Monday morning's ill-timed snow could be just the warmup for a bigger winter event later this week.
Light snow combined with some freezing drizzle began falling Monday morning in Lincoln after 6 a.m., just in time to make the morning commute difficult.
As of 3 p.m., the Lincoln Police Department had officially reported 37 accidents. The snow caused slow going for many drivers on slick city streets. The Nebraska Department of Transportation reported crashes near Lincoln on Interstate 80 and U.S. 77.
Because of the conditions, the National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory for much of Southeast Nebraska, including Lincoln. The advisory had been expected to expire at noon but was extended until 6 p.m.
The weather service said in a bulletin that "icing has led to very slick roads and sidewalks."
In Lincoln, the city's Transportation and Utilities Department said in a news release that crews were patrolling arterial routes Monday afternoon and were planning to re-treat refrozen areas with granular salt pre-wet with brine as needed.
Conditions were worse the farther south you got. The state Department of Transportation reported on its website that several highways south of Lincoln, including U.S. 77, were completely covered with snow and/or ice Monday morning.
Monday's weather will likely be a cakewalk, however, compared with what's in the forecast for Wednesday and Thursday.
Much of the eastern two-thirds of the state is in a winter storm watch starting Wednesday night and continuing into Friday.
The weather service said 4-7 inches of snow is possible, with the possibility of wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour, which could lead to "blizzard conditions."
"Travel will be very difficult or impossible. Areas of blowing snow will significantly reduce visibility," the weather service said in a bulletin.
Another complicating factor is that temperatures may not even make it to zero on Thursday in many areas.
The forecast for Lincoln on Thursday is a low of minus-10 and a high of minus-2. Friday's forecast is for a low of minus-14 and a high of zero. Wind chills are forecast to be as low as minus-35 Thursday morning and minus-40 Friday morning.
The weather service also has issued a wind chill warning starting at midnight Thursday and continuing until noon on Saturday.
"The dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes," the weather service said.