December 2025 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN 29 ERIC HUNT, PH.D. | ASSISTANT EXTENSION EDUCATOR OF AGRICULTURAL METEOROLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN peratures for areas east of the Rockies goes up substantially. A pattern like this does seem to be suggested by the temperature anomalies in the European model as we get into the back half of winter. So we may need to watch out for more periods of extended cold as we get deeper into January. Now for the question, “How much snow will we get?” The answer is more than zero! All joking aside, the amount of snow is hard to project this far out (more so than temperatures) as one or two storms can have an outsized impact on overall snowfall totals. The CPC outlook would imply snowfall amounts above average in northeast Nebraska and average amounts elsewhere. This is a reflection that, on average, when we are under prevailing northwesterly flow in the winter, we may be cold but not necessarily getting big snows with high moisture contents. In other words, 40 inches of total winter snow may only yield a little more than two inches of liquid moisture. Think of the typical 2- to 3-inch dry snow that blows around in 40 mph winds. To get the big snows, we really need deeper troughing in the West to give us southwest flow. The official drought outlook shows most of the state remains drought free through the winter. The exception is the Panhandle where we still have drought. However, recent dryness in the region does mean that a dry overall winter will increase the odds of drought developing during the winter. Therefore, it will be critical to get some snow this winter to help improve topsoil moisture and preserve any sub-soil moisture that we do have. That also would reduce the wildfire risk going into next spring. Since winter is our driest season in an absolute sense, it would have to be near historically dry to see severe drought encompassing northeast Nebraska by next spring. But that did happen four winters ago during a La Niña and set up the region for one of the worst drought years in the last several decades. Not something to worry about but something to keep in the back of your mind. ~NC~ 15th Annual Bull Sale Thursday March 19th, 2026 Bulls and Females sired by BNWZ Bougie Selling 90 Spring Angus Bulls & a Select group of Yearling Heifers Additional Sires: BNWZ Nobility, Ellingson Big River and our own Herd bull battery. Marda Great Lakes Crouch Congress dblbullsale.net Dean Christensen (308) 550-0298 Fullerton, NE Bonnie Christensen (308) 550-0299 Office (308)536-2405 Glenn Davis (219)776-7584
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