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The weekend storm brought much-needed moisture to the Midlands

18.05.12

"It was a significant snow, because there was not much rain or snow in January, and there had been a bit of a drawdown in terms of moisture," Fech said. "This really was a good wet snow, and because it rained on Friday, there was not much runoff."

Barbara Mayes, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Valley, said Omaha's Eppley Airfield recorded 9.1 inches of snow. Lincoln got 11 inches and Grand Island got 12 inches. Lesser amounts were recorded in Iowa.

How wet was the snow? Mayes said Eppley's snow translated to about eight-tenths of an inch of moisture. Plus, the airport got about .15 of an inch of rain.

Mayes said January was the fifth-driest on record in eastern Nebraska but December "was pretty close to normal" in terms of precipitation. The Omaha area received a 4-inch snowfall on Dec. 3 and .75 of an inch of rain on Dec. 13 and 14.

"This storm (Saturday) went a long way toward getting us to where we need the moisture to be," Mayes said. "It certainly helped out a lot."

Source: Lexington Clipper Herald