Dangerous blizzard conditions, high winds bear down on eastern Nebraska

Blizzard conditions and high winds are moving into eastern Nebraska Wednesday morning (March 19, 2025).

It’ll be dangerous if not impossible to attempt any travel throughout the morning and early afternoon.

Blizzard Warnings and Winter Weather Advisories are in place across the state. Those left of the line drawn (central and western Nebraska) have winter alerts through Wednesday afternoon. You can check your specific county details here.

• Blizzard Warning (red) – sleet, snow and high winds will lead to very difficult if not impossible travel; widespread blow snow will reduce visibility below a 1/4 mile at times, impacting both the morning and evening commutes. Winds will be strong enough to cause damage to trees and power lines for potential power outages.
• Winter Weather Advisory (purple) – some snow is expected; plan on slippery road conditions impacting the evening commute in far southeast Nebraska. Winds will be strong enough in that same area to damage tree and power lines.

Moderate to – at times – very heavy snow is expected for a majority of the morning Wednesday. The highest snowfall rates and the worst of the winds gusting around 60-70 mph will happen between 9 a.m. and noon Wednesday.

The snow will start to taper off by later Wednesday afternoon, clearing out by about 5-6 p.m. tonight. Here’s what Stormcast is saying as of this morning.

The chance for snow drops off in Lincoln beyond about 3 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.

Here’s what we have forecasted for 5 a.m. Wednesday morning through the evening hours as this blizzard eventually winds down and moves out of Nebraska.

There will be a ribbon of higher snowfall totals just north and west of us. Those areas could see brief periods of snow rates exceeding 1-2″/hour. Lincoln and Omaha sit right in that 4-6″ range.

High winds coming right along with the snow will greatly reduce visibility for travel on Wednesday through the afternoon. Gusts will be up around 55-70 mph through about 6-7 p.m. Wednesday, then decrease late tonight into early Thursday.

The timing of these winds across the state can be found in the video below.

A High Wind Warning will be in effect until 7 p.m. Wednesday evening due to these significant winds.

Tomorrow (Thursday, March 20) is the start of spring. We’ll try to warm to the lower 50s with abundant sunshine expected. That’s the good thing about snow this late in the season: it doesn’t last very long!

Meteorologist Jessica Blum 
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