2026 Weather Thread

stormchaser · Post by **stormchaser** » Wed Feb 18, 2026 9:45 am

The local news seems to be getting a bit carried away with snowfall forecasts. Some areas north and west of Omaha (especially) will get a decent amount but unless the track changes, Omaha itself will be more in a dusting up to an inch range with the snow tomorrow with heavier stuff to our north up towards Sioux City, etc.

Cermak · Post by **Cermak** » Wed Feb 18, 2026 10:54 am

stormchaser wrote: Wed Feb 18, 2026 9:45 am The local news seems to be getting a bit carried away with snowfall forecasts. Some areas north and west of Omaha (especially) will get a decent amount but unless the track changes, Omaha itself will be more in a dusting up to an inch range with the snow tomorrow with heavier stuff to our north up towards Sioux City, etc.

I wouldn’t mind an inch. Just a brief cooldown more 50’s and 60’s next week.

stormchaser · Post by **stormchaser** » Wed Feb 18, 2026 9:19 pm

Unfortunately a southward trend in models seems to be confirming and consequently Omaha has been upgraded to a winter storm warning. 4-6 inches of snow now expected locally.

https://forecast.weather.gov/showsigwx. ... n=-96.0012

skinzfan23 · Post by **skinzfan23** » Wed Feb 18, 2026 10:43 pm

Bellevue and Elkhorn have both closed schools for tomorrow. Seems a bit premature. Prob end up with a trace, haha

Post by **nebugeater** » Thu Feb 19, 2026 5:46 am

skinzfan23 wrote: Wed Feb 18, 2026 10:43 pm Bellevue and Elkhorn have both closed schools for tomorrow. Seems a bit premature. Prob end up with a trace, haha

See that Papillion La Vista is on the list now too

Erik · Post by **Erik** » Thu Feb 19, 2026 5:55 am

Yay!!! Finally

Post by **nebugeater** » Thu Feb 19, 2026 6:07 am

The list of closings that I look at on KETV is growing fast

https://www.ketv.com/weather/closings

Cermak · Post by **Cermak** » Thu Feb 19, 2026 6:30 am

We could use the moisture. It’s a very narrow band it could still miss parts of the metro depends how it sets up.

stormchaser · Post by **stormchaser** » Thu Feb 19, 2026 6:43 am

Cermak wrote: Thu Feb 19, 2026 6:30 am We could use the moisture. It’s a very narrow band it could still miss parts of the metro depends how it sets up.

Yep, wouldn't take much for things to shift and Omaha could easily get very little - especially the south and east side of town. It'll be a sharp gradient either way on the southern edge of the snow.

skinzfan23 · Post by **skinzfan23** » Thu Feb 19, 2026 11:11 am

I'm hoping that Bellevue is on the cut-off and doesn't get much.

Louie · Post by **Louie** » Thu Feb 19, 2026 1:40 pm

The dome is doing work so far, but Weather Underground shows it finally breaking in the mid afternoon.

stormchaser · Post by **stormchaser** » Thu Feb 19, 2026 2:50 pm

Heavy snow pushing into the metro now from the south/southeast. Conditions are going to deteriorate quickly with this band of heavy snow.

skinzfan23 · Post by **skinzfan23** » Thu Feb 19, 2026 3:34 pm

Definitely snowing hard in south portion of Bellevue, but still no snow on streets and very minimal on grassy surfaces.

Cermak · Post by **Cermak** » Thu Feb 19, 2026 4:11 pm

Snowing hard at 50th and Grover st area, just starting to stick to the streets a little.

Louie · Post by **Louie** » Thu Feb 19, 2026 6:25 pm

Seems like we may end up on the higher end of the estimates.

GenX · Post by **GenX** » Thu Feb 19, 2026 7:42 pm

Louie wrote: Thu Feb 19, 2026 6:25 pm Seems like we may end up on the higher end of the estimates.

I’m going bold and betting somewhere in the metro will see at least 10” of snow from this storm.

Cermak · Post by **Cermak** » Thu Feb 19, 2026 9:35 pm

EricHaley wrote: Thu Feb 19, 2026 7:42 pm
Louie wrote: Thu Feb 19, 2026 6:25 pm Seems like we may end up on the higher end of the estimates.
I’m going bold and betting somewhere in the metro will see at least 10” of snow from this storm.

This storms got some punch to it, it really didn’t start til around 3:30 but it’s been pretty impressive for the last 6 hours.

Post by **BRoss** » Thu Feb 19, 2026 11:29 pm

I was thinking we'd be missed when the snow hadn't started around 2-3, but we definitely got slammed this evening.

It's a good thing that we have some warmer temps coming in the near future. The NWS has us above average temperatures in the next couple weeks:

6-10 day forecast - 60%-70% above normal

8-14 day forecast - 50%-60% above normal

Hopefully this actually is what happens, but as you all know, things could change quickly depending on a lot of factors.

