Snow removal efforts underway in communities blanketed by winter storm

Winter Storm Finn blanketed much of eastern Nebraska with snow over the last two days.

Lincoln and Omaha each saw around 5 inches of snow Monday and Tuesday, while other parts of the state saw upwards of one foot.

A spot near Daykin, a village in Saline County, had the storm’s highest measured snowfall in the state of 14.5 inches, according to the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network.

Meanwhile, in Pawnee County, snowfall totals reached more than 13 inches.

County highway superintendent Chris Rouner said it’s the most snow he’s seen in his 13 years on the job and it may take several days before the county roads are cleared.

“Normally with our process, we can get over the entire county within two days,” he said. “This may take a little bit longer. We're seeing some significant drifting.”

Forecasted winds of up to 20 miles per hour and a chance of snow later in the week won’t make things any easier.

“Looking at the forecast, we're kind of not very hopeful,” Rouner said. "The wind is kind of blowing still and I think it's forecast to blow a little bit and maybe calm down right before the next storm comes in. So I'm not quite sure how this is all gonna go, but we're out there in full force and trying our best.”

Parts of Platte County near Columbus also saw more than a foot of snow this week.

Platte County Emergency Management Director Tim Hofbauer said stuck vehicles were initially the department’s biggest issue. But as snow has continued to pile up, finding a place to put all of it has been particularly challenging.

“There's so much snow that it's got to be on piles,” he said. “Especially in the downtown area and in other areas that are congested, (we are) trying to find locations to put that snow to get it temporarily put aside.”

Hofbauer said the snow in Columbus will eventually be moved to the Ag Park parking lot where it can melt naturally.

More snow is heading toward southeastern Nebraska Thursday night and the National Weather Services gives most of the region around a 50% chance of at least 4 more inches falling before the weekend.