Dangerous weather plagued much of Nebraska Jan. 11 and 12, leaving many Seward County residents stuck in their homes for a couple of days.
Gov. Jim Pillen declared a state of emergency Saturday, Jan. 13, requesting assistance from neighboring states and opening the state’s emergency funds to help clear roads and rescue stranded motorists.
Pillen said livestock and farming operations have been hit especially hard.
The storm was the second large snowfall in the span of one week.
Parts of Seward County experienced 6 to 9 inches of accumulation on Monday and Tuesday, Jan. 8 and 9, and another 5 inches between Thursday and Friday, Jan. 11 and 12.
Because of high wind gusts, blowing snow drifted several feel high in some areas, especially along roadways.
Weekend temperatures ranged from -3°F as the high on Saturday to -18°F for Sunday’s low, and wind chills fell as low as -44°F according to the National Weather Service.
On Friday night, Jan. 12, Seward County announced its road department would stop attempting to clear county roads until weather conditions improved.
“With the persistent wind, frigid temperatures, drifting snow and the poor visibility, they are unable to safely go out and clear roads,” County Commissioner Misty Ahmic said Saturday morning.
Plows were available to assist only with emergencies.
Likewise, the Seward County Sheriff’s Department said it would no longer send deputies to assist with stranded motorist calls, only emergencies, until conditions improved.
The Nebraska State Patrol said troopers were busy with the back-to-back storms.
“So far this week, troopers responded to well over 550 weather-related incidents on the road,” NSP said on Jan. 11. “Troopers have performed 451 motorist assists, responded to 57 crashes, and assisted other agencies with 68 incidents.”
Additional snow Friday caused that number to rise, with troopers responding to another 200 motorist calls on Friday alone, when falling and blowing snow was at its peak, and even more calls on Saturday as motorists attempted the roads – bringing the total response to more than 1,000 weather-related calls. Motorists accounted for 996 of those calls the NSP said.
“This storm impacted a large portion of the state with heavy snowfall, blizzard conditions, and ice-covered roadways,” said Col. John Bolduc, superintendent of the Nebraska State Patrol. “While our troopers were busy responding to slide-offs, stranded motorists, and crashes, we’d also like to thank NDOT (the Nebraska Department of Roads) and local plow crews for their work to make roadways safe for travel.”
In Seward, city crews focused only on main streets and emergency routes on Friday, as blowing and drifting snow quickly recovered routes as soon as they were cleared. Residential and side streets were cleared later in the weekend.
County crews began clearing roads with a single pass on Sunday morning, at times encountering drifts over 6 feet high, according to officials.
NSP and county agencies urged residents to stay home and off the roads.
Weekend school activities across the county were cancelled or postponed, and many downtown businesses were closed.
