What's Winter Weather in Omaha REALLY like?

[AlmostinOmaha]

Here I am again...considering my potential October move to Omaha. And there's something I want to know about - Winter Weather!
1 - How much does it really snow? How often?
2 - When it snows, what's best to drive? Do you just use a 4 Wheel drive or do you get snow tires for any old car or do you just use chains?
3- When does it start (month) and when does it end - typically?
4 - Are certain areas better than others when it comes to snow removal?
5 - How much does it affect your commute...Say we move to the west, about 20-25 minutes away from DTO...will my hubby's commute time double every day for four months or??? Any feedback is appreciated.
Thanks in advance for your honest feedback. You're talking to 2 people who's idea of bad winter weather is 50 degrees and clouds.

Almost in Omaha

PS- While you're at it...anything i need to know about tornadoes in the Omaha area? Frequency, Severity, Destruction, Time of year, Best type of home to buy, etc?

[Swift]

1)It's not usually as bad as all that. It differs from year to year, but usually what happens is that it snows about two or three inches, and then three or four days later most of it is melted.

2)Drive a four wheel drive if you have one, but don't go buy one if you don't. Also, I don't know anyone who owns snow tires.

3)Typically it starts snowing in November and ends in February, but that's not always the case. I think it was '97 when it snowed early in october (so early that all the leaves were still o nthe trees, causing massive amounts of tree damage which knocked out power around a lot of the city. I was out of school for 10 days strait...it WAS AWESOME!!!!!) and I think it was 1992 when it snowed on my spring break. But those are rareities.

5)I don't think it would double, maybe it would add 50% to the commute time.

Tornado season is roughly may to september, and I think pretty much anyhome you would buy would have a basement (where you go if there is a tornado warning).

We had this discussion on here a few months ago and a lot of people seemed to disagree, but I read some report somewhere that said that tornados rarely hit big cities due to the difference in air pressure above those cities. I can't remember the last time a tornado hit Omaha...I think the last major tornado in Omaha was in '77 or around then. People reference that tornado in a similar manner to the way the refernce the 1906 earthquake in SF.

The good thing about tornados though is that unlike earthquakes, you always have a warning far enough in advance to get to safety.


EDIT: actually it was 1975. http://www.omaha5675.org/

[HskrFanMike]

Most years, we only get a couple of snowstorms where we get more than 7" or so. Every 3 or 4 years, we get a storm with a foot. (Now watch us get hammered...)

As for what to drive, for the most part, a front wheel drive car will get you around just fine, except when that foot of snow hits. Then you'll want 4WD, or just stay home until the plows get out.

The earliest "big" snow storm I remember was a couple of days before halloween, and the latest was mid-April. Surprisingly, that year was the mildest winter we had, no storms in January and February, just the two at Halloween and Easter.

Most years, the first snows occur in November and early December, and are done by middle/end of March.

The closer you live to a main thouroghfare, the better your streets will be. Traffic does wonders for making your streets passable. Snow can double your commute, though I've been in storms where a half-hour drive can take almost 2 hours.

We get about 25-30" of snow each year, but usually only about 4 or 5 snowstorms that cause any disruption.

[edsas]

The city plows the streets, so you definitely don't need chains (might be illegal to drive with chains in the city -- tears up the street) and you don't even need snow tires, really. Just make sure your tires aren't bald and you'll be good to go.

My question for you Omaha guys is how do you manage the hills? I lived in Grand Island and Lincoln, so hills in the winter were never something I had to worry about.

[Omaha Cowboy]

The reports of mucho snow in Omaha are greatly exaggorated..

Omaha has an advantage in that it has pretty dry winters. Sure it gets cold..But the city averages only 25-30 inches of snow each winter..Last year, Omaha had only 16 inches. The year before that, in an unusually heavy year, Omaha had 52 inches..From 1990-2005, the average is about 24 inches..Compared to Minneapolis or Chicago, Omaha gets off usually pretty easy as it relates to frozen precipitation..You could move to Buffalo/Rochester/Syracuse, NY where they AVERAGE about 120 inches of snowfall each winter!..You see some sonw (usually light stuff) in December, but it is sporadic..January thru the middle of March is your best bet to see snow in Omaha..I've always used St Patricks Day as my guide to the normal end to the frozen stuff..By then, the average daily high in Omaha is the lower 50's..I would not stress over winters in Omaha..It is MUCH worse in other places..

