The winter season actually started out fairly early with a storm at the beginning of October. Here at my house I measured 7" on October 10th. this was one of the earliest times ever recorded for snowfall. Here is a link to info on this early season snowstorm:
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=oax&storyid=31777&source=2
After the early snow, October saw no more major snowstorms, but remained very cold. In Omaha, it was the 3rd coldest October ever!
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=oax&storyid=35850&source=2
November was a drastic turnaround with the month being the 6th warmest ever in Omaha!
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=oax&storyid=43531&source=2
Then came December with two major snowstorms. The first hit on Dec. 8th and 9th and brought 9-14" of snow to most of eastern nebraska and western iowa. I ended up with just about 12" here at the house. After most of the snow had ended winds picked up and gusted over 50 mph! here is a link to the storm info:
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=oax&storyid=44116&source=2
This storm was forecast for days with very good model consistency. I've included some of the forecast snowfall amounts from wxcaster.com in the days leading up to the storm.
The next major snowstorm was the Christmas blizzard from Dec. 24th-26th. This storm was a monster storm with totals measured in feet in many places and also very strong winds. In fact this storm was so large that at one point it was drawing in airmasses from the atlantic ocean, the pacific ocean and the Gulf of Mexico!! Snowfall here in Omaha ranged from 12"-15". This storm set more records and December snowfall records were also set. Here is a link to the storm info:
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=oax&storyid=45186&source=2
some more links:
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=oax&storyid=45268&source=2
snowfall in southeast south dakota and northwest iowa:
http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/3484/sesdtotals.png
link to website that has info for all regions affected by this massive storm:
http://snowday.community.officelive.com/ChristmasBlizzard2009.aspx
again the models were fairly consistent on snowfall amounts. here's some forecast images:
here are some images of forecast amounts by the des moines wfo, and also a detailed map of snowfall totals:
here are some pictures taken by others from around omaha. omaha's snowpack was now near 2 feet with drifts out in the country of 12'-20'(that's feet)!!
Since the christmas blizzard we haven't had any major snowstorms. there have been a handful of minor to moderate accumulation snowfalls, i.e. less than 5" to keep our snowpack. Omaha has just broke its record of having at least 1" of snowfall on the ground with now 76 days(2/20). also with the very deep snowpack, temperatures have continued to be well below normal. normally during an el nino winter, temps are above average. the first part of january nearly broke records for cold. there were a few record lows on some evenings and schools had to close due to the severe cold and wind chills. i've included a link to the cold temps and a link to the other records for lengths of snowdepths broken this winter.
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=oax&storyid=46250&source=2
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=oax&storyid=47880&source=2
here are some pictures i took at the beginning of january from around the area and my backyard:
