Warmer weather lies ahead

A weekend storm left much of western and northern Nebraska with a blanket of snow and drifts reaching up to 7 feet high, but warmer weather is expected to make a quick return.

The Nebraska Panhandle appeared to bear the brunt of the storm, with up to 16 inches of snow falling by Sunday morning. Wind gusts topped 50 mph in some areas.

The storm arrived in Columbus around midnight Saturday, dumping 5 inches of snow driven by powerful north and northeast winds gusting up to 45 mph. The wet spring snow had a moisture content of 0.38 inches.

Skies cleared on Sunday afternoon, melting most of the snow on city streets as temperatures climbed into the mid-30s. Strong northwest winds gusting up to 40 mph kept up most of the day and evening.

In Columbus today, the weather service is predicting mostly sunny skies with a high in the mid-30s. Northwest winds of 20 to 25 mph with gusts to around 35 mph are forecast.

On Tuesday, warmer conditions are expected. Sunny skies and highs in the mid-50s are forecast.

Jim House, a forecaster in the National Weather Service office in Cheyenne, Wyo., said some parts of western Nebraska saw flurries and winds approaching 20 to 25 mph Sunday, but no additional accumulation or drifting was expected.

“It’s pretty much over, a few flurries, a little wind. ... This snow is so wet, I don’t think it’s going to go anywhere,” he said.

House said most of the Panhandle saw 4 to 8 inches of snow.

But, the weather service also received reports of more accumulation in northwest Nebraska. Cody, near the Nebraska-South Dakota line in Cherry County, recorded 16 inches. Mullen, in Hooker County, saw 11 inches with wind blowing drifts that reached 6 to 7 feet high.

Less snow was reported to the east, with Hastings seeing up to 7 inches.

House said the snow should be gone by Thursday, as spring-like weather returns over the next few days.

Scottsbluff was forecast to see temperatures in the 60s on Tuesday, with Alliance hitting about 55.

Rain was expected to fall in the Panhandle Wednesday into Thursday, he said.

The storm first brought snow to western Nebraska early Saturday, closing roads in that part of the state. Most major roads had reopened by Sunday afternoon, but drivers were urged to be careful.

The combination of snow and heaving winds wreaked havoc on the state’s power lines. Nebraska Public Power District, the state’s largest utility, said the blizzard-like conditions caused several outages Saturday night into Sunday, leaving about 3,000 customers without service. Power was restored Sunday afternoon.

In the Omaha area, heavy winds downed powers lines on Sunday, and a wind advisory was in effect for the metro area for much of the day.

Omaha Public Power District spokesman Jeff Hanson said about 1,500 customers were without power Sunday evening, down from a high of 11,200.

The storm also brought possible tornadoes to southeast Nebraska on Saturday evening as the cold front was greeted by warmer temperatures.

The weather service’s office in Valley received several reports of walls clouds and at least one tornado sighting north of Beatrice.