Photo by George Lauby Snowy yard Saturday afternoon, near 200 So. Ash.

Photo by George Lauby Same neighborhood

Photo by George Lauby

A new October snowfall record was set late Friday and early Saturday in North Platte; 13.8 inches of snow fell at the National Weather Service at the North Platte Regional Airport/Lee Bird Field.

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The old North Platte record was set in 1896, when 13 inches was observed Oct. 29-30.

By Saturday morning, snow depths of more than a foot and a half were reported in and around the North Platte area. The snow fell began around 8 p.m. Friday and fell continuously until 10 a.m. Saturday morning, the weather service said.

City crews were on the streets Friday night working to clear routes through North Platte, and a snow emergency was declared.

The relatively warm concrete streets helped melt the snow Saturday even though temperatures remained in the 20s. Still, the white snow contrasted sharply with green leaves. The trees were only beginning to take on fall colors.

An unusually strong Arctic cold front ushered in temperatures from the upper teens to middle 20s by mid-evening Friday. A strong polar jetstream fostered the snowfall across the panhandle into west central and central Nebraska.

Because the airmass was unusually cold, the snow was relatively light and fluffy, thus the high snowfall totals, the weather service said.

The heaviest snowfall report was 17 inches, eight miles west-northwest of North Platte.

Westerville in Custer County reported 14 inches and Ogallala reported 11.

Nearby areas received considerably less. Tryon, Stapleton and Grant reported six inches and Mullen only received a half-inch, the weather service said.

October snow

Since record keeping began in 1895, snow has often fallen in October in North Platte, but later in the month. There were five days of snow in 2002, when eight inches fell. Most recently, there were four days of snow last October. The total accumulation was only 1.1 inches.

The snow is usually wet and the heavier amounts don't last more than a day or two, the weather service said.

This time, the snow will last longer. Temperatures are not expected to be above freezing until Monday, when the high will be in the mid-30s, the weather service said. A high of 43 is forecast Tuesday and the temps will reach the mid-50s Wednesday. But, there is a 20-30 percent chance of rain or more snow through most of the week.