Eastern Nebraska could see heavy snow this weekend

Parts of eastern Nebraska could see close to a foot of snow as the first major winter snowstorm of the season gets set to blow through the state late Friday night and into Saturday.

Snow was already falling Friday afternoon in parts of northeast Nebraska, but the heaviest snow was forecast to fall Friday night into Saturday.

The National Weather Service said some areas of the northeastern part of the state could see 10-11 inches of snow. For example, Hartington is forecast to get anywhere from 6-10 inches, while Tekamah could see 7-11 inches.

The amount of snow forecast generally decreases the farther west and south you go. Omaha could see 4-8 inches, Lincoln and Grand Island are forecast to get 2-5 inches, while areas west of Kearney are likely to see an inch or two at most.

About a dozen counties, including Douglas and Sarpy counties, are in a winter storm warning through Saturday night because of the possibility of several inches of snow and winds that could gust up to 35 miles an hour. Omaha postponed the Holiday Lights Festival's lighting ceremony was postponed from Saturday to Sunday.

Much of the state, and area stretching from Richardson County in far southeastern Nebraska to Sioux County in the northwest corner of the Panhandle, was in a winter weather advisory as of Friday afternoon. Those areas, which include Lincoln, Norfolk, Grand Island and North Platte, will likely see slightly less snow, but wind speeds will be just as high.

The weather service, in a bulletin, said, “Travel will be very difficult. Plan on hazardous road conditions and reduced visibility.”

The weather service also said that temperature could play a big role in how much snow some areas get. On the southern side of the storm, such as in Omaha and Lincoln, a single degree warmer than forecast could mean more rain and less snow.

The snow will be followed by some of the coldest weather of the season, with highs Sunday and Monday expected to be in the teens and 20s for much of the state, while lows will fall into the single digits in many areas.