Many people were very upset or happy to see that the ground was empty when they looked out the windows. It did snow a few times Saturday night, but not enough to make a snowball.
There was no snow in Omaha or anywhere north or east of it. But for some people in our viewing area, it was a different story. It snowed a lot in one town, maybe the most ever! What took place?
Just two words: dry air. We were in the middle of a winter storm in the south and cold air in the north. In the middle were eastern Nebraska and western Iowa.
The way these systems were steered brought air from the northeast, which is also known as dry Canada. The dry air from the north would meet the wetter air from the south, and a battle would start. We all know that in the end, the dry air won. The storm’s path was too far to the south for enough rain to cover the dry air, so many lawns were left without grass.
This was the sad news in Omaha and the north. Where did the snow fall? We thought there would be a sharp difference in the amount of snow falling in the north, and there was. Nebraska City got about 1″, Auburn got just under 4″, and Falls City went up to an amazing 16″. It really did snow 16 inches in Falls City, which is only 90 minutes away by car from Omaha.
This was a huge amount of snow for Falls City. According to records kept at Brenner Field (Falls City Airport) from 1912 to 2003, it was one of the biggest snows ever:
1. 17″ – March 4-5, 1915
2. 15″ – Dec 23-24, 1935
3. 14.5″ – March 5-6, 1948
4. 13″ – Dec 24- 25, 1948
5. 12.5″ – Feb 12-13, 1978
Even though it is not official, the 16″ of snow that fell in the city on January 4-5, 2025, makes it the second-biggest snow event in Falls City’s history!
Heading south of our neighborhoods into Kansas and Missouri, the winter storm showed its full fury. Up to 18″ of snow fell in northeast Kansas, paralyzing the region and prompting emergency services to activate the EAS to urge drivers to be off the roads.
A round of ice in Kansas City brought the city to a standstill, nearly delaying the Chiefs from departing from the airport. Upwards of 12″ of snow and a crippling ice storm moved into Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and to the east coast.
Even though many of our neighborhoods did not get any rain, people along the I-70 corridor of the country were hit hard by the storm.