On this Thursday, the first severe thunderstorms of the year occurred, followed by windy conditions and even accumulating snow in some areas. A few weak thunderstorms began forming around 1230 PM CST, with two small clusters over Harlan and Clay counties. Other showers and thunderstorms developed south of Interstate 80, and by mid-afternoon, they had moved across and to the north of the Interstate. A couple of these storms became severe and produced large amounts of hail (the freezing level was around 8,000 ft AGL). One storm turned severe from northwest Kearney county into south-central Buffalo county, where hail up to the size of ping pong balls occurred, including in the southwest part of the city of Kearney. There was a narrow swath of Interstate 80 that was covered with hail, and snowplows needed to be deployed. The other severe storm tracked from near Edgar to McCool Junction, where it also produced hail up to the size of ping pong balls. The thunderstorm activity ended by late afternoon. These storms were elevated, on the cold side of a strong cold front. As the colder temperatures near-surface moved in, and lapse rates steepened, north winds increased to 30 to 35 mph, with frequent gusts between 45 and 55 mph. There were a few higher wind gusts, including 63 mph at the Lexington airport, which was the highest gust recorded, 59 mph near Odessa, and 58 mph at Cozad and Hastings. Late in the afternoon, the thunderstorms weakened into showers which eventually morphed into stratiform rain as they encountered stability. This rain moved into increasingly colder air where it changed to snow north of a line from Lexington to Fullerton. One to 5 inches of snow fell, with most areas measuring 1 to 3 inches. The highest amounts were 5 inches near Scotia, 4 inches near Johnson Lake, with 3 inches at Greeley and Ord. Snow began accumulating during the late afternoon, and continued through the evening hours. The snow rapidly dissipated just after midnight CST.
At sunrise, a 1000 mb low pressure system was over southeast Colorado, with a warm front extending east across northern Kansas. A stationary Arctic front was over the northern Rockies and Plains. During the day, the stationary front become mobile and accelerated southward, merging with the occluded low and its fronts. The forward momentum of the Arctic air shoved the combined front south, also forcing the Colorado low to weaken as it migrated along the front into central Kansas. In the upper-levels, the longwave pattern was typical of the mean flow that had stubbornly prevailed since the middle of November. The flow over North America was split, with a trough over the western U.S. and a ridge over the Gulf of Mexico. The flow was from the southwest over the Central Plains, with a potent, intensifying shortwave trough over Colorado and New Mexico during the morning. By sunset, a small closed low had formed along the Nebraska-Kansas border. Due to the confluence of the northern and southern streams, the low quickly dissipated and, by Friday morning, all that was left was a modest shortwave trough over Wisconsin and Illinois.

Hail in FILLMORE, NEBRASKA
From 19-MAR-20 13:36:00 to 19-MAR-20 13:36:00 (CST-6)
Location: OHIOWA
Magnitude: 0.75 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

Hail in NUCKOLLS, NEBRASKA
From 19-MAR-20 14:24:00 to 19-MAR-20 14:24:00 (CST-6)
Location: ANGUS
Magnitude: 0.88 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

Hail in FILLMORE, NEBRASKA
From 19-MAR-20 14:59:00 to 19-MAR-20 14:59:00 (CST-6)
Location: GRAFTON
Magnitude: 1.00 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Hail was mostly pea sized, with a few stones as large as a quarter.

Hail in BUFFALO, NEBRASKA
From 19-MAR-20 14:04:00 to 19-MAR-20 14:12:00 (CST-6)
Location: KEARNEY
Magnitude: 1.25 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: NWS Employee

Hail ranged in size from nickels to half dollars. Enough hail fell to cover Interstate 80 and snow plows were dispatched to clear the road.

High Wind in DAWSON, NEBRASKA
From 19-MAR-20 16:35:00 to 19-MAR-20 16:35:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 55.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: AWOS

A post-frontal non-thunderstorm wind gust of 63 MPH was measured by the Lexington Airport AWOS.

High Wind in DAWSON, NEBRASKA
From 19-MAR-20 17:12:00 to 19-MAR-20 17:12:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 50.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

A post-frontal non-thunderstorm wind gust of 58 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located 1 mile north-northeast of Cozad.

High Wind in BUFFALO, NEBRASKA
From 19-MAR-20 20:03:00 to 19-MAR-20 20:03:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 51.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

A post-frontal non-thunderstorm wind gust of 59 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located 5 miles east-northeast of Odessa.

High Wind in ADAMS, NEBRASKA
From 19-MAR-20 22:58:00 to 19-MAR-20 22:58:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 50.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

A post-frontal non-thunderstorm wind gust of 58 MPH was measured by the Hastings Airport ASOS.

High Wind in ADAMS, NEBRASKA
From 19-MAR-20 21:43:00 to 19-MAR-20 21:43:00 (CST-6)
Magnitude: 50.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

A post-frontal non-thunderstorm wind gust of 58 MPH was measured by a mesonet station located 1 mile southwest of Roseland.

Winter Weather in DAWSON, NEBRASKA
From 19-MAR-20 18:00:00 to 20-MAR-20 01:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 1 to 5 inches across the county. The combination of snow and strong winds resulted in visibility dropping down to less than 1/2 mile at times.

Winter Weather in VALLEY, NEBRASKA
From 19-MAR-20 17:00:00 to 20-MAR-20 00:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 2 to 5 inches across the county. The combination of snow and strong winds resulted in visibility dropping down to less than 1/2 mile at times.

Winter Weather in GREELEY, NEBRASKA
From 19-MAR-20 17:00:00 to 20-MAR-20 01:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 2 to 5 inches across the county. The combination of snow and strong winds resulted in visibility dropping down to less than 1/2 mile at times.

Winter Weather in NANCE, NEBRASKA
From 19-MAR-20 18:00:00 to 20-MAR-20 01:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 1 to 4 inches across the county. The combination of snow and strong winds resulted in visibility dropping down to less than 1/2 mile at times.

Winter Weather in HOWARD, NEBRASKA
From 19-MAR-20 18:00:00 to 20-MAR-20 01:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 1 to 4 inches across the county. The combination of snow and strong winds resulted in visibility dropping down to less than 1/2 mile at times.

Winter Weather in SHERMAN, NEBRASKA
From 19-MAR-20 18:00:00 to 20-MAR-20 01:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from 1 to 4 inches across the county. The combination of snow and strong winds resulted in visibility dropping down to less than 1/2 mile at times.

Hail in YORK, NEBRASKA
From 19-MAR-20 15:15:00 to 19-MAR-20 15:15:00 (CST-6)
Location: MC COOL JCT
Magnitude: 1.25 
Property damage: 75.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Hail in KEARNEY, NEBRASKA
From 19-MAR-20 13:46:00 to 19-MAR-20 13:46:00 (CST-6)
Location: AXTELL
Magnitude: 1.00 
Property damage: 125.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Hail was mostly pea to nickel sized, with a few quarter size stones, and was 2 inches deep in the yard.