Regarding Tornadoes and severe weather..What can I say..Omaha lies within the notorious 'Tornado Alley' that streches from Dallas-Ft Worth, through Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, and Minnesota..While Omaha has not seen a major tornado do major damage since May 6th, 1975 (over 30 years now)..Each Spring/Summer is usually good for multiple tornado/severe thunderstorm warnings/watches..Kind of like the earthquake threat in California, or Hurricanes along the Atlantic Coast or Gulf of Mexico..You get used to it and learn to live with it..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

[loyalomahan]

1. Omaha averages about 32" a year. It can vary significantly from one year to the next. This last year wasn't too bad... the year before last we were dumped on. I'd say an average winter might consist of a couple of 8+" snow falls, a couple of 4" snows, and some dustings in between.

2. The most important thing, is that you drive sensibly. We have plenty of people who DO have 4x4's... who end up in the ditch. A front wheel drive vehicle will usually suffice, a 4x4 will just let you go out sooner before the streets are plowed. I rarely see chains... you can use studded snow tires during the winter months.

3. An early snowfall can come in October (Omahans will 'fondly' remember THE October storm). Late snowfalls can occur in April. November through March are the months when anything can happen.

4. Many people will complain about snow removal, I think it's generally good throughout the metro. Typically a big snowfall will occur late in the day into night... and the snow removal crews will clear the major streets by morning and hit the progressively smaller neighborhood streets through the day. If it's a really bad storm, you might see your street go a couple of days without a plow coming through. But for the most part, streets get a first pass within the day following a storm (enough to get your front wheel drive moving at least).

5. Unless it's a really bad storm, in which case companies may ask much of their staff to stay home, driving is just treacherous that first morning/day following a storm. But as long as you drive at a reasonable rate you should be fine. You'll spend most of your time avoiding other people. I have about a 20 minute commute myself, I suppose an average snow fall adds 10-15 minutes onto the drive. But remember, this is just those first couple of days following a big storm. Once things are plowed out of the way, things pretty well return to normal.

The snow won't bother you as much as the cold. We'll go weeks at a time without the temperature going over 20-30 degrees during the day. I'm sure you'll adapt, I know people who came from the 'tropics' only to find themselves out washing the car in the drive way with the rest of us when we'd have a January heat wave in the upper 40's. It's amazing what you get used to. Heck, you'll eventually be out on your front porch looking for those cool wall clouds during tornado season too!

[Swift]

My question for you Omaha guys is how do you manage the hills? I lived in Grand Island and Lincoln, so hills in the winter were never something I had to worry about.

The hills can be tricky.

Usually you carry a bucket of sand or salt in your trunk and a shovel just in case you can't make it up a hill. Sometimes people get out and help push if you can't quite make it up a hill. I've done that before.

[Uffda]

I have lived down here in Omaha for almost 3 years. I grew up in SDak and spent 21 years in WY and I would say Omaha winters for the most part have been pretty calm compared to the others. I had heard that Omaha has ice storms but i really havent experienced one of those yet.

My first winter, I got a call that school was cancelled and I looked out and wondered what all the fuss was. I discovered they tend to cancel quickly but that might be because of all the traffic. The rest of the winter wasnt bad.

Before the second winter, I bought house. I have seemed to be always shoveling and it never went away. I think I had a 7 foot pile of snow along my driveway. But the major streets were well taken care.

Last winter, didnt snow as much.

I have an AWD vehicle but I had it before moving here. You buy some good all weather radials and you should be just fine.

[Swift]

The first moderate snowfall of the year tends to cause schools to cancel, but after that they tend to wait until it is more severe to cancel schools.

I really love snow and winter. Most kids love snow and it's something I never really grew out of.

