Buffalo Gap National Grassland
While the weather was (mostly) crummy during our week plus stay in the Buffalo Gap National Grassland… the scenery was anything but. We were surrounded by buttes and we could even see (in the distance) the Badlands to our east as well as the Black Hills to our west. One good things about the cool (and rainy) weather… the native snakes weren’t very active.
Our weather has also been (mostly) crummy for the bulk of this October. While we won’t be seeing a huge warm spell anytime soon… we can expect mild(er) temperatures through Wednesday (i.e, highs near 60). The next storm system to impact us will arrive Wednesday night into Thursday… and drop us back to around 50 for highs from Friday through the next weekend.
Speaking of the upcoming weekend… Saturday is (of course) Halloween and lots of little ghouls and goblins will be anxiously watching the forecast over the next several days. Right now… it looks like we’ll be dry with temperatures in the mid 40s around sunset on Halloween.
One more bit of good news (for those of us who could use a little extra shut-eye). Daylight Saving Time ends this weekend… so remember to set your clocks BACK one hour before heading to bed Saturday night… otherwise you may end up at services or work an hour ahead of your friends and co-workers Sunday morning.
Chuck McWilliams
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Our Friday is starting off similar to the past several days (cloudy… breezy… and cold with periods of rain)… although the rain is mixed with light sleet and a few snowflakes (especially north and northwest of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro). Several inches of snow fell overnight around Columbus… Norfolk… and Madison… but that should all melt by late Friday afternoon.
For everyone… we can expect the clouds to finally thin out on Friday evening… making for dry (albeit chilly) conditions for high school football action. The clear skies and light winds will set the stage for a cold start to the weekend… with temperatures possibly below freezing by daybreak Saturday.
After a sunny morning… clouds will return by late Saturday afternoon… ahead of our next (quick moving) storm system. With limited moisture…we can expect sprinkles (or light rain) Saturday night into Sunday morning… then decreasing cloudiness to close out the weekend. While our temperatures will be below “average” for late October… highs in the mid to upper 50s on both Saturday and Sunday will feel pretty nice compared to the past several days.
A quick update on weather conditions for Saturday college football games: Partly cloudy with temperatures in the lower 50s for Iowa State @ Nebraska (kickoff at 11:30am); Cloud-sun mix and temps in the upper 50s for Central Missouri @ UNO (kickoff at 1pm); Showers possible with temps in the lower 40s for Iowa @ Michigan State.
Chuck McWilliams
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Mud... Lots of it!!
While the calendar said June… the weather in the Buffalo Gap National Grassland felt more like March. Most of our time in South Dakota was rainy… with highs only in the upper 30s and lower 40s (that’s right… I said HIGHS).
As you can tell from the picture… rain… combined with grassland… topped off with heavy trucks… made a great recipe for mud-making. Our units were composed of the 126th Chemical Battalion (out of Omaha) and the 754th Chemical Company (also from Omaha)… with another Chemical Company from the Montana National Guard falling under our operational control.
Our weather over the next several days will be… ironically… rather similar. We’ll see periods of rain into early Friday morning… with some locations picking up between 1″-2″ rainfall over the next 24-48 hours. Temperatures will also be sliding this Wednesday behind a slow moving cold front… dropping into the lower 50s by late afternoon… followed by highs only in the 40s on Thursday and Friday.
The weather looks a little better over the upcoming weekend… which is good news for college football fans. Nebraska hosts Iowa State this Saturday… with kickoff scheduled for 11:30am under mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 40s. Fans heading down to Lincoln can expect temps to climb to near 60 by the end of the game.
UNO is back home this weekend… with a 1pm matchup against Central Missouri at Al Caniglia Field. Mavs fans should bundle up… as temps in the mid 50s will make for cool conditions in the stands. Fortunately… winds will be light and skies will be partly cloudy. Showers are possible for Iowa Hawkeye fans making the trip to East Lansing, Michigan for their 6pm game at Michigan State. It will be a chilly rain with a kickoff temperature in the mid 40s.
Chuck McWilliams
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Temporary Base
Back in June… my Nebraska Army National Guard unit performed our 2-weeks of annual training. This year… we spent about a week of it in western South Dakota… with most of the remainder in Des Moines for a homeland defense training exercise. Over the next week or so… I’ll post a few pictures (and stories) about the training.
Since many in my unit spent our deployment in Iraq running convoy security missions… it was our first time training with chemical decontamination equipment in quite awhile. The training was good… the scenery fantastic… but the weather was rather crummy. I’ll explain more about the latter in future posts.
About our current weather… while it won’t be “summerlike”… we will have a mild start to this work-week… with highs near 70 on Monday. More clouds Tuesday will knock us back into the mid 60s… with rain developing by Wednesday and lasting into early Friday morning. Those late week showers will cause our highs to drop into the upper 40s and 50s from Wednesday into the next weekend.
