LINCOLN, NE
WINTER CLIMATE DURING
La Niña EVENTS
There have been 15 La Ninas since 1950 (The dates of recent La Niña events are listed at the end of the page).  The following table shows the average snowfall, temperature, and precipitation for Lincoln, Nebraska during the combined 15 La Nina's.  Although the sample is small, i.e. only 15 years, it does at least show what the weather was like averaged over previous La Niña events.  The "normals" refers to the standard 30-year climatological normals (1961-1990).

As can be seen in the following three tables,  La Niña winters (December through March) in Lincoln, NE average SNOWIER THAN NORMAL (27.0 inches vs 21.5 inches); SLIGHTLY COLDER THAN NORMAL (27.4 F vs 28.0 F); and SLIGHTLY DRIER THAN NORMAL (4.07 inches vs 4.23).

However, the biggest feature of La Niña winters in Lincoln is the HUGE variation from one La Niña to the next.  For example the La Niña of December 1973 saw 19.8 inches of snowfall in Lincoln, but the La Niña of December 1970 saw only 0.4 inches of snowfall.   This makes long-range forecasting very tricky for our region.  The mean storm track should be just to our north, however any slight adjustment north or south can mean the difference between almost no snowfall to several feet of snowfall!  There is also a HUGE variation in temperatures during La Niña events ranging from the La Niña of December 1983 with only 8.1 degrees F for the average December temperature to the La Niña of December 1988 with an average December tempearture of 31.7 degrees.

Lincoln, NE, SNOWFALL (inches) During La Niña Winters

 
DEC
JAN
FEB
MAR
TOTAL
30-year normals
5.6
5.1
5.7
5.1
21.5
La Niña average
5.2
8.4
7.7
6.1
27.5
La Niña
Most
19.8
15.1
26.1
17.0
 41.6
La Niña
Least
0.4
1.1
0.0
0.7
 14.8

Lincoln, NE, TEMPERATURES (deg. F) During La Niña Winters

 
DEC
JAN
FEB
MAR
AVERAGE
30-year normals
25.6
21.3
26.6
38.6
28.0
La Niña average
26.2
21.5
26.3
35.7
27.4
La Niña
Warmest
33.4
33.5
36.9
42.6
33.4
La Niña
Coldest
8.1
15.6
16.3
26.4
23.0

Lincoln, NE, PRECIPITATION* (inches) During La Niña Winters

 
DEC
JAN
FEB
MAR
TOTAL
30-year normals
0.88
0.54
0.72
2.09
4.23
La Niña average
0.81
0.78
1.21
1.27
4.07
La Niña
Most
3.42
1.36
3.47
3.04
6.99
La Niña
Least
0.16
0.27
0.06
0.11
1.21
* PRECIPITATION is liquid equivalent,
i.e. melted snowfall water equivalent and rainfall, if any, combined.


DECEMBER-MARCH ANALYSIS
15 yrs,  LA-NINA SNOWFALL

                      DEC    JAN    FEB    MAR    TOTAL   DEP.
 1949-50  3.3    8.7    9.6    8.1     29.7  + 8.2
 1950-51  2.7    8.3    2.0    3.9     16.9  - 4.6
 1954-55  0.8   13.9    5.4    3.5     23.6  + 2.1
 1955-56  3.3   11.3    3.6    1.5     19.7  - 1.8
 1964-65  1.5    3.7   26.1   10.3     41.6  +20.1
 1970-71  0.4   15.1   17.6    8.3     41.4  +19.9
 1973-74 19.8   11.0    0.9    1.6     33.3  +11.8
 1974-75  8.3   14.6   10.9    4.4     38.2  +16.7
 1975-76  1.3    3.9    4.3    5.3     14.8  - 6.7
 1983-84 13.8    2.5    5.1   17.0     38.4  +16.9
 1984-85  6.2    4.7    3.1    7.0     21.0  - 0.5
 1988-89  3.1    1.1   11.5    0.7     16.4  - 5.1
 1995-96  3.7   11.0     T     7.4     22.1  + 0.6
 1999-00  3.8    0.5    7.6     T      11.2  - 9.6 
 2000-01 15.4    5.5   14.2    0.2     35.3  +13.8
La Nina
Average   5.8    7.7    8.1    5.3     27.0  + 5.5

30-year
Average   5.6    5.1    5.7    5.1     21.5

DEP. = departure from the standard 30-year normals

La Niña Winters, 1949-1998:
December 1949 - March 1950
December 1950 - March 1951
December 1954 - March 1955
December 1955 - March 1956
December 1964 - March 1965
December 1970 - March 1971
December 1973 - March 1974
December 1974 - March 1975
December 1975 - March 1976
December 1983 - March 1984
December 1984 - March 1985
December 1988 - March 1989
December 1995 - March 1996
December 1998 - March 1999
December 1999 - March 2000
December 2000 - March 2001

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UNL
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
High Plains Regional Climate Center