With the upcoming 2014-2015 winter season nearly upon us (ready or not!), it's time to rewind to last winter and take a look back at the 2013-2014 snowfall season across the 30-county NWS Hastings coverage area, which officially ended back on June 30th (for climatological record purposes, the annual snowfall season runs from July 1st of one year through June 30th of the following year). Following below are graphics and tables that reflect totals, departures from normal/average etc. for the 2013-2014 snowfall season...

Before continuing, however, in order to give last season's snow totals some perspective, official 30-year NCDC normals/averages from 1981- 2010 suggest that "typical" seasonal snowfall within the local area is:
 

• 26-30" for most Nebraska counties along and north of Interstate 80
• 20- 28" for most Nebraska counties between Interstate 80 and the Kansas border
• 17- 23" for the North Central Kansas area

• Due to the fact that some of the lowest snow totals fell in northern/northeastern portions of the area (opposite of long-term climatology), there was a rather unique difference in seasonal snowfall departures from normal/average across the area (see graphics below). In general, most of North Central Kansas along with Nebraska counties generally west of a Kearney-Red Cloud line observed "near"-normal to above normal snowfall. In contrast, most Nebraska locations generally northeast of a Kearney-Superior line (including the Tri-Cities) measured snow totals generally 6-16" BELOW normal. 

• Per NWS Cooperative Observers: Within the 24 South Central Nebraska counties of the NWS Hastings area, the highest 2013-2014 seasonal snowfall was 45.0" in Wilsonville (Furnas County), and the lowest total was only 10.4" in Greeley (Greeley County).

• Per NWS Cooperative Observers: Within the six North Central Kansas counties covered by NWS Hastings, the highest 2013-2014 seasonal snowfall was 33.4" in Mankato (Jewell County), and the lowest total was only 11.2" at Cawker City (Mitchell County). 

• Unlike some winters, there were no truly major storms that "buried" a significant portion of the 30-county area under 6-12+" of snow. Instead, most heavy snow events of 6+" during winter 2013-14 were fairly localized in nature (meaning only affecting handful of counties or fairly small corridors within the area).

• For much of the area (including the Nebraska Tri-Cities), the majority of seasonal snowfall accumulated during several "minor" events. In fact, neither Grand Island nor Hastings measured a single two-day snowfall accumulation of more than 4.4", which was rather unusual. 

• In terms of "notable" snow events across the area last winter, the primary ones were:

  • A fairly widespread 4-7" of snow mainly between I-80 in Nebraska and Highway 24 in Kansas on Dec. 7-8
  • Generally 4-8" of snow within North Central Kansas and near the state line in Nebraska on Feb. 4
  • A very narrow band of heavy snow up to around 10" fell mainly within 15-20 miles of the state line (and especially over Furnas/Harlan counties) on Feb. 22-23
  • On April 13, a narrow band of heavy snow generally 4-8" and strong winds resulted in near-blizzard conditions across parts of several counties mainly north and west of the Tri-Cities. 

  2013-2014 Snowfall Season Event Web Stories
  (Click HERE for archive to all web stories)

   

  Dec. 7-8, 2013	First 2+" Snow of The Season For Much of The Area
  Feb. 4, 2014:	Winter Storm Brings 2-8" of Snow...Highest in Southern Counties
  Feb. 22-23, 2014:	Narrow Band of 6-10" of Snow Targets Areas Near the NE/KS Border
  April 13, 2014:	Narrow Band of Heavy Snow Falls Mainly North/West of The Tri-Cities

  
  Please refer to the graphics and tables below for more details regarding the 2013-2014 season within the NWS Hastings coverage area:

2013-14 Seasonal Snowfall

2013-14 Snowfall Departure From Normal