KIMBALL, Neb. – The first day of winter was very different than the last day of Autumn. At Kimball on Dec. 20, the day was clear and sunny with a high of 63 degrees and a low of 28. Breezes were mild and it was a pleasant day all around; warm and mild enough to open a window or two in the afternoon.
It was a completely different story on Dec. 21, when the daily high of 28 degrees came just after midnight, and the mercury fell below zero before the day was finished. Snow began falling just before 6 a.m. and continued well into the afternoon. The snowfall was mostly light, and only about an inch accumulated, but it was driven before a stiff northerly breeze that produced sub-zero wind chill values throughout the day.
Conditions remained cold and occasionally snowy through Boxing Day, Dec. 26. Temperatures averaged in the teens or below with mostly sub-zero wind chill readings, and 7-8 inches of new snow accumulated.
The sudden transition from autumnal warmth to winter cold may have been very hard on the 2018 winter wheat crop. Little of this fall-seeded wheat had achieved dormancy by the time the mercury fell and it was susceptible to cold injury and mortality. Only time will tell.
In general, livestock seemed to weather the change well. Snow cover has slowed or halted grazing so producers are feeding hay and working hard to keep stock tanks open and water available.

Regional Forecast and Conditions
As of Tuesday morning (Dec. 26), the temperature at sunrise was -2 degrees with calm winds under clear skies. The day was expected to remain clear and cold with mild winds and the air temperature climbing only to about 6 degrees.
A cooling trend with an attendant chance of more widespread snowfall was expected to slowly move into the region beginning on Friday (today). Air temperatures were expected to top out at nearly 40 degrees today, but rise only to 26 tomorrow and 18 on Sunday. Overnight lows were forecast to fall to about 5 degrees tonight and tomorrow night and to -5 degrees on Sunday night. Saturday and Saturday nights may bring widespread but light snowfall. Winds throughout the weekend are expected to be breezy.
New Year’s Day through Wednesday is expected to be slightly warmer and breezier. Daytime temperatures are expected to range in the 20’s with overnight lows falling into the single digits. There is little chance of precipitation in the forecast during this period.
Daytime air temperatures cooled sharply across the region last week. At Kimball the Dec. 19-25 daytime high averaged 31.28, about 18.4 degrees cooler than the previous week. The weekly high temperature was 63 degrees on Dec. 20. Overnight lows cooled sharply as well, averaging 8.0 degrees, about 13.5 degrees cooler than the previous week. The weekly low temperature was -4 degrees on Dec. 24. The weekly mean temperature was 19.64 degrees, about 16 degrees cooler than the previous week, and about 9 degrees cooler than the December average of 28.4 degrees. The long term average high and low temperatures at Kimball for December are 41.7 and 15.0 degrees, respectively.
Widespread but spotty snowfall visited much of the region, with nine of 13 Panhandle stations reporting precipitation during the Dec. 19-25 period. Hemingford reported the most snowfall at 14.5 inches. Kimball reported the most liquid equivalent moisture at 0.71 inches. Liquid equivalent precipitation averaged 0.22 inches for the Panhandle, while snowfall averaged 4.49 inches. Last week’s totals were 0.0 and 0.0 inches respectively.
Soil temperatures cooled from 0.0-4.2 degrees across the Panhandle over the Dec. 19-25 period: (this week/last week/change): Alliance 33.1/37.3 (-4.2) degrees; Gordon 32.7/32.7 (0.0) degrees; Mitchell 35.1/37.0 (-1.9) degrees; Scottsbluff 34.5/35.2 (-0.8); and Sidney 32.1/35.8 (-3.7) degrees.
Winds near Kimball averaged south-southeasterly and generally mild over the Dec. 19-25 period. Gusts for the week averaged 23.85 mph. High gust for the week was 41 mph on Dec. 20.

Dec. 29 Weather Almanac
Here’s an overview of Dec. 29 temperature and precipitation highs, lows, and averages over the preceding 123 years at Kimball. Data is taken from the High Plains Regional Climate Center (www.hprcc.unl.edu), where you can easily find and track data for your own particular location.
Last year: Daily high temperature 39 degrees, overnight low 19 degrees, average temperature 29 degrees. Precipitation 0.00 inches, snowfall zero inches, snow depth zero inches.
The warmest Dec. 29 on record was 68 degrees in 1933. The coolest Dec. 29 high temperature was 7 degrees in 1911. The coldest Dec. 29 overnight low was -14 degrees in 1990. The warmest Dec. 29 overnight low was 35 degrees in 1945. Over the years since 1893 the high temperature on Dec. 29 has averaged 39 degrees, the overnight low 13 degrees, the daily average 26.1 degrees, precipitation has averaged 0.01 inches, snowfall 0.2 inches, snow depth zero inches.
The highest Dec. 29 precipitation total was 0.31 inches liquid equivalent in 1951. The greatest snowfall was 5.5 inches in 2006. Greatest snow depth was 10.0 inches in 1985.
Snow has fallen on Dec. 29 at Kimball 22 times over the last 123 years, with quantities ranging from a trace to 5.5 inches.

U.S. Drought Monitor
(Dec. 21) High Plains: Light precipitation spread across the northern-tier states as a surface front passed through southern Canada and the Northern High Plains. However, the region mostly remained dry during the week. Abnormally dry conditions continued to expand across western Nebraska, reaching into southeastern Wyoming. The entire state of Kansas was now experiencing some level of abnormal dryness
or drought.
West: Heavy snow fell over the Cascades and, after an extended period of dry weather, widespread accumulating snow fell over the central and northern Rockies, however, other areas continued their dry pattern.
With below-average precipitation, abnormally dry conditions spread farther west and northwestward in northern Utah. The dry pattern across the Intermountain West region continued to persist.
Snowpack in southern Colorado has dropped below 50 percent of normal for the season to date, and snowpack in southern Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico was less than 20 percent
of normal.
Across the western slopes of Colorado and southern Utah, the dry conditions were a continuation of a trend since early in the summer, leading to the introduction of severe drought (D2) from the southern Wasatch Range and La Sal Range as well as the southern portion of the lower elevation
in between.
Moderate drought (D1) expanded eastward in western Colorado where there was generally less than 60 percent of normal snowpack for the cold season to date and temperatures have been much warmer than normal in November and early Dec.. Additionally, abnormally dry conditions expanded in eastern Moffat County and Routt County, and in Summit County and southern Grand County. Snowpack for the water year to date was in the tenth percentile or below at Summit Ranch, Copper Mountain, and Berthoud Summit (Colorado).
The footprint of moderate drought expanded west across La Paz County in southwestern Arizona into eastern San Bernardino and Riverside Counties in California.

National Summary: Snow fell across most of the Northeast, but it was dry across most of the contiguous United States, with much of the country receiving less than 0.10 inch of precipitation and many areas receiving nothing at all.
Part of the South, from eastern Texas to western Alabama, did receive more than an inch of rain, with locally heavier amounts, which helped improve dry conditions.
Temperatures were generally below average across the eastern third of the U.S. and above average across most of the western two-thirds. Warmth was notable in eastern Montana and the Dakotas where temperatures were up to 20 degrees above normal.
Temperatures around 5-10 degrees above normal in the central U.S., an area that continued to see dry conditions this past week. In general, drought expanded across parts of the West, Southern Plains, Midwest, Southeast, and Mid-Atlantic and contracted across part of the South.

For more information on the U.S. Drought Monitor visit: http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu

U.S. Conditions and Weather Report
Due to the federal holiday, this report was not available at press time.