Here are some pictures of a snowfall last year around Christmas time. This was actually a pretty bad storm:

My dog in the snow the next morning (notice no leash):

everything is calm

icicles out my parent's kitchen window

[Omaha Cowboy]

It just gave me a chuckle..Here we are in the beginning of August, where just 2 days ago it was 99 degrees in Omaha, and coming off a stretch about 10 days ago where is was 105, 102, 102 degrees consecutively for 3 straight days..

And snow has become a topic of discussion..Gotta love it..

..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

[Uffda]

Yes in Dec/Jan we will be talking about the nice warm summer

[Finn]

Not much to add. I agree with most of the sentiments already expressed. The snow is usually not bad enough to cancel anything, but if it does it is basically just the elementary schools. They actually called off classes several years ago at the University of Nebraska - Omaha and it was only the second time in the institution's history that calssses were called because of snow.

Omaha is used to and prepared for snow. Your commute may be extended by 15 minutes the day after (if it snowed through the night) but that is it - the streets will be fine after a day. Out here in DC, 4 inches will shut down the city and everybody is worried about stocking up on supplies. It takes over 12 inches for any worry in Omaha.

And what is winter without snow anyway?????

I really miss "tornado weather" in Nebraska (spring). Tornados are not much of a worry. You may hear the sirens once or twice a year. But the spring weather and thunderstorms can be great. I miss the change in temperature/weather and the way the weather sometimes "rolls" through during spring. It may be a nice day then, it starts to get a little darker, next thing you know it is raining. It may only last ten minutes and then, the sun is out shining again (with a great hue). If it rains here in DC, it rains all day and is a gray, crappy day. In the Midwest, the rain may roll through and the day will still be beautiful. The night thunderstorms can really be something listening to the thunder and watching the lightning.

[almighty_tuna]

We had this discussion on here a few months ago and a lot of people seemed to disagree, but I read some report somewhere that said that tornados rarely hit big cities due to the difference in air pressure above those cities.

Count me in as definitely someone who disagrees. Likely, most people in Oklahoma City, Fort Worth and Salt Lake City will also disagree with this. If I was on mythbusters, this myth would be BUSTED!!

LoyalOmahan is right, after a short while, you'll be out on your porch trying to get a good look at a wall cloud!

[Swift]

LoyalOmahan is right, after a short while, you'll be out on your porch trying to get a good look at a wall cloud!

Haha, yeah or trying to catch hail*




*not recommended

[AlmostinOmaha]

THanks everyone...didn't mean to distract you from the hot humid weather you've probably got going on right now! I tend to think about things too much, so when a thought pops in my head I ask! My parents live in Lake Tahoe, so I'm familiar with life in the snow to some extent (but then again, I'm only there a week out of the year!).

[icejammer]

1. Average snowfall is around 30 inches per year. In most years, the snow tends to mostly melt before the next snowstorm, as the majority of snows are only a few inches. About once every 5 years, we get a prolonged cold spell where snow might pile up, like it did two years ago (and 5 years ago), but the last time I can remember it getting cold and staying cold all winter was when I was a kid, so that doesn't happen very much.

2. All-season tires will do quite nicely for you, the main thing when it snows the first time in the season, nearly everyone drives too cautiously, but then there's always some nimrod with a big-arse SUV that will zip by at 70 mph. By the end of the season, everyone is driving pretty reasonable (except, of course, the big-arse SUV that is now driving 90 mph).

3. If you watch the local TV weathermen, you'd think the apocolypse was upon us every time a winter storm approaches, but it usually ends up nothing but hot air. Typically, late November/early December is the first snow of significance, although as others have noted, the late October '97 (and 1991) snow was quite a surprise, although about 20 years ago we had light snow the first week in October - that is rare however. Last snow is usually March, sometimes April (although, again, my grandfather can tell you about snow they had just north of here on Memorial Day weekend 60 years ago, again, very rare).

4. Speaking from personal experience, living in Iowa, working in Omaha, snow removal is better on the Iowa side of the metro, particularly in the residential areas.

5. I would say, depending on where you would live, you might see 1 or 2 days every 10 or so, where the commute time would usually have an extra 5 to 15 minutes for that far away. It only takes one bonehead going 70 mph in an SUV making a sudden maneuver though to make that an extra hour, so beware....

