Why Nebraskans are seeing sudden change in weather
NORFOLK, Neb. -- After a day of record-breaking high temperatures, why has Nebraska suddenly returned to cold winter weather?
Nebraskans would be forgiven if they thought it was summer this past Monday.
Nebraskans across the state enjoyed record-breaking warm temperatures, which had many residents outside enjoying the weather.
On Tuesday however, the weather took a nose dive in temperature with high winds, single-digit lows, and even chances of snow in some areas.
While Nebraskans are no strangers to sudden weather changes, some may wonder why it happens.
Meteorologist Taylor Nicolaisen from the Omaha/Valley National Weather Service said several factors play into Nebraska's weather mood swings.
For the recent warm temperature, Nicolaisen said the heat shows up due to the lack of precipitation on the ground.
With very little snow or ice in the region, a drier climate makes areas easier to heat up.
"Lots of sunshine, very dry, were missing the snow, so that helped," Nicolaisen said. "The fact that we had the dry ground, we've gotten rid of a lot of that moisture in the grass and the top of the soil. You can warm up an empty pan faster than you can one that's filled with water. So it was kind of like we were an empty pan."
So with the ground still dry in most areas, why the sudden change less than 24 hours later?
Nicolaisen explained it's because of "Alberta Clipper" an event where cold air that has gathered in the atmosphere gets pushed to the eastern part of the United States.
The cold air gathers in the Northwest part of the continent before traveling eastward across the United States, with Nebraska in its path.
"It tends to happen more go from the heat to the cold, it's just kind of how the atmosphere works," Nicolaisen said. "We've been very warm and that cold air has all been pushed off to the north. It just gets colder and dense and heavier and eventually that kind of breaks loose and pushes it's way south."
While not common for an almost 80º day to swing to single-digit temperatures Nicolaisen pointed out temperature swings are normally seen during this time.
He explains the weather normally swings back and forth as it begins to adjust and settle on a more consistent temperature, like we will see in summer.
"It's kind of the fight between summer and winter," Nicolaisen said. "You'll get a little bit of wiggle and all of a sudden it'll all go one way or the other. That's kind of how it works, it's just back and forth and we're starting to see that struggle now."
As the weather continues to be sporadic Nicolaisen recommends Nebraskans to pay attention to forecasts and weather alerts, stating this time of the year is the most important to do so.