Unusually warm and dry winter has forecasters predicting similar months ahead

NORFOLK, Neb. — For many Nebraskans, winter usually means snow-covered fields and frigid mornings. This year, recent high temperatures broke records set in the 1950’s and scarce snowfall are telling a different story.

“Okay so this has been a really mild winter, I can tell you for North Platte our December was our fifth warmest on record here,” said Christopher Buttler.

Christopher Buttler with the National Weather Service in North Platte says the region has received 1.9 inches of snow this winter, compared with a yearly average of at least 30 inches.

He says December, January and February are typically the driest months, but the unusual warmth is creating additional challenges.

“So the whole time we’ve had this record warmth were drying out the soil profile, and we’re gonna have a lot of problems here as we get into March and April if we don’t get some timely rains,” said Buttler.

Despite the downward trend in precipitation, Buttler said he remains optimistic that a wetter summer, similar to last year’s, is still possible.

However, Buttler said the abundant vegetation from last year’s rainfall could become fuel for wildfires if dry conditions remain.

“A fire does break out it can spread really quick and unless we start getting some precipitation in short order I think March is going to be a really active fire season,” said Buttler.

Buttler said farmers could also be hit hard by the dry conditions. He says relying more heavily on irrigation can strain farmers’ bottom lines and force difficult choices.

“If this spills over into May and June and we don’t get the moisture, the pasture don’t green up so their could be some hard decisions that have to be made,” said Buttler.

Buttler reminded residents that with warm and dry conditions, they should be mindful of burn bans and check the National Weather Service for weather warnings in their area of Nebraska.