And the upcoming monthly and seasonal released today has us at:

March - 40% - 50% above normal
March through May - equal chances

(I can't seem to find permanent image links to post for these, and I don't want to upload them, so you'll just have to look at NOAA's Climate Prediction Center for the latest)

Of course, these predictions can't really be expected as they are based on historic trends and there's many factors than could impact the outcome. At the end of January, February was forecasted to be below normal 33-40% and we've certainly seen way more above average temps so far, with one day being one of the earliest 70s in the month and shattering the previous record by around 10 degrees. And then having another 70 a couple days ago. I normally don't even think we'll hit 70 until late in the month, if at all.

skinzfan23 · Post by **skinzfan23** » Fri Feb 20, 2026 8:26 am

Obviously snow totals are going to vary quite a bit around the Omaha metro, but we only got 3-3.5" in Bellevue.

almighty_tuna · Post by **almighty_tuna** » Fri Feb 20, 2026 8:55 am

It was fun tooling around in the Jeep this morning. Definitely a welcome snow and the dogs loooove it.

EastCB · Post by **EastCB** » Fri Feb 20, 2026 10:55 am

I got around 8.5 inches here in Council Bluffs.

Padre · Post by **Padre** » Fri Feb 20, 2026 11:35 am

We had 5 in Benson last night when I went to bed. Didn’t seem like more than that this morning. And thankfully the snow is light, and easy to move.

Erik · Post by **Erik** » Fri Feb 20, 2026 5:18 pm

Me and my boy (boxerbull pup) are really enjoying this.

Beautiful and comfy weather. Doesn't look like it'll last long, so we have to enjothis while we can

Post by **BRoss** » Fri Feb 20, 2026 6:25 pm

I guess this last storm was the second biggest snowstorm we've had since 2020. KETV had this list today:

Biggest Snow Storms Since 2020

GenX · Post by **GenX** » Sat Feb 21, 2026 3:41 am

Woo hoo!!!

EricHaley wrote: Thu Feb 19, 2026 7:42 pm
Louie wrote: Thu Feb 19, 2026 6:25 pm Seems like we may end up on the higher end of the estimates.
I’m going bold and betting somewhere in the metro will see at least 10” of snow from this storm.

Post by **Brad** » Sun Feb 22, 2026 9:55 pm

We got back from Chicago tonight and I was expecting a lot more snow on the ground. It must have really melted the past few days.

skinzfan23 · Post by **skinzfan23** » Sun Feb 22, 2026 10:07 pm

Brad wrote: Sun Feb 22, 2026 9:55 pm We got back from Chicago tonight and I was expecting a lot more snow on the ground. It must have really melted the past few days.

It did melt a ton on Friday and yesterday but I still think the snow totals were a bit overdone. I measured in several non-drifted areas at our house and we got 4” at most. Eppley reported over 8, maybe they got that but from the looks of it, I don’t think so.

Post by **nebugeater** » Mon Feb 23, 2026 5:26 am

skinzfan23 wrote: Sun Feb 22, 2026 10:07 pm
Brad wrote: Sun Feb 22, 2026 9:55 pm We got back from Chicago tonight and I was expecting a lot more snow on the ground. It must have really melted the past few days.
It did melt a ton on Friday and yesterday but I still think the snow totals were a bit overdone. I measured in several non-drifted areas at our house and we got 4” at most. Eppley reported over 8, maybe they got that but from the looks of it, I don’t think so.

Measured 6" in multiple places around my house in Gretna

Louie · Post by **Louie** » Mon Feb 23, 2026 8:34 am

nebugeater wrote: Mon Feb 23, 2026 5:26 am
skinzfan23 wrote: Sun Feb 22, 2026 10:07 pm
Brad wrote: Sun Feb 22, 2026 9:55 pm We got back from Chicago tonight and I was expecting a lot more snow on the ground. It must have really melted the past few days.
It did melt a ton on Friday and yesterday but I still think the snow totals were a bit overdone. I measured in several non-drifted areas at our house and we got 4” at most. Eppley reported over 8, maybe they got that but from the looks of it, I don’t think so.
Measured 6" in multiple places around my house in Gretna

Dundee was definitely in the heavier path of it. We had well over 8 inches and there is still a ton of snow on the ground in the neighborhood as of this morning.

Cermak · Post by **Cermak** » Mon Feb 23, 2026 4:14 pm

Louie wrote: Mon Feb 23, 2026 8:34 am
nebugeater wrote: Mon Feb 23, 2026 5:26 am
skinzfan23 wrote: Sun Feb 22, 2026 10:07 pm
Brad wrote: Sun Feb 22, 2026 9:55 pm We got back from Chicago tonight and I was expecting a lot more snow on the ground. It must have really melted the past few days.
It did melt a ton on Friday and yesterday but I still think the snow totals were a bit overdone. I measured in several non-drifted areas at our house and we got 4” at most. Eppley reported over 8, maybe they got that but from the looks of it, I don’t think so.
Measured 6" in multiple places around my house in Gretna
Dundee was definitely in the heavier path of it. We had well over 8 inches and there is still a ton of snow on the ground in the neighborhood as of this morning.

