ArticleAnother extraordinary storm is expected to slam Nebraska this week, piling on misery and possibly more flooding, and maybe making its way into the record books.
“It looks like it’s going to be a doozy,” said Jeff Weber, an atmospheric scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. “Nebraska doesn’t need any more moisture right now, and this is going to be a fairly wet system.”
Blizzard conditions, rain, strong winds and perhaps even damaging hail are in the mix.
Whether flooding might occur and where is yet to be seen.
“A lot depends upon where the heaviest rain comes down, but river flooding and flash flooding are possible,” said Scott Dergan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. The good news is that the ground is no longer frozen and rivers aren’t iced over, he said.
All that runoff will be washing into an already high Missouri River, he said.
“This isn’t going to be a one-and-done thing,” he said. “We’re going to have to deal with snowmelt and water filtering through the Missouri River system for the next month or so.”
The storm is shaping up to be the second rare bomb cyclone to hit the state in as many months.
Dave Bowers, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc., The World-Herald’s weather consultant, said computer models peg the storm as being on the cusp of meeting the definition of a bomb cyclone.
“It’s going to be close enough,” Bowers said. “The point is you’re looking at a major, major storm.”
Last month’s bomb cyclone brought a historic blizzard to western Nebraska and dropped several inches of rain on top of heavy snow cover in eastern Nebraska. The blizzard and the flooding from ice jams and rain-snow melt have resulted in two-thirds of the state’s counties being declared federal disaster areas.
The worst of this storm is expected to target some of the areas most affected by last month’s storm, notably western and northern Nebraska, Bowers said. It’s possible that the storm could drop close to 1 to 2 feet of snow along the Nebraska-South Dakota border, and winds could reach 50 to 70 mph, according to Bowers and Weber. The combined water content of the rain and snow in northern Nebraska could translate into 3 to 5 inches of precipitation, Bowers said.
Southeast Nebraska, including the Omaha metro area, is likely to receive less rain, snow and wind, but could be in the bull’s-eye for severe thunderstorms and hail, according to the weather service.
An isolated hail-producing thunderstorm is possible Wednesday morning, the weather service said. A slight risk for severe thunderstorms also is in the forecast for Wednesday afternoon and evening. The severe threat likely will be focused along and south of Interstate 80 Wednesday afternoon and evening, forecasters said.
Light snow accumulations are possible Thursday afternoon through Friday morning. Impacts from snow should be limited, the weather service said.
An updated forecast put out Tuesday by the weather service put snowfall totals in the Omaha and Lincoln areas at a trace to an inch.
The storm arrives as rain Tuesday evening in western Nebraska and shifts to snow from Wednesday into Thursday. The worst of the winds are forecast for Thursday.
The possible bomb cyclone itself won’t develop until the system crosses the Rocky Mountains, Weber said, and for that reason, meteorologists ask that people monitor forecasts to get the latest and most accurate information.
Greg Carbin, forecast branch chief for the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center, said that while rare, repeat patterns for severe weather are known to occur.
“We had a bit of a break in the bad weather,” Carbin said. “But now it’s back again, with a vengeance.”
I expect just as much mainstream media attention about this as the last month's bomb cyclone. If this was happening in New England or the Northwest it'd be one of the tops stories for at least a week or more
