The week with the lowest normal low at each reference station, from NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normals, beside the coldest night of the last 10 winters, the median first freeze and the record low.
The coldest week and the coldest nights at Nebraska reference stations
Station
Coldest week
Normal low
Coldest night, last 10 winters
First freeze
Record low
OmahaOmaha Eppley Airfield, USW00014942
Jan 14 to 20
15°F
−23°FFeb 16, 2021
Oct 20
−23°F3 times, last on Feb 16, 2021records since 1948
LincolnLincoln Municipal Airport, USW00014939
Jan 13 to 19
14°F
−31°FFeb 16, 2021
Oct 14
−33°FJan 12, 1974records since 1948
North PlatteNorth Platte Regional Airport, USW00024023
Dec 30 to Jan 5
12°F
−29°FFeb 15, 2021
Oct 6
−34°FTwice, last on Dec 22, 1989records since 1948
The panel at the top of this page sets the next 7 nights at Omaha against the normal low for each date and adds the Climate Prediction Center outlook for the two weeks after. Enter a ZIP for your own town; it uses the nearest of the 4 Nebraska reference stations.
At Omaha it is usually Jan 14 to 20, with a normal low of 15°F. At the other reference stations: Lincoln Jan 13 to 19 (14°F), North Platte Dec 30 to Jan 5 (12°F) and Scottsbluff Dec 20 to 26 (13°F). These are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 daily normals.
The normal low at Omaha reaches 32°F around Nov 11 and 20°F around Dec 15. The first actual freeze came around Oct 20 in the median of the last 10 winters, weeks ahead of the normal, because one clear calm night can run far below the average.
The coldest night of the last 10 winters at Omaha was −23°F on Feb 16, 2021, and the coldest night of a typical winter there was −14°F. Elsewhere: Lincoln −31°F on Feb 16, 2021, North Platte −29°F on Feb 15, 2021 and Scottsbluff −26°F on Jan 16, 2024. The record at the Omaha station is −23°F, most recently on Feb 16, 2021, in daily records since 1948.
At Omaha a typical recent winter brings 132 nights at 32°F or colder, 55 at 20°F or colder and 8 at zero or colder, the median of the last 10 seasons.
Each night's forecast low is compared with the NOAA normal low for that date at the nearest reference station. A night 20 or more degrees below normal is an arctic blast, and so is a night below zero where the normal low is 10°F or warmer. A night 10 to 19 below is a cold snap. A night 5 or more below, or a week that runs 3 or more below on average, is colder than normal, and a week 5 or more above is mild.
The normal lows and coldest weeks are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 daily climate normals for Omaha Eppley Airfield (USW00014942), Lincoln Municipal Airport (USW00014939), North Platte Regional Airport (USW00024023) and Scottsbluff Heilig Airport (USW00024028). The recent winters, first dates and records come from the same stations' daily lows in NOAA's GHCN-Daily archive, the winters of 2016 to 2017 through 2025 to 2026. The 7 night forecast is the National Weather Service's and the outlook is the Climate Prediction Center's.