Chuck McWilliams
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- Frosty makes an early October visit
It was an early taste of winter this past weekend… as the Omaha metro was treated to one of its heaviest October snowfalls. Eppley Airfield reported 3.5″ of snowfall Saturday morning… while 5.5″ fell at the National Weather Service office in Valley.
Here’s a look at the 10 biggest October snowfalls on record in the Omaha area prior to 2009… noting that #1 was the October snowstorm in 1997 that caused many power outages across eastern Nebraska. This data was compiled by the National Weather Service:
Rank Value Ending Date
1 8.0 10/26/1997
2 7.2 10/31/1941
3 5.7 10/31/1991
4 5.2 10/27/1980
5 4.6 10/17/1898
6 4.5 10/29/1894
7 3.5 10/09/1970
8 3.1 10/19/1916
9 2.8 10/22/1996
10 1.9 10/22/1979
In addition to the white stuff… we also saw record cold temperatures. Omaha tied a record low of 27 on Saturday… but the biggest impact was on high temperatures… as Omaha, Lincoln, and Norfolk all set or tied record cold highs temps both Saturday and Sunday. At Eppley Airfield… the highs were 41 and 40, respectively.
Outside of a light wintry mix early Monday morning… look for lots of clouds to start the work-week… and a continuation of the cold weather. Highs will stay in the 40s through Wednesday… with a gradual warm-up by next weekend (mid 60s this next Sunday).
After our Monday morning precipitation… our next chance of a rain/snow mix will arrive late day Tuesday (mostly rain around the metro… better chance of rain/snow mix north of Omaha). This will be followed by another round of rain (mostly light) from Wednesday into early Thursday.
Chuck McWilliams
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It’s been a wet 24-36 hours in Columbia, Missouri… and I’m not just talking about the tears flowing from Mizzou Tigers fans following the big Huskers win Thursday evening. Nebraska fans watching the game undoubtedly observed the rain (heavy at times) falling during the game. That rain hasn’t ended for them yet and… so far… they’ve picked up 5.11″ of rainfall. Here in Omaha… we just saw .01″ on Thursday.
While our highs this Friday will be around 15 degrees below average for early October… it’s actually going to “feel” pretty nice and (definitely) will be our nicest weather until (maybe) late next week. We’ll see a mix of sun and clouds and (thanks to light winds) our late day temperatures in the mid 50s will make for a comfortable afternoon.
An Arctic front set to arrive overnight will give folks an early taste of winter (i.e, snow chances and very cold). We should see some light snow (mixed with light rain at times) in the metro after 4am Saturday… lasting into late morning. Ground temperatures are still pretty warm… so don’t look for anything more than an inch or so in a few spotty areas… and even that will melt fairly quickly.
Unfortunately… the cold will stick around through the weekend… with highs only in the 30s both Saturday and Sunday. The record cold high temperatures for Omaha are 41 (set in 1872) and 45 (set in 1946) for Saturday and Sunday, respectively, so it could end up being an historically cold weekend. On top of that… occasionally gusty winds will make it feel even colder. After our taste of wintry precipitation early Saturday… we could see another light mix of rain and snow late Sunday afternoon into Sunday night.
The cold weather will make for a chilly homecoming game at UNO as the Mavericks host Washburn for a 1pm kickoff at Al Caniglia Field. Gametime temps will be in the upper 30s with wind chill values in the mid to upper 20s. Fortunately… any light snow will be over by the time fans are wrapping up their tailgate activities.
Skies still look mostly cloudy for the Iowa State Cyclones and their 11:30am kickoff against Kansas down in Lawrence… with temperatures in the lower 40s. Hawkeye fans… thanks to a late kickoff… 7:05pm… can expect even cooler conditions. Temps will be in the mid to upper 30s under mostly cloudy skies as Iowa hosts the Michigan Wolverines. That big Big 10 matchup can be seen on KETV Channel 7.
Chuck McWilliams
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After a chilly start to our Wednesday… with most locations seeing lows in the mid 30s… a strong south-southwest breeze will let us climb into the lower 70s by mid-afternoon. While those temperatures are just “average” for early October… it’s also the warmest we’ll be until (maybe) late next week.
The first in a series of cold fronts will approach the area Wednesday night and… combined with increasing amounts of moisture… will set the stage for showers to develop early Thursday morning… lasting into the evening. The rain will be heavier to our south… with Flood Watches in effect for most of central and southern Missouri on Thursday (more on that a bit later on…).
Friday looks quiet (albeit very cold)… but a couple of quick moving systems will bring slight chances of a rain/snow mix Saturday morning and again on Sunday afternoon. Either way… the weather looks very cold from Friday through next Tuesday… with highs in the 40s and 50s and lows in the upper 20s and 30s.
