Spring snow shatters records, makes for amazing creation on front lawn
By
Mark Puleo, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Apr 17, 2020 6:37 PM EDT
A powerful snowstorm rolled over Omaha, Nebraska, on April 16 causing the city to get covered in multiple inches of snow.
Despite the calendar reading mid-April and Americans preparing to stow away their winter jackets, winter hit rewind on 2020, dumping record-breaking snow totals on the High Plains region Thursday night.
Through Friday morning, that snow turned treacherous in its path towards the East Coast, causing traffic hazards in the Great Lakes region.
In Nebraska, daily snow total records were smashed in cities like Lincoln and Grand Island following Thursday's spring storm. Farther east, by the border of Iowa, numerous areas around Omaha topped 5 inches, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
A person collects food distributed by the Food Bank of Lincoln to his car as others behind await their turn, during a spring snow storm in Lincoln, Neb., Thursday, April 16, 2020. Nebraska's unemployment claims were still far above average last week, according to new numbers released Thursday. Nebraska set record highs for three straight weeks as state officials imposed new social-distancing restrictions on business and residents hunkered down at home to keep the virus from spreading. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
Amid the coronavirus pandemic that has shut most of the world in their homes, the surprise spring snow helped some families share comic relief with creations of snowmen wearing facemasks and a huge roll of snow toilet paper.
Omaha's previous snowfall record for April 16 was 0.5 of an inch. At the Omaha Eppley International Airport, 5.4 inches were recorded.
That snow may have aided police in a chase on Friday morning after the driver of a stolen pickup got stuck in the snow, according to KETV.com. The vehicle was initially stolen in Omaha, and video footage showed the driver struggling to get the truck out of the snow during a standoff with officers.
In the southern portion of Iowa, the snow fell even harder early Friday morning. Over a dozen different locations picked up over 10 inches of snow in the state, led by Bedford's 13.5 inches.
Heavy, wet snow fall across Iowa on Thursday night and Friday morning. (Twitter/@NWSDesMoines)
The heavy blanket of snow fell over the states following a rush of freezing air that broke record low temperatures in Denver, Colorado.
"A developing area of low pressure in the southern Plains interacted with a rather cold air mass diving into the Great Plains," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brett Rossio said.
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"A swath of heavy snow broke out across Nebraska and Iowa with storm totals ranging between 6 and 10 inches in many places. Reports around Omaha, Nebraska, came in around 7 or 8 inches total."
On Friday morning, the snow continued through the northern portions of Illinois and Indiana, triggering reports of accidents throughout the Great Lakes region.
In northwestern Indiana, an accident left one car flipped over on the side of the road, according to a photo shared by Sgt. Glen Fifield on Twitter. Sgt. Fifield also reported another rollover on Interstate-65 early Friday morning.
This week proved to be a snowy one for much of the middle of the country
The snow that blanketed Boulder, Colorado, helped break a record that had stood for more than a century. The city was buried under about a foot of snow from the latest storm, pushing its seasonal total to 145.9 inches, an accumulation eclipsed the old seasonal snowfall record of 142.9 inches from 1908-09.
And on Sunday, snow that fell across the northern U.S. and Rockies had Easter looking more like Christmas, many people observed on social media.
A rolled over car was one of numerous accidents in the Great Lakes Region on Friday morning thanks to the heavy snowfall. (Twitter/@ISPLowell2)
After finishing its blanketing of the Plains on Friday, the snow swept eastward into the interior Northeast. A narrow corridor from the southern tier of New York and northern and central Pennsylvania to southeastern New England picked up 1-3 inches of snow with localized amounts of 3-6 inches Friday into Friday night.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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News / Winter Weather
Spring snow shatters records, makes for amazing creation on front lawn
By Mark Puleo, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Apr 17, 2020 6:37 PM EDT
A powerful snowstorm rolled over Omaha, Nebraska, on April 16 causing the city to get covered in multiple inches of snow.
Despite the calendar reading mid-April and Americans preparing to stow away their winter jackets, winter hit rewind on 2020, dumping record-breaking snow totals on the High Plains region Thursday night.
Through Friday morning, that snow turned treacherous in its path towards the East Coast, causing traffic hazards in the Great Lakes region.
In Nebraska, daily snow total records were smashed in cities like Lincoln and Grand Island following Thursday's spring storm. Farther east, by the border of Iowa, numerous areas around Omaha topped 5 inches, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
A person collects food distributed by the Food Bank of Lincoln to his car as others behind await their turn, during a spring snow storm in Lincoln, Neb., Thursday, April 16, 2020. Nebraska's unemployment claims were still far above average last week, according to new numbers released Thursday. Nebraska set record highs for three straight weeks as state officials imposed new social-distancing restrictions on business and residents hunkered down at home to keep the virus from spreading. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
Amid the coronavirus pandemic that has shut most of the world in their homes, the surprise spring snow helped some families share comic relief with creations of snowmen wearing facemasks and a huge roll of snow toilet paper.
Omaha's previous snowfall record for April 16 was 0.5 of an inch. At the Omaha Eppley International Airport, 5.4 inches were recorded.
That snow may have aided police in a chase on Friday morning after the driver of a stolen pickup got stuck in the snow, according to KETV.com. The vehicle was initially stolen in Omaha, and video footage showed the driver struggling to get the truck out of the snow during a standoff with officers.
In the southern portion of Iowa, the snow fell even harder early Friday morning. Over a dozen different locations picked up over 10 inches of snow in the state, led by Bedford's 13.5 inches.
Heavy, wet snow fall across Iowa on Thursday night and Friday morning. (Twitter/@NWSDesMoines)
The heavy blanket of snow fell over the states following a rush of freezing air that broke record low temperatures in Denver, Colorado.
"A developing area of low pressure in the southern Plains interacted with a rather cold air mass diving into the Great Plains," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brett Rossio said.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
"A swath of heavy snow broke out across Nebraska and Iowa with storm totals ranging between 6 and 10 inches in many places. Reports around Omaha, Nebraska, came in around 7 or 8 inches total."
On Friday morning, the snow continued through the northern portions of Illinois and Indiana, triggering reports of accidents throughout the Great Lakes region.
In northwestern Indiana, an accident left one car flipped over on the side of the road, according to a photo shared by Sgt. Glen Fifield on Twitter. Sgt. Fifield also reported another rollover on Interstate-65 early Friday morning.
This week proved to be a snowy one for much of the middle of the country
The snow that blanketed Boulder, Colorado, helped break a record that had stood for more than a century. The city was buried under about a foot of snow from the latest storm, pushing its seasonal total to 145.9 inches, an accumulation eclipsed the old seasonal snowfall record of 142.9 inches from 1908-09.
And on Sunday, snow that fell across the northern U.S. and Rockies had Easter looking more like Christmas, many people observed on social media.
A rolled over car was one of numerous accidents in the Great Lakes Region on Friday morning thanks to the heavy snowfall. (Twitter/@ISPLowell2)
After finishing its blanketing of the Plains on Friday, the snow swept eastward into the interior Northeast. A narrow corridor from the southern tier of New York and northern and central Pennsylvania to southeastern New England picked up 1-3 inches of snow with localized amounts of 3-6 inches Friday into Friday night.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo