PhotoFiles: The blizzard of 1948-49 in Nebraska
The 1948-49 blizzard left over 75,000 people marooned and close to 34,000 miles of roads impassable. See photos of how Nebraska weathered the storm.
Only way out
Houses west of Imperial were almost completely covered in snow. Occupants of this house tore the screen off the window in order to get in and out of their home.
Ghost Town
A. small town in western Nebraska looks likes a ghost town after the entire population made a mass exodus before roads were blocked.
Delivering Milk
Unable to get around by automobile, Lorene Hickok, Mrs. Hickok and brother Verne Hickok used a horse-drawn wagon to make their milk deliveries.
Pattern in the snow
Bulldozers participating in Operation Snowbound cleared patterns on the Nebraska landscape in an attempt to reach and save stranded people and cattle.
Cattle Graze
Almost 2 million head of cattle survived thanks to Operation Snowbound, which airlifted an estimated 35-40 tons of feed a day.
Finding the chicken coop
Farmers in western Nebraska had to uncover their chicken houses from a blanket of snow that hit the state in 1948.
Lending a hand
Pilot Don Higgins perches atop the chimney at the Lester Goodrich farm home, where he answered a distress call.
Stranded Locomotives
Two locomotives that attempted to open the railroad line were temporarily lost as snow drifts began to cover the locomotives.
Snow covered windmill
As part of rescue and relief efforts carried out by the Red Cross, a tunnel was dug to the pump houses of this windmill as snow drifts of about 30 feet enveloped the area.
Tyler Gomez, a native Californian, wanted tips for his first winter in the Midwest. He sought advice from his neighbors using the Nextdoor app. Hundreds responded.
The first in a series of major storms pounded Nebraska 73 years ago today. At the time, the storm was widely regarded as part of the state's worst winter ever — rivaled only by 1880-81.
The snow from this week’s blizzard could be a blessing in disguise for North Dakota ranchers, but its arrival during what should be a warmer month makes it hard to see the long-term benefits.
Interstate 80 was closed in both directions from North Platte west to the Wyoming border, and Interstate 76 was closed from its junction with I-80 to the Colorado border.
An employee at the Microtel Inn in Kearney said many people appeared to be prepared for the storm but said shutting down the interstate still caught some travelers off guard.
Dylan Will had been set for arraignment on Wednesday but instead entered the plea in a filed, written waiver.
The driver was identified as a 13-year-old girl. The passenger was identified as an 11-year-old boy. Both were placed in protective custody.
Precipitation records were set across Nebraska this week, from the Panhandle to the Missouri River, but more moisture is needed to end the state's drought.
"The folks that live there, the folks that come to work there, they need to be safe and secure," Lancaster County District Judge Kevin McManaman said.
Marty Nuzum was serving a life sentence that started in 2003 for a first-degree murder in Douglas County.
District Judge Gregory Schatz sentenced Jesean Morris, who pleaded no contest to attempted first-degree assault for the incident in June 2021.
An Omaha man could be sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of the sex trafficking of a minor.
"If police officers, firefighters and other first responders aren’t safe on the job, how can our community have confidence when they seek help in emergency situations?" Angela Sands said.
A 68-year-old Omaha man was killed in a two-vehicle crash Wednesday afternoon at North 38th and Cuming Streets.