Brief warm-up Tuesday before cold front passes; Keep your shovel handy

Lincoln ended up with 1″ of snow officially Sunday in to Monday.  That takes the snow total since October 1 to 4.8″.  There are indications more will be added to the total before the week is over.

There will be a nice warm-up happening Tuesday afternoon ahead of a passing cold front Tuesday evening.  Temperatures should make it in to the low 50°s for most in southeast Nebraska.

The cold front will live up to its name, bringing colder air back to the region for Wednesday.  Highs should be in the upper 30°s.

Winter Storm Watches have been posted over portions of western Nebraska.  They start as early as Tuesday evening for the panhandle.  I suspect more watches will be issued to the east over the next 24 hours.

Moisture is projected to start moving in to central Nebraska Wednesday afternoon, spreading in to southeast Nebraska Wednesday evening.  Initially, there may be dry air near the surface, meaning it might take a while for snow to reach the ground.  At this time, it appears snow could start falling in Lincoln after Wednesday evening’s commute.

Snow is projected to fall over southeast Nebraska Wednesday night through early afternoon Thursday.  As far as totals, it is still a liquid situation, both figuratively and literally.  New data arriving Monday evening is trying to back off on the moisture available, along with taking a more southeastern track from western Nebraska in to north central Kansas.  In some cases, the models are drying up by as much as 90% from earlier Monday.

As things are still coming together with how the storm is projected, it is hard to give accurate totals at this point.  Sure, I can throw out numbers, but I want them to be accurate.  I don’t think accurate numbers are available just yet.  However, at this distance this is looking like the highest snowfall generator of the season, at least in Lincoln.

All that being said, several inches of snow appear possible.  Highest amounts appear to be along and south of I-80.  Be sure to check back for updates to the forecast over the next 24-36 hours.

– Chief Meteorologist John Dissauer