OSMOND — Back-to-back winter storms played havoc on the community and the state as Winter Storm Finn dropped 5-6 inches of snow here last Monday and Tuesday, followed by a severe drop in temperatures and Winter Storm Gerri dropping more snow starting Thursday.
Along with the snow that Gerri brought, the cold temperatures and the wind called for a Winter Storm Warning and Wind Chill Warning that lasted through the weekend.
Saturday’s high was around -12 with a wind chill of -44 degrees.
The overnight low on Saturday was -18 degrees with a wind chill of -42 degrees.
barely cleared the streets and roads from the first storm when the sec ond one came through. The Winter Storm Warning that was to only last through Friday was extended to 6 p.m. Saturday.
But even though the snow and the wind had stopped by then, most roads throughout eastern Nebraska were impassable. On Saturday, Governor Jim Pillen issued a state of emergency declaration.
“This event has had widespread impacts,” Gov. Pillen said. “State and local law enforcement are responding to calls from stranded drivers and road workers are doing their best to reopen closed highways and local roads. This is also having a significant impact on our farmers and ranchers, who are trying to keep
WINTER STORMS CLOSE DOWN SCHOOLS, ROADS animals warm and fed and get their products delivered.”
The emergency declaration allowed the state to seek assistance from South Dakota through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact. As a result, Nebraska will receive two truck-mounted blowers and two loader blowers as well as crew support.
Meanwhile, closer to home, the Osmond city crew was working to clear city streets. The snow has been piling up at the baseball field area, but the city streets are mostly clear.
School kids, who celebrated snow days last Monday and Tuesday, went back to school on Wednesday, but were let out early on Thursday and had another snow day on Friday as the snowstorm passed through, and all activities were postponed to a later date. This Monday was a teacher in-service day, but school was also closed on Tuesday because of unsafe road conditions and extreme cold.
Many businesses in the area were closed on Friday and Saturday as well, including Security Bank, 3rd Street Bar & Grill and Osmond Pharmacy. Osmond Mini Mart closed early Friday and opened late Saturday, but opted to stay open Saturday night.
Luke and Kayla Hart closed early Thursday and Friday, but stayed open otherwise — they could not get home, so stayed at the local hotel and kept the business open for their customers.
As this article is being written Tuesday morning, many roads across northeast Nebraska are still impassable or reduced to one lane, and the Wind Chill Warning is to remain in effect until noon. For the first time in days, the temperature is forecast to reach above zero, with a high of 13 degrees.
For the rest of the week, the temperatures will be fairly normal for January, with a high of about 20 degrees on Wednesday and single digits for the rest of the week before climbing up to the 20s and 30s from Sunday into next week.
As of Tuesday morning, the forecast calls for a 77% chance of snow on Thursday with accumulations of 1 to 3 inches.