Back to Missouri… on Thursday… which happens to be the location and time of a significant Big 12 football match-up between the Huskers and Missouri Tigers. Kickoff is set for 8pm and… right now… rain looks likely (maybe heavy) with thundershowers even possible. Combine the wet conditions with temperatures only in the 50s and fans heading to Columbia would be advised to bring an appropriate wardrobe.
After three weeks on the road… the UNO Mavericks will be back at Al Caniglia Field this Saturday for a 1pm Homecoming game against Washburn. Mavs fans can expect lots of clouds along with temps only around 40 (steady north winds… unfortunately… will create wind chill temperatures in the upper 20s).
Finally… for football fans from Iowa… chilly (but dry) weather is expected for games involving Iowa and Iowa State. The Cyclones will travel to Lawrence for an 11:30am kickoff Saturday against Kansas. Skies will be partly cloudy and temps will be around 50.
Michigan will be in Iowa City for a prime-time matchup against the Hawkeyes. Fans planning on attending Iowa’s Homecoming game can expect partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid to upper 40s. Kickoff is set for a 7:05pm and can be seen on KETV Channel 7.
Chuck McWilliams
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Our chilly start to October got even colder Sunday morning… when Omaha saw its earliest freeze since 2004 (Eppley Airfield reported a low of 32). Lincoln actually tied a record low of 29, previously set in 1999. Right now… it looks like temperatures may remain below average for another couple of weeks.
An area of low pressure moving out of the Rockies will spread a thick deck of clouds across the viewing area on Monday… with showers (and even a few thundershowers) possible into early Tuesday morning. Drier air will dominate our weather from Tuesday through Wednesday night (along with a slight warming trend).
The milder temperatures will be short-lived… however… as a strong Arctic front will dive into the Plains toward the next weekend. We can expect periods of rain to close this work-week… and much colder weather for the weekend (highs in the lower 50s and lows in the 30s).
As for this week’s college football action… the Huskers have a Thursday evening match-up at Missouri. Fans heading down to Columbia may have to contend with thundershowers with kickoff (8pm) temps in the mid 50s.
Other key area games on Saturday include Washburn at UNO (partly cloudy with temps around 50 for the 1pm kickoff)… Iowa State at Kansas (mostly sunny and upper 40s at the 11:30am kickoff in Lawrence)… and Michigan at Iowa (mid 40s under partly cloudy skies for the 7:05pm kickoff). The latter game is a major Big 10 matchup and can be seen on KETV Channel 7.
Chuck McWilliams
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Before expounding upon our forecast… I wanted to pass along a bit of local weather trivia. On this date in 1961… Omaha had its first September snowfall in 70 years. It was very little accumulation… but a reminder for us of what we’ll be seeing a few weeks down the road.
So… no snow in our immediate future… but it will turn much cooler over the next several days. Wednesday will be our final “mild” day… with highs in the lower to mid 70s… although a strong southeast breeze will make it feel a bit chilly.
Clouds will thicken up Wednesday evening… with showers and even a few strong thunderstorms possible early Thursday morning. The biggest threat from any storms that develop will be large hail… generally between 3am and 8am on Thursday.
After the first round of rain moves through… we’ll see another chance of rain late Thursday as a cool front pushes across the area. Behind that front… we can expect occasional showers… gusty winds… and much cooler weather into the upcoming weekend. Folks planning on attending any high school football action Friday evening should plan their wardrobe accordingly.
Outside of a slight chance of rain early Saturday morning and late Sunday evening… the weekend looks dry… albeit chilly. The Race for the Kids… being held at the ConAgra Foods Campus in downtown Omaha Saturday at 9am should be okay… although a northwest breeze will make temperatures in the mid 40s feel even cooler.
The winds will be lighter on Sunday morning… for those participating in the Race for the the Cure at the Omaha Civic Auditorium… but it will remain on the chilly side. Look for temps around 40 for the 1-mile walk at 8am and the 5K run/walk at 8:30am. The bottom line… bundle up and keep warm!
Chuck McWilliams
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After a pleasant weekend (outside of the gusty winds Sunday afternoon)… with sunshine and highs in the 70s and lower 80s… look for a big change to start this work-week. Those same northwest winds (which gusted to over 40 mph late Sunday) are ushering in much cooler weather… with highs expected to be only in the 60s through Tuesday. In fact… our forecasted low of 38 on Tuesday morning will be our coldest temperature since April 28th (5 months)!!
Winds turning to the southeast by mid-week will bring us a brief warm-up for Wednesday (highs back in the 70s)… but a strong storm system will set us up for periods of rain from late Wednesday night into the next weekend. With the clouds and showers… highs will generally be in the 60s from Thursday through Sunday.
Chuck McWilliams
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