Extreme cold is expected to be the primary concern this week in Omaha, eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa.

"The cold is going to be the big thing (Monday), especially with school back in session," Van DeWald, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Valley, said Sunday. "It's going to be cold at those bus stops but there's no precipitation in the forecast all week."

Dry air moving in a northeasterly direction kept snow out of Omaha on Sunday. The highest totals of snow were expected to fall Sunday in southeast Nebraska along the Iowa and Missouri borders.

"Omaha was always going to be on the edge of this storm," DeWald said. "The dry air moving in kept eating away, eating away (at precipitation) due to that persistent northeast flow."

The coldest wind chills of the season are forecast Monday in Omaha when the thermometer is not expected to rise above 18 degrees. A wind chill of 10-below zero is predicted.

People are also reading…



The wind chill temperature, according to the National Weather Service, is how cold people and animals feel when outside. Wind chill is based on the rate of heat loss from exposed skin caused by wind and cold.

As the wind increases, it draws heat from the body, driving down skin temperature and eventually the internal body temperature. Therefore, the wind makes it feel much colder.

A wind chill calculator will tell you that if the temperature is 0°F and the wind is blowing at 15 mph, the wind chill is -19°F. At that wind chill temperature, exposed skin can freeze in 30 minutes.

"We are predicting highs of 18 Monday and Tuesday with a high temperature of 21 on Wednesday," DeWald said. "We are looking at highs of 31 Thursday and Friday."

Temperatures through the weekend are forecast to remain below normal. The typical high for this time of year in Omaha is 34 degrees with an average low of 16.

"January in Nebraska, right?" DeWald said. "It's no surprise that it's going to be cold."

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of December 2024



A few snowflakes rest on a hand rail at the Gerald R. Ford Birthsite and Gardens in Omaha on Monday, Dec. 2, 2024.

Creighton's Pop Isaacs (2) goes up for a 3-pointer s head coach Greg McDermott motions in the background during the second half of a men's college basketball game against Kansas at the CHI Health Center in Omaha on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024.

Watie White prepares to hang the portraits he drew for an exhibit inside the carriage house at the Joslyn Castle in Omaha on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024.

Watie White poses for a portrait holding some potraits he drew that will hang in an exhibit inside the carriage house at the Joslyn Castle in Omaha on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024.

Creighton players react as they are unveiled on the NCAA Volleyball Tournament bracket during a watch party at DJ's Dugout in Omaha on Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024.

Creighton's Jackson McAndrew (23) and Fedor Žugić (7) take a selfie with fans after defeating Kansas, 76-63, at the CHI Health Center in Omaha on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024.

Damany Rahn, CEO of the Heart Ministry Center, poses for a portrait at FRESH Floral in Omaha on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. FRESH Floral helps support the Heart Ministry Center, a nonprofit that aims to provide food, healthcare and a way forward for people affected by poverty.

The Omaha World-Herald 2024 All-Nebraska Volleyball Team, from left, Lincoln Lutheran's Keri Leimbach, Norris' Anna Jelinek, Papillion-La Vista South's Charlee Solomon, Omaha Skutt's Addison West, Fremont's Mattie Dalton, Omaha Westside's Ashlyn Paymal and Grand Island's Tia Traudt photographed at Steelhouse Omaha on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024.

Siblings Aria, 9, and Apollo Taylor, 6, hold out alfalfa for a Camille, a camel from Scatter Joy Acres during the annual Christmas in the Village in Omaha on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024.

Asma Abdikadir, right, zips up the coat of her cousin Mohamed Ali, 1, as they wait for bags at baggage claim at Eppley Airfield in Omaha on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. Asma and other extended family members waited at the airport to greet Mohamed and his family upon their arrival from a refugee camp in Kenya. Mohamed’s father, Ali Mohamed Lujendo, fled Somalia and spent 19 years living in refugee camps.

Maka Ali Mgang, Somalia, makes food at her family’s home in Omaha on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. Mgang arrived in Omaha with her family on Wednesday from a refugee camp in Kenya.

Miriam Grant and Levi Grant, 9, screw legs on to a kitchen table while volunteering to help set up an apartment for an incoming refugee family in Omaha on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024.

Nebraska's Juwan Gary (4) celebrates during the first half of a men's college basketball game against Indiana at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024.

Nebraska's Andrew Morgan (23) and Indiana's Myles Rice (1) dive for the ball during the second half of a men's college basketball game at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024.

Omaha firefighters battle a fire at a house near 40th and Izard Streets in Omaha on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024.

Omaha firefighters battle a fire at a house near 40th and Izard Streets in Omaha on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024.

Local Weather



Get the daily forecast and severe weather alerts in your inbox!

CONTINUE READING
RELATED ARTICLES