It’s probably settled a bit since Friday, and melted some. I know it’s settled at my house a lot. It was a fairly light powdery snow. Pretty sure most of Omaha got in the 7-9 inch range, with a few spots possibly at 10.

Post by **Brad** » Sat Feb 28, 2026 10:13 pm

Super cool lightning video:

stormchaser · Post by **stormchaser** » Mon Mar 02, 2026 6:47 am

Brad wrote: Sat Feb 28, 2026 10:13 pm Super cool lightning video:

Nice! We might be seeing some of that later this week (Thursday/Friday March 5th & 6th) in parts of the area.

The SPC has a day 5 severe weather outlook for areas south and east of Omaha currently:

nativeomahan · Post by **nativeomahan** » Mon Mar 02, 2026 3:44 pm

I saw where February 2026 averaged 8 degrees warmer (less cold) than historic average at Omaha’s Eppley Airfield. That’s quite an amazing disparity. By contrast January was basically exactly “average”, temperature wise.

Erik · Post by **Erik** » Tue Mar 03, 2026 6:05 am

nativeomahan wrote: Mon Mar 02, 2026 3:44 pm I saw where February 2026 averaged 8 degrees warmer (less cold) than historic average at Omaha’s Eppley Airfield. That’s quite an amazing disparity. By contrast January was basically exactly “average”, temperature wise.

To piggyback off Native's post here, I am providing the 2026 winter numbers for Omaha Eppley.

February 2026:
Average High: 50.3
Average Low: 23.5
Average Mean: 36.9

January 2026:
Average High: 34.8
Average Low: 13.6
Average Mean: 24.2

December 2026:
Average High: 41.5
Average Low: 19.5
Average Mean: 30.5

stormchaser · Post by **stormchaser** » Tue Mar 03, 2026 6:46 am

The threat for severe weather later this week is continuing to increase including the threat for large hail, damaging wind, and tornadoes (though the tornado threat depends on if dewpoints get high enough which currently it looks like they will).

The SPC has added all of our area to a slight risk day 4 for Friday though we may have some strong/severe storms Thursday night also.

Further south/southeast (towards northwest MO and KC and down into OKlahoma) an enhanced risk exists currently.

Thursday risk area:

Friday risk area:

Erik · Post by **Erik** » Tue Mar 03, 2026 6:55 am

stormchaser wrote: Tue Mar 03, 2026 6:46 am The threat for severe weather later this week is continuing to increase including the threat for large hail, damaging wind, and tornadoes (though the tornado threat depends on if dewpoints get high enough which currently it looks like they will).

The SPC has added all of our area to a slight risk day 4 for Friday though we may have some strong/severe storms Thursday night also.

Further south/southeast (towards northwest MO and KC and down into OKlahoma) an enhanced risk exists currently.

Do you post your content on YouTube? Id be interested in watching. I really enjoy that kind of content, im watching such a video as i type.

Post by **nebugeater** » Tue Mar 03, 2026 6:59 am

So it doesn't look like we are at the "rush the grocery store" for milk and bread level yet.

stormchaser · Post by **stormchaser** » Tue Mar 03, 2026 7:26 am

Erik wrote: Tue Mar 03, 2026 6:55 am
stormchaser wrote: Tue Mar 03, 2026 6:46 am The threat for severe weather later this week is continuing to increase including the threat for large hail, damaging wind, and tornadoes (though the tornado threat depends on if dewpoints get high enough which currently it looks like they will).

The SPC has added all of our area to a slight risk day 4 for Friday though we may have some strong/severe storms Thursday night also.

Further south/southeast (towards northwest MO and KC and down into OKlahoma) an enhanced risk exists currently.

Do you post your content on YouTube? Id be interested in watching. I really enjoy that kind of content, im watching such a video as i type.

I don't - I've considered it though. Maybe I will at some point anyway

.

Not really YouTube related specifically but I used to stream live as I was chasing with Live Storms Media and TVN (when that was a thing) but now I chase solo and it's too much to manage by myself. I used to use a roof mounted camera that I could remotely control and point at the area of interest as I was driving but it's a pain when your signal drops in rural areas and you have to mess with restarting the stream, etc constantly.

I wish I was able to find someone willing/able to chase with me but so far, no luck. Lots of people say they "want to" but they never can due to work, etc which is understandable. Thankfully I have a job, etc that's flexible so I have no problem usually going when I want to but I understand others aren't so lucky.

stormchaser · Post by **stormchaser** » Tue Mar 03, 2026 2:50 pm

The 12z ECMWF shows a crashing cold front scenario on Friday (very typical for this time of year) which means these storms in our area would be outflow dominant and wind/hail producers. The timing of everything would be the determining factor if Omaha specifically gets hit which is impossible to know at this point.

Busguy2010 · Post by **Busguy2010** » Thu Mar 05, 2026 7:42 pm

Hmm, I'm always skeptical, but that forecast for tonight and tomorrow evening got increasingly promising as we got closer. I'm going to knock on wood after I say this, but I actually expect to see a half decent amount of rain and hear a good amount of thunder. It can keep the hail though. Please let it be an enjoyable night of thunder and rain. No dome.