Rare October Blizzard Expected to Blast Plains
AP
AP
OMAHA (AP) — Blizzard warnings for southwest Nebraska and northwest Kansas will continue through Thursday evening, a meteorologist said Wednesday.
Kelly James, who works at the National Weather Service office in Goodland, Kan., said the latest meteorological signs point to more rain the rest of Wednesday, turning to snow after midnight as colder air moves in from the north.
Winter storm warnings have been issued for much of western Nebraska, with overnight snow totals expected to range from 5 to 9 inches, with upward of a foot in the McCook area.
Rain was falling over most of the state, prompting flood warnings in south-central and southeast Nebraska.
High winds rocked semitrailers and other high-profile vehicles, with gusts of 47 mph reported in McCook.
Whiteout conditions were expected overnight if the rain indeed turns to snow.
Heavy rain was expected to continue in eastern Nebraska, but no snow was in the forecast.
James said the storm system likely will persist through Thursday evening, which would snag efforts by the state's farmers to catch up on their fall harvest.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that as of Sunday, only 18% of the Nebraska corn crop had been harvested — 24 percentage points behind the 42% last year at this time.
Moist ground also was delaying the soybean harvest, which the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service said was three days behind five-year average of 79%.
Grand Island farmer Billy Leiser told The Grand Island Independent on Tuesday that he had harvested only about 20% of his corn and that the weather forecast "doesn't look very pretty" to him.
"But you know, that's what you do and that's what Mother Nature gives you," he said. "If we just get rain or wind, it will be marginal and hopefully we won't lose too much."
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/storms/winter/2008-10-22-nebraska-snowstorm_N.htm
www.standeyo.com/NEWS/08_Earth_Changes/081022.rare.Oct.blizzard.html