Winter storm hammers eastern Nebraska

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By the Lincoln Journal Star

March roared into eastern Nebraska like the proverbial lion Thursday, with heavy snow and strong winds shutting down highways, schools, businesses and airlines.

The Lincoln airport reported 6.6 inches of snow, and by early afternoon, the Omaha area had received as much as a foot of snow, with winds as high as 58 mph.

All Lincoln-area schools closed, including Lincoln Public Schools,  the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and all other colleges.

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A Lincoln neighborhood is draped in snow Thursday morning. (Ted Kirk)

Related Link(s):

Current conditions and forecast
Road conditions
Lincoln radar
Rural residents advised: Stay home
State tournament games go on as planned
Stories from the snow day
City: No parking ban

Send us your snow photos

Do you have photos of Thursday's winter storm you'd like everyone to see? Send them to us at ssmith@journalstar.com and we'll share them with our online readers.

LES restores power to most areas of the city

Between 200 and 300 customers were still without power by mid-morning as Lincoln Electric System crews continued to fix downed power lines.

“It’s slow going because there are so many little outages,” said LES spokesman Russ Reno.

Ice, heavy snow and strong winds caused power outages all across Lincoln early Thursday morning and left at least 5,000 people without electricity.

Power was restored to most affected areas by 8 a.m., Reno said, and crews were focusing on downed lines leading to single homes or clusters of homes.

Reno said it could be late this afternoon before power is fully restored to all customers.

LES dispatched crews immediately after the utility began to get outage calls at about 3:30 a.m. “We got everybody out there as soon as we could,” he added.

The city-owned utility averaged about 400 outage calls per hour early this morning but those calls dropped to about 60 per hour by 8 a.m., Reno said.

Ice and heavy snow and winds gusting to 30 mph caused lines to sag and slap into each other, which caused the power outages, Reno said. Tree branches laden with heavy snow also fell into some lines.

Winds were expected to gust to 41 mph this afternoon which could cause further problems.

Reno said the utility will have crews on hand to deal with any outages tonight.

-- Algis J. Laukaitis

Legislature’s public hearings postponed

Senators voted to suspend public hearings scheduled for Thursday afternoon because so many senators were absent due to the storm.

The public hearings will be rescheduled, said Sen. Mike Flood of Norfolk.

Flights on -- and off

It could be tough to get to the Lincoln Municipal Airport Thursday, but runways are open, executive director John Wood said.

“Call before leaving and allow extra time to get to the airport,” he said. “Getting here is as much or more of a problem than flying out.”

Northwest Airlines canceled all flights, mostly because of worse weather in Minneapolis, Wood said.

All other airlines are operating but travelers should expect delays.

“Weather and air traffic control issues are our biggest concern right now,” he added.

Cancellations & Postponements

Nebraska Innovation Zone Commission

The monthly meeting of the Nebraska Innovation Zone Commission tonight at Mahoney State Park has been cancelled and rescheduled for 7 p.m. March 15 at the park’s main lodge.

Snowstorm stories

• Winter storm hammers eastern Nebraska
• City: No parking ban
• Teams trek through snow to get to tourney
• Is there always snow during state tournaments?
• For some, snow day is a chance to get out
• Bandmasters convention canceled after storm
• Closed roads add to tournament travel angst
• 23,000 college students, free for a day
• Friday: Expect more blow than snow

Power outages had left about 5,000 Lincoln Electric Service customers without electricity early Thursday morning. By mid-morning, crews had restored power to almost everyone, but strong winds continued to cause problems for the utility throughout the day.

About 7 a.m. Thursday, the Nebraska State Patrol and Department of Roads declared Interstate 80 from Omaha to Utica closed, along with Nebraska 2 from Nebraska City to Lincoln and U.S. 77 from the Kansas line to Wahoo.

Patrol spokeswoman Deb Collins said the departments needed motorists off the road temporarily so the departments could clear the highways of accidents, slide-offs and jackknifed trucks, then reopen the roads to traffic, including thousands of Nebraskans following their home teams to the State Girls Basketball Tournament in Lincoln.

The Interstate reopened at 3:30 p.m., but travel wasn’t recommended.

“Motorists can expect heavy traffic and dangerous winter driving conditions, with blowing snow and high winds causing reduced visibility,” Collins said.

Troop A Captain Tom Schwarten said there still were lots of stranded and stalled vehicles along the Interstate between Omaha and Lincoln.

Travel conditions remained difficult, he said Thursday afternoon.

“We want to encourage everyone to slow down, and give themselves plenty of time to react to others on the road. The bottom line remains if you don’t have to travel, please don’t,” Schwarten said.

Collins encouraged motorists to travel conditions by dialing 511. The system can also be accessed via the internet at www.nsp.state.ne.us; click on “511 Traveler Information” in the Quick Links box. 

The city of Lincoln was to decide by 4:30 Thursday whether to declare a snow emergency, which would ban vehicles from street curbs to help plowing.

Additional information on the city’s snow-clearing plan is available on the City Web site at lincoln.ne.gov and in  Windstream phone directories.

 Lincoln police dealt with stalled and stuck cars and trucks almost more than accidents.

Capt. Jim Thoms said police were called to 10th and High streets and Northwest 48th and Holdrege, among other locations, about stalled trucks and cars.

“We’re having our share of accidents, too,” he said.

His advice? If you don’t have to go out, don’t. If you do, allow plenty of time.

Thoms said it helped that all the city’s schools have closed.

“The street crews are doing the best they can,” he said. “But it’s snowing, it’s blowing and there’s a sheet of ice under there.”

Blowing snow was hampering efforts to clear streets in Omaha. The city reported that snow plows had to clear major routes often, allowing less time in residential areas.

Omaha businesses were urged to send workers home early to reduce rush-hour traffic.

The storm was expected to taper off around sunset Thursday, with just a few flurries remaining. Heavy winds gusting 35 to 40 mph were expected to continue overnight and Friday.

Among other events, the storm forced the cancellation of the U.S. Navy Band concert, scheduled Thursday at the Lied Center.