Tornadoes - Omaha metro has had only 3 really destructive tornadoes that I'm aware of - 1988, May 1975 and Easter Sunday 1913(?). Almost every year, we will have several tornado warnings, but 95% of these are radar detects of rotation in the atmosphere (and no tornado). Tornadoes are more frequent in the central part of Nebraska. About 80% of the tornadoes that do touch down in these parts are F0 or F1 tornadoes, which are the weakest of tornadoes. It's interesting, we were having this discussion at work a few weeks ago, so we researched it a bit, and Douglas County averages a confirmed tornado about once every 5 years, but with the exception of the 3 above, the others were extremely small and limited in coverage. I'll put it to you another way - I've lived within about an hour of Omaha all my life and have never seen a tornado on the ground and have only seen a few funnel clouds, so hopefully that can put your mind at ease about tornadoes - odds are you'll never see one.

[Uffda]

The snow is usually not bad enough to cancel anything, but if it does it is basically just the elementary schools

A little clarification here --- if OPS closes schools because of the snowy weather it is usually all levels. Speaking as a middle school educator here.

If you watch the local TV weathermen, you'd think the apocolypse was upon us every time a winter storm approaches, but it usually ends up nothing but hot air

Icejammer, I will agree with you there. While living in Sioux Falls about three years ago, there was this big storm that rolled through. I told a friend of mine that the TV metereologist on the local channels were almost orgasmic in their reporting. They had their weather tracker radar going, and their doppler and viper radar going. The channel with all the weather toys actually went total weather for like 6 hours while the other channels did just as good reporting breaking in every 15-20 minutes.

[Finn]

My point was that the universities never close.

[TechnicalDisaster]

Icejammer, I will agree with you there. While living in Sioux Falls about three years ago, there was this big storm that rolled through. I told a friend of mine that the TV metereologist on the local channels were almost orgasmic in their reporting. They had their weather tracker radar going, and their doppler and viper radar going. The channel with all the weather toys actually went total weather for like 6 hours while the other channels did just as good reporting breaking in every 15-20 minutes.

I thought the National Weather service changed their guidlines for reporting severe weather this year, and as a result, the weather stations haven't been going completely insane over less then mild weather. I haven't seen them freak out so much this year anyway....

[projectman]

Lot's of good feedback.

Couple of clarifications:

- Swift - The October 1997 Snowstorm was October 26/27(My wedding aniversary). By Halloween it was 67 degrees and the snow was gone.
- The first two or three snows people freak out and driving is kind of scary as they seem to forget how to drive in snow/ice.
- Don't forget about the warm spells we get in the winter where the flow of warm air from the Gulf of Mexico can make it up this way. Called "January thaws" by the locals. Temperatures climb into the 50's and 60's. Always a nice break.
- We can also get rain in the winter.
- Consider our main winter months Dec, Jan and Feb.

[papiostud]

Actually I think the university's have closed a few times in the 5 winters I've been here.

[icejammer]

I told a friend of mine that the TV metereologist on the local channels were almost orgasmic in their reporting.

Oh yeah, I can't tell you how many times my friends and I have had a chuckle over Jim Flowers (or take your pick) latest weather-boner (pardon the allusion).

I thought the National Weather service changed their guidlines for reporting severe weather this year, and as a result, the weather stations haven't been going completely insane over less then mild weather. I haven't seen them freak out so much this year anyway....

I think we had exactly zero tornado warnings in the metro this year, which would explain the low level of weather freakness on TV this year, perhaps. NWS may have changed their guidelines, I don't recall hearing that.

[Finn]

Actually I think the university's have closed a few times in the 5 winters I've been here.

That did not include self-imposed snow days.

[almighty_tuna]

I think we had exactly zero tornado warnings in the metro this year

Depressing, isn't it...

[DTO Luv]

Beware! It's so damn cold it will freeze your hair!

[almighty_tuna]

omg, Yeti!

[Omaha Cowboy]

Yes in Dec/Jan we will be talking about the nice warm summer

Exactly.. ..

PS-Nice hair D'Shawn ..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

[Alt(Bayern)München]

There was something on the news last night that said there were NO tornadoes anywhere in Nebraska so far this year!
Apparently this has only happened once or twice since they began tracking such things...

