Published Monday
December 11, 2000 

Pre-Holiday Delivery: Package of Snow, Cold 

BY JAKE BLEED

WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
 

The North Pole will send more than Santa's toys to the Midlands this month. 

Forecasters at the National Weather Service say the wintry weather that moved into the region on Sunday is an arctic import that will leave the state beneath a blanket of snow and hold high temperatures to just above zero. 

"The cold air will be in place and the winds may even get stronger," said Gary Wiese, a forecaster at the National Weather Service in Valley. "And it looks like we'll have some bitterly cold wind chills." 

Most of the Panhandle and a southern section of Nebraska were placed under a winter storm warning for Sunday and today as forecasters predicted heavy snowfall. 

Parts of the Panhandle could receive up to 10 inches of snow by this morning and most parts of central and northern Nebraska were expected to receive between 2 and 4 inches, according to National Weather Service predictions. 

South-central and southeastern Nebraska could see as much as 7 inches. 

Western Iowa also is expected to receive heavy snowfall. Predicted accumulations range from 2 to 4 inches in northwestern Iowa and 6 to 10 inches in the southwestern part of the state. 

The Omaha metropolitan area and southwestern Iowa were expected to receive between 3 and 5 inches. 

Wiese said snowfall will taper off into occasional flurries by this morning but added that uncommonly cold conditions will remain for most of the week. 

Highs across Nebraska were expected to remain between zero and 5 degrees until Thursday, and Wiese said overnight lows could reach about 10 degrees below zero. 

Winds from the north are expected to reach up to 35 mph today, causing drifting snow and wind chills that could reach 30 degrees below zero, Wiese said. 

Omaha's average temperature for Dec. 11 is a high of 36 degrees and a low of 17. Wiese said, however, that arctic storms are not uncommon around the holidays. 

"It's the time of the year that it just comes surging south into mid-America," Wiese said.