Jan. 18-19, 2023: Major Winter Storm Dumps 6-15" of Snow Across Much Of Our Area

Map of Storm Total Snow Amounts:

Snow amounts of 10" (or more) were most common from around the Tri-Cities and especially off to the west and north. The heaviest snowfall of 14-17" occurred along and northwest of a line from Elwood, to Pleasanton, to North Loup in central Nebraska. A sharp gradient in snow amounts and decrease was noted along and southeast of a line from Phillipsburg, Kansas to York, Nebraska. Some places in Rooks, Osborne, Jewell, and Mitchell Counties in north central Kansas received around 1" (or less) snow. 

List of Snowfall Reports:

Complete list of reports as of 2:30PM CST on Thursday, January 19, 2023

Records

Photos

Hastings Credit: Deb Boesen	Pleasanton Credit: Bonnie Busch	5.5N Heartwell Credit: Sarah Armbruster	Bertrand Credit: Juli Morris

Holdrege Credit: Todd Veal	6E Phillipsburg Credit: David Roberts	Sumner Credit: Kyle Davis	1.5S Wood River Credit: Brittany Skeen

Radar Summary:

Below are 6-hour radar loops, covering the entire calendar day of Jan. 18, 2023. Data courtesy of IEM.

Precipitation expanded SW to NE across the area late Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning. Peak snowfall rates were during the daytime hours Wednesday, particularly from around midday through the afternoon. Snow coverage and intensity tapered off Wednesday evening.

Midnight to 6AM Wed., Jan. 18, 2023	6AM to Noon Wed., Jan. 18, 2023	Noon to 6PM Wed., Jan. 18, 2023	6PM Wed. Jan. 18 to Midnight

Satellite:

Data courtesy of College of DuPage NEXLAB

Environment:

Upper Level Charts

250mb (Highest Altitude)	300mb	500mb

700mb	850mb	925mb (Lowest Altitude)

Nearby Upper Air Soundings (Balloon Measurements)

While we at NWS Hastings do not launch balloons for upper air observations, we can still glean information from nearby offices that do: 

Balloon launches from NWS North Platte served as a good proxy for the environment in our W/NW areas that received heavy snow. LEFT of the blue line is BELOW FREEZING. RIGHT of the blue line is ABOVE FREEZING. Notice that the entire sounding remained below freezing through the entire day Wednesday and, in fact, cooled by Wednesday evening.

6AM Wenesday, January 18 (North Platte)	6PM Wednesday, January 18 (North Platte)

What about for areas that experienced a mix of freezing rain and sleet? Balloon launches from NWS Topeka and NWS Omaha served as a good proxy for these areas.

6AM Wednesday, January 18 (Topeka, KS)	6PM Wednesday, January 18 (Topeka, KS)

Note HOW CLOSE to freezing that the layer roughly 5,000 ft above the ground remained. Even a half degree above freezing can result in sleet instead of snow!

Soundings from NWS Omaha at 5AM, 11AM, and 6PM Wednesday, January 18

Additional Information:

The Forecast Timeline:

• Sunday Afternoon (Jan. 15) : Winter Storm Watch issued for NW half of forecast area at 229 PM, valid from late Tuesday night through Wednesday evening. Impacts to both commutes on Wednesday mentioned.
   
• Monday Afternoon (Jan. 16): Far W/NW portions of the forecast area (where confidence was highest in heavy snow amounts) upgraded to a Winter Storm Warning with 6-12" forecast. Remaining Watch area is told of the potential for sharp gradient in snow amounts due to potential for freezing rain & sleet.
   
• Tuesday Morning (Jan. 17): Winter Storm Warning expanded to include Tri-Cities. Winter Weather Advisory issued for remaining counties. Continued mention of significant variation in snow amounts south/southeast of the Tri-Cities. "Very difficult" travel conditions in the warned area.
   
• Tuesday Afternoon (Jan. 17): Winter Storm Warning expanded further south/southeast due to higher confidence in near warning (~6" or more) snow amounts. Accumulations of 10-15" expected for NW third of forecast area. "Travel will be very difficult in the warned area, and perhaps impossible in areas where snow is heaviest". Communicated that travel impacts would likely continue well into Thursday due to blowing/drifting snow on NW wind gusts 30-35 MPH, and possibly well into Friday for rural areas under the heaviest snow.
   
• Wednesday Morning (Jan. 18): Final expansion of Winter Storm Warning to include Phillips, Smith, Jewell, and Thayer Counties due to potential for combination of significant ice (~0.25") AND at least a couple inches of snow. Highest snow amounts 13-16".
   
• Wednesday Afternoon (Jan. 18): Portions of the Winter Storm Warning extended until 6AM Thursday.
   
• Wednesday Night - Thursday AM (Jan. 18-19): Winter Weather "headlines" expire.

Verification:

Generally speaking, this event verified well against the forecast issued on the afternoon of Tuesday, January 17th. Areas roughly along a line from Phillipsburg, KS to Hastings, NE received at or just above the high end of forecast amounts, likely due, at least in part, to extreme snowfall rates near 3"/hour. As expected, a sharp gradient from higher to lower snowfall amounts bisected the forecast area, as some areas in north central Kansas received less than 1". 

*** Impressive fact to note: There was ~10" difference in snow amounts over only 20 to 25 miles along Highway 6 corridor between central Adams County and central Clay County in south central Nebraska!***