Western Nebraska and eastern Wyoming dig out as bitter cold moves out of the region

The temperature at 5:00 Tuesday morning was -11 with a wind chill of -31. No big deal, the thermometer shock has worn off in the region since temperatures began plummeting last Friday. The original storm would bring a dusting of snow and temperatures nearing -20 by Saturday night. Sunday night into Monday an additional four inches fell with temperatures never breaching the 0 degree mark.  Tuesday is forecast to bring sunshine and highs in the mid 20's, which means the first chance for some snow removal, through a little melting and a lot of hard work.

Tuesday mornings chill has pushed back school start times in the region back to 10:00 am, and Pine Bluffs has announced it will not run morning bus routes.  Several small businesses in town will also open late, some the result of poor road conditions, others are just waiting for safer temperatures.

City and county crews who had their three day Martin Luther King Day weekend ripped out from under them as the storm moved in are still at work Tuesday morning. None of the regions towns or cities declared a snow emergency over the weekend so the snow still needs to be removed from snow routes, often used by first responders and essential employees. Other places snow was mounded and left while the temperatures were dangerous. Those piles will also have to be removed.

NDOT crews report that normal driving conditions have resumed on the interstate, however there is still work to be done on the ramps and shoulders. State crews will also continue work on US 30, which still has patches of ice and snow.

Meteorologist Jennifer Wochinsky says the regions next chance of snow will come Friday, with a high temperature of 18 degrees that day. She does not expect lows to fall anywhere near the temperatures we have experienced over the last five days.