEC-20 10:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Storm total snow amounts ranged from 3 to 5 inches across most of the county. CoCoRaHS observer totals included 5.5 inches from 6 miles southwest of Lexington, 5.0 inches from the Sumner area, and 3.4 inches from 4 miles south of Cozad.

Winter Weather in GOSPER, NEBRASKA
From 28-DEC-20 21:00:00 to 29-DEC-20 10:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Storm total snow amounts ranged from 3 to 5 inches across the county. Cooperative Observer reports included 5.0 inches from 6 miles south-southeast of Lexington and 3.5 inches from 8 miles south of Elwood.

Winter Weather in PHELPS, NEBRASKA
From 28-DEC-20 21:00:00 to 29-DEC-20 10:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Storm total snow amounts ranged from 2 to 4 inches across the county. The Cooperative Observer in Holdrege reported 3.5 inches.

Winter Weather in KEARNEY, NEBRASKA
From 28-DEC-20 21:00:00 to 29-DEC-20 11:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Storm total snow amounts ranged from 2 to 4 inches across the county. The Cooperative Observer in Minden reported 3.3 inches. A CoCoRaHS observer from Wilcox reported 3.5 inches.

Winter Weather in ADAMS, NEBRASKA
From 28-DEC-20 22:00:00 to 29-DEC-20 14:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Storm total snow amounts ranged from 3 to 5 inches across the county. A total of 4.1 inches was reported at NWS Hastings office located 4 miles north of Hastings. An NWS employee on the south side of Hastings reported 3.1 inches.

Winter Weather in CLAY, NEBRASKA
From 28-DEC-20 22:00:00 to 29-DEC-20 14:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Storm total snow amounts ranged from 2 to 5 inches across the county. The Cooperative Observer in Clay Center reported 3.5 inches.

Winter Weather in FILLMORE, NEBRASKA
From 28-DEC-20 22:00:00 to 29-DEC-20 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Storm total snow amounts ranged from 2 to 4 inches across most of the county. Cooperative Observer reports included 3.5 inches in Geneva and 3.0 inches from 4 miles south of Shickley. CoCoRaHS observer reports included 4.5 inches from 4 miles northwest of Milligan and 3.0 inches from 2 miles west-southwest of Tobias.

Winter Weather in WEBSTER, NEBRASKA
From 28-DEC-20 21:00:00 to 29-DEC-20 14:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Storm total snow amounts ranged from 1 to 3 inches across most of the county (highest north). A total of 3.5 was reported by a CoCoRaHS observer four miles southwest of Bladen, while an NWS coop observer measured 3.2 four miles southwest of Blue Hill.

Winter Weather in NUCKOLLS, NEBRASKA
From 28-DEC-20 22:00:00 to 29-DEC-20 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Storm total snow amounts ranged from 1 to 3 inches across the county (highest north), including a CoCoRaHS report of 3.0 in Lawrence. In addition, the NWS coop observer in Nelson reported periods of sleet and freezing rain during the day of the 29th with light icing.

Winter Weather in THAYER, NEBRASKA
From 28-DEC-20 22:00:00 to 29-DEC-20 15:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Storm total snow amounts ranged from 2 to 3 inches across most of the county, including NWS coop observer reports of 3.0 in Hubbell and 2.9 in Hebron. In addition, various observers also reported periods of sleet and freezing rain during the day of the 29th with light icing.