The late evening of Monday the 24th into the morning of Tuesday the 25th featured one of the most intriguing snow events of the 2019-20 winter season within South Central Nebraska. While the majority of the 24-county area (including the Tri Cities) received little to no overnight accumulation, an intense/narrow mesoscale band dumped as much as 6-10 of wet snow on portions of Dawson, Gosper, Furnas and southwestern Harlan counties. Amounts this high concentrated within a swath no more than 10-15 miles wide, with totals tapering off to barely a dusting only a few miles on either side. Per several official reports (NWS coop observer/CoCoRaHS) and a few unofficial ones, some of the highest totals featured: 10 in Elwood, 9 nine miles north of Edison, 8 in Edison, 6-8 at Beaver City and 7.1 six miles southwest of Lexington. On the periphery of the main band, more modest amounts included: 4.5 in Cozad, 4 at Gothenburg and 3 in Cambridge. Despite the hefty totals within the primary snow stripe, the fact that this was a late night/early morning event and that winds averaged only 10-15 MPH through most of it kept travel impacts somewhat in check through roughly sunrise. However, north winds picked up as the day of the 25th wore on, with frequent gusts of 25-35 MPH combining with residual light snowfall to promote some drifting and reduced visibility.
Breaking down timing, the main event associated with the intense mesoscale band unfolded over primarily a 7-9 hour span, getting underway between 10 p.m. and midnight as spotty light rain transitioned to steady snow, and weakening/gradually sinking southward into Kansas between 5-7 a.m. In the mid-upper levels, the primary player was a potent shortwave trough diving into the Central Plains from the north-northwest, featuring a compact/intense closed circulation that peaked in intensity while traversing the local area (especially evident at 700 millibars). As the already-strong zone of deep convergence/frontogenesis intercepted a pocket of steep mid-level lapse rates, the pronounced mesoscale band blossomed, starting out oriented predominantly north-south but gradually pivoting more northwest-southeast in response to the movement of the parent system. At the surface, the relatively light breezes through the night resulted from the region temporarily residing within the heart of an inverted trough axis, before this boundary slipped south around sunrise and allowed stronger northerly winds to kick in. Temperature-wise, the wet nature of snow resulted from overnight readings holding up mainly in the low 30s F. From a forecast perspective this was a challenging event, as although it became increasingly evident 24-48 hours out that mesoscale banding might ensue, its eventual placement/intensity remained a major question mark until it materialized on radar. In the end, although forecasted maximum snow amounts proved to be significantly under-done, a good chance for at least 2-4 within the broader general area became apparent by the afternoon of the 24th, prompting the issuance of a Winter Weather Advisory.

Heavy Snow in DAWSON, NEBRASKA
From 24-FEB-20 23:00:00 to 25-FEB-20 06:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Storm total snowfall reports generally ranged from an inch or 2 across the eastern half of the county, with higher amounts of 4-8 inches across the western half of the county. Reported totals included 7.1 inches six miles southwest of Lexington, 6.1 inches four miles south of Cozad, 4.5 inches in Cozad and 4 inches at Gothenburg.

Heavy Snow in GOSPER, NEBRASKA
From 24-FEB-20 23:00:00 to 25-FEB-20 07:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

The highest storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 6 to 10 inches, falling in a narrow 10-15 mile wide corridor running from north-northwest to southeast through the heart of the county. Totals reported by the public included 10 inches in Elwood and 9 inches nine miles north of Edison. A NWS cooperative observer 8 miles south of Elwood reported 6.5 inches.

Heavy Snow in FURNAS, NEBRASKA
From 24-FEB-20 23:00:00 to 25-FEB-20 07:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

The highest storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 6 to 10 inches, falling in a narrow 10-15 mile wide corridor running through the eastern half county. Public-reported totals included 8.5 inches five miles north of Beaver City and 6 to 8 inches in Beaver City. NWS cooperative observer totals included 8 inches in Edison, 4.4 inches six miles north-northwest of Oxford, 4 inches at Wilsonville and 3 inches in Cambridge.

Heavy Snow in HARLAN, NEBRASKA
From 25-FEB-20 00:00:00 to 25-FEB-20 07:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Based on ground-truth storm total snowfall reports from adjacent counties and visible satellite data, it is highly likely that at least 6-8 inches of snow fell within mainly the southwestern quadrant of the county. Amounts quickly tapered off east of this area, with NWS cooperative observers reporting only 2.4 inches one mile west of Orleans and 2 inches at Harlan Lake.