It's apparently time to pay the price for what's been a mostly mild fall and winter so far.
The National Weather Service is forecasting 6-8 inches of snow for Lincoln on Saturday, and even higher amounts -- 8-12 inches -- for areas of Southeast Nebraska.
Forecasters are so confident there will be significant snow in the area that they're giving Lincoln a 61% chance of at least 6 inches. Areas farther south have even better odds, with a 79% chance of 6 inches in Beatrice and an 84% chance in Falls City, according to information presented at a webinar Friday afternoon.
Much of central, eastern and southern Nebraska is under a winter storm warning. The warning starts at midnight Saturday in some areas and at 3 a.m. in others, including Lancaster County, and it continues until midnight Sunday. Forecasters said areas along and south of Interstate 80 will see the heaviest snow.
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Much of the rest of the state is under a winter weather advisory, and some areas also are under a wind chill warning.
Corey Mead, a meteorologist at the weather service in Valley, said the heaviest snow is likely to fall between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday, with rates of 1 to 1½ inches per hour possible in some areas south of I-80.
The snow, combined with high winds and very low temperatures, will lead to dangerous conditions.
“Travel could be very difficult,†the weather service said in a bulletin. “Blowing and drifting snow will reduce visibility and create treacherous travel conditions.â€
The forecast for Saturday calls for a high of only 6 degrees and a low of minus 10 in Lincoln. Combined with sustained winds of around 20 mph and gusts of 30-35 mph, wind chills could fall to 20-30 degrees below zero. Wind chill temperatures that low can cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes, the weather service said.
Mead said the snow will be light and fluffy, meaning it will blow around easily and create major problems with visibility, which could be reduced to zero in some areas.
The storm will bring the first significant snowfall to Lincoln in more than 10 months. The last time the city saw at least 4 inches of snow in a day was on Feb. 7. February also was the last time Lincoln had single-digit high temperatures and lows below zero.
City street crews began treating Lincoln’s arterial streets at 4 a.m. Friday with an anti-ice brine solution. The city said on its official Twitter account that its Traffic Management department will monitor weather conditions overnight Friday and will have crews standing by ready to plow streets.
A snow emergency parking ban was issued Friday, effective at 3 a.m. Saturday, which bans parking on both sides of emergency snow routes, bus routes and other major arterial streets.
Also, a residential parking ban will go into effect at noon Saturday, with parking on even-numbered sides of the street banned in 2022.
The severe winter weather will likely come as a shock to many people after one of the warmest Decembers in Lincoln’s history. As of Friday, the average temperature for the month was running nearly 8 degrees above normal, ranking it as the fifth-warmest December in recorded history and the warmest in more than 60 years. The high temperature was above average on 26 days, and the city set three record highs.
January is forecast to start out colder than normal. After Saturday, temperatures are expected to rebound a bit, with highs of 21 on Sunday, 35 on Monday and 40 on Tuesday. Then another system is likely to move in, ushering in colder temperatures and another chance of snow.