Update 8 a.m. Tuesday
Lincoln Transportation and Utilities crews continue to treat and plow emergency, school and bus routes. Residential plowing began at 5 p.m. Monday.
Several more inches of snow fell overnight, increasing the total snowfall to about 6 inches in the past two days, according unofficial reports to the National Weather Service.
A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect until noon Tuesday. Additional snow accumulations up to 2 inches and 45 mph wind gusts are possible.
LTU officials said most of Lincoln's streets are snow covered and snow packed with drifting in exposed areas. Drivers should expect reduced visibility from blowing snow and winter driving conditions. Drivers should also allow for extra travel time during the morning commute.
StarTran bus service is expected to run as normal with the possibility of five to 10 minute delays due to weather conditions, officials said.
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The University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus will open at 10 a.m. Tuesday after being closed all day Monday. Students don't return for the spring semester until Jan. 22.
Nebraska Wesleyan University will be closed for the second day in a row.
Update 6:20 p.m.
Lincoln Public Schools called off school Tuesday, extending winter break by another day.
LPS Superintendent Paul Gausman called the district's second snow day of the school year at about 6:20 p.m. Monday.
Students were scheduled to return to the classroom on Monday following a two-week break before Mother Nature granted a reprieve.
Update 4:45 p.m.
Interstate 80 is closed from Grand Island to Lexington (mile marker 312 to 237), according to the Nebraska Department of Roads.
According to a tweet from the Nebraska State Patrol blizzard conditions have made the roads impassable.
Update: 3 p.m.
Lincoln Transportation and Utilities Director Liz Elliott said more than 90 crews are continuing to clear arterial streets and emergency, school and bus routes.
Elliott said 75 additional crew members will begin clearing residential streets at 5 p.m. Monday and continue into Tuesday. Once all the arterials are clear, the other snow crews will help work on residential streets.
Elliott asked that residents refrain from making snow-related requests to the city until arterials and snow routes are clear. People can check the online snowplow tracker to see if crews have been to their area. If not, she said, they may address the problem when they get there.
StarTran services will stop about two and a half hours early Monday. The last drop-off at Gold’s will be at 7:05 p.m. Elliott said most of the late riders are University of Nebraska-Lincoln students and there will be less demand because UNL closed Monday.
For more information on StarTran services, visit or call 402-476-1234. Bus riders can also download the RideLNK app to get real time bus location information.
Lincoln had received roughly 2-3 inches of snow by Monday afternoon, but the National Weather Service was still forecasting an addition 4-7 inches through Tuesday morning.
Update: 1:30 p.m.
The heavy snow and high winds were wreaking havoc with drivers across the state on Monday.
The Nebraska State Patrol reported that as of 1 p.m. it had dealt with about 50 weather-related incidents. That included several instances of semi trucks losing control and jack-knifing on Interstate 80.
The Lincoln Police Department reported 14 crash calls as of 1 p.m, with none of them believed to be serious.
Update: 12 p.m.
The heaviest snow appears to be falling in a band west of Lincoln and east of Grand Island.
The highest snow total reports so far, according to the National Weather Service, are 7 inches in Hebron and Milligan, which are both southwest of Lincoln. Other top snow totals reported were 6.3 inches in Bruning, 6 inches in Utica and 5.3 inches in Columbus.
There were unofficial reports in Lincoln of around 1.5 inches.
Update: 11 a.m.
City officials issued a snow emergency for Lincoln that goes into effect at 1 p.m. That declaration also includes two parking bans that go into effect at 1 p.m.
A residential parking ban prohibits parking on the even-numbered side of the street. The ban allows snowplow crews to clear neighborhood streets faster and more efficiently. A residential parking ban applies to streets that are not emergency snow routes, arterials or bus routes or included in a snow removal district.
A snow emergency parking ban means parking is banned on both sides of emergency snow routes, arterial streets, school and bus routes. Maps of these routes are available at under the “Parking Bans & Ordinances†tab.
Update: 10:15 a.m.
It wasn't only city offices and schools that decided to close on Monday because of the weather. Several businesses also decided to keep their doors closed.
Lazlo's announced on social media that all its locations will be closed. Another business that decided to stay closed for the day was Sun Valley Lanes & Games.
The YMCA was open Monday morning but said it planned to close all if its locations for the day at noon.
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As the snow began to pile up, so did the cancellations Monday morning.
Lincoln Public Schools canceled classes Sunday night ahead of a winter storm expected to sweep the state and possibly drop the most significant snowfall of the season so far in Lincoln. LPS students had been set to return to classes after a two-week winter break before Superintendent Paul Gausman declared the district’s first snow day of the school year just before 6 p.m. Sunday.
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus announced Monday that it would be closed. All offices were closed and any in-person classes and academic events were canceled. Students weren't scheduled to return to class until Jan. 22, but there are some interim classes.
Nebraska Wesleyan University and Doane University also announced closures.
Lincoln Transportation and Utilities said in a news release its crews were applying granular salt pre-wet with brine to arterial streets as of 5 a.m.
The city on Monday announced that all Lincoln City Libraries and Aging Partners Senior Centers in Lincoln and Lancaster County are closed.
StarTran bus service was expected to run as normal with the possibility of five to 10-minute delays due to weather conditions.
The National Weather Service in Valley on Sunday issued a winter storm warning for central and eastern Nebraska, including Lancaster County, starting at 6 a.m. Monday through noon Tuesday. Snow began falling shortly before 8 a.m. Monday in Lincoln.
Lincoln could potentially see 8 to 12 inches of snow, according to the weather service. There is a 91% chance Lincoln could see at least 6 inches of snow and a 72% chance of at least 8 inches.
Much of eastern Nebraska could see similar totals, according to the bulletin for the winter storm warning.
Lincoln could see snowfall rates of greater than 1 inch an hour at times, which could affect visibility, according to weather service meteorologist Becky Kern. Brief periods of snowfall greater than 2 inches an hour are possible in Southeast Nebraska as well.
“Just the rate of snowfall is going to be concerning,†Kern said.
Visibilities may drop below half a mile during the heaviest snow, particularly Monday afternoon and night, according to the weather service.
The snow is forecast to continue into the evening before winding down overnight Tuesday.
“By Tuesday morning at 7 a.m., the snowfall is really going to be tapering off,†Kern said. “The thing that will come in next are gusty northwest winds.â€
Winds could gust up to 40 mph Tuesday morning, potentially leading to blowing and drifting snow, especially west of Lincoln.
The Weather Service cautioned that travel “could be very difficult."
Lincoln has seen only about 5 inches of snow this winter, which is below average.
The high temperature in Lincoln is expected to hang in the lower to mid 30s, with a high of 25 degrees forecast for Tuesday.
But that will feel warm compared to what’s coming this weekend. A mass of cold air is expected to bring bitterly cold wind chills and highs in the lower teens and upper single digits starting Friday.
This is a developing story. Stay with for updates.