There is one thing that Omaha has lacked so far this winter...and that is snow. As of January 12, Omaha has seen only 1" of snow at Eppley Airfield! On average, by the same time, Omaha would have picked up around 10" of snow. Diving deeper into the data, these are the numbers:
NOVEMBER
Average Snowfall: 1.7"
2024 Snowfall: 0"
Last 0" November: 2021
DECEMBER
Average Snowfall: 5.8"
2024 Snowfall: 0.2"
Last Time: 2004 (0")
JANUARY 1-14
Average Snowfall: 3"
2025 Snowfall: 0.8"
Last Time: 2023 (0.4")
Overall, this is the 3rd least snowy winter for Omaha so far. Why is this?
Three main factors can explain this snowless winter:
1.) Warm Temperatures - As a whole, temperatures for the last two months of 2024 were warm, so any precipitation that fell, it fell as rain. November was a wet month for Omaha, but since temperatures were on the warm side it all fell as rain. Omaha saw 3.63" of rain for the month, which if temperatures were cold enough for snow, would've converted to...a lot of snow.
2.) Dry December - Even when cold enough for snow in December, it just did not precipitate. Omaha's precipitation for December was 0.8", below the average of 1.19". Although December did bring the ice storm on the 13th, that was about it in terms of wintry weather.
3.) Unfavorable Storm Track - As shown by our "winter storm" last week, the storm track has not favored snowfall for Omaha, but to our south. Just this past week came two big snowstorms to our south, the first clipped Falls City bringing 16" of snow to the area, and the second was much farther south. Thus, many cities to our south have more snow this winter than Omaha. Here are a few select cities:
Omaha. NE - 1"
Birmingham, AL - 2"
Dallas, TX - 2.6"
Oklahoma City, OK - 3.6"
Nashville, TN - 4.1"
Huntsville, AL - 4.3"
Memphis, TN - 7.5"
Little Rock, AR - 9"
St. Louis, MO - 14.2"
Kansas City, MO - 14.5"
So, is there any hope for the snow lovers on the horizon for Nebraska and Iowa?
The short answer...not really. Barring a few flurries in the coming days, the next signal for a stronger storm system looks to be next weekend (January 18-22). However, this again favors neighborhoods to our south and east. After that, another cold shot comes in, but there are not many snow chances. This can (and will) change over the coming days to weeks. For now, however, it looks like any bigger snow chances for Nebraska and Iowa are low. Our snowless winter lumbers on...