And, as an aside, on the Weather Channel a couple weeks ago, they said that there had been NO TORNADO DEATHS anywhere in the USA so far this year, which was a first.
The average is 50 or so nationwide in a year...

[papiostud]

Well it looks like this Hurricane season is making up for that. Prolly gonna be the busiest since records have been kept.

[Ingersoll1978]

That is one thing I miss the most...tornado season. Exciting and scary (if the red on the screen is over your neighborhood) at the same time. Here in Chicago, it seems like its cold forever. It doesn't usually get hot (or even warm) till June and lasts through the beginning of September. Whenever I'd go back home, it would be about 20 degrees warmer in Omaha. I'm so excited to get back west (Des Moines) permanently by the end of the week!

[slapahot]

Yes in Dec/Jan we will be talking about the nice warm summer

Not a frigging chance of that happening from me. They can take the summer time and completly do away with it as far as I'm concerned. Anything over 60 is to hot, especially when that humidity kicks in.

[slapahot]

. If you watch the local TV weathermen, you'd think the apocolypse was upon us every time a winter storm approaches, but it usually ends up nothing but hot air

That's no lie. They usually get my hopes up talking about "the mother of all storms" and then if we get a couple of flurries we are lucky.
The more and earlier they start talking about a serious winter storm headed our way the more inaccurate they are.

It's the storms that they say are going either north or south of Omaha that usually end up hitting us the worst.

Also October can swing either way, warm or really cold, I can't remember which year in the early 90's they postponed halloween because it was really cold out.

[Asten]

Not a frigging chance of that happening from me. They can take the summer time and completly do away with it as far as I'm concerned. Anything over 60 is to hot, especially when that humidity kicks in.

60? Where are you from, Alaska? As a native Omahan, 80's about when I consider it 'hot'.

[Omaha Cowboy]

Shoot, after this summer, the low 90's seem cool ..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

[slapahot]

60? Where are you from, Alaska? As a native Omahan, 80's about when I consider it 'hot'

Nope, not at all, I'm from Omaha. Never have been able to tolerate the heat, never liked it at all. The only thing good about summer as a kid was no school, otherwise it still sucked.

In the winter I can find ways of staying warm, if needed, but in the summer, well co-workers don't like it when I run around naked trying to stay cool. They don't understand that there is only so much you can take off, and the police don't let you get dressed again before hauling you in for indecent exposure but the inmates at the Douglas County Corrections sure enjoy seeing me brought in.

[DTO Luv]

Was that you they were bringing in?

[murfj]

Slapahot, I thought I was the only one who felt that way- good to know there are others. lol I guess for me the 60's are perfect, and anything above the low to mid 70's actually feels too hot.

[slapahot]

murfj, there are alot more of us out there than anyone relizes. It's just that they don't want to offend the summer lovers. How many people really look happy on a 90 or 80 degree + day with high humidity levels. Tempers are shorter then normal and those of us who work outside just don't get much accomplished, because we are trying to stay hydrated. Summer sucks.

[guy4omaha]

Count me in as a double secret member of the I hate hot-humid weather club and also a member of the height obsessed crowd.

However, I did like hot-humid days in my youth when my only worry was what time we would start water-skiing each day. In youth there was this nice factor about females in bikinis that came along with hot weather. But since I have to work rather than ski now and the girls in bikinis don't look back anymore. ... I see no redeeming reasons to suffer through heat. And if they did look back ... my wife would put a nice red mark or two on my forehead.

Thus I look at skyscrapers. She doesn't get mad about that!

[murfj]

"Summer sucks" pretty much sums it up for me, too. I tend to keep the air conditioning cranked quite high, when my parents visit they always joke that it's like a meat locker in my living room. lol

It's funny though, that no matter how much farther north we may try to go, summers will still suck. When I was in high school we lived up in Bismarck, North Dakota-- and though the temperature didn't consistently stay as high with as high of humidity all summer as it does here, basically it was still hot and humid there most of the summer. I remember going to the state fair in Minot, North Dakota- just an hour or so from the Canadian border- and it was 100 degrees.