Road closures stacking up across Nebraska as winter weather blankets the state

HASTINGS, Neb. -- More and more roads are closing across Nebraska.

U.S. Highway 83 between Stapleton and Thedford is closed to all traffic except emergency vehicles. The route was considered impassable further south to North Platte.

Nebraska Highway 92 from Tryon to Stapleton is closed, with the highway considered impassable further east to just east of Broken Bow.

Nebraska Highway 2 between Mullen and Dunning is also closed in the area.

Several routes near Ravenna are currently considered impassable, according to the Nebraska Department of Transportation.

Further west, U.S. Highway 26 between Lewellen and Ogallala was considered impassable.

Highway 30 and Interstate 80 have been closed from North Platte to Wyoming since Tuesday night, with the closure extended to Kearney by Wednesday morning.

Several smaller roads were closed north of the Tri-Cities and south of Holt County.

Road closures were limited in the eastern third of the state.

The snow is expected to continue to move east through Wednesday night and into Thursday morning.

Parts of southeast Nebraska, particularly those near North Platte, have seen reports of 12-18 inches of snow by mid-afternoon Wednesday.

Snow hit the Panhandle first, with places like Kimball, Scottsbluff and Gering getting pelted throughout the day. While snow has started to die down in the Panhandle, winds remain significant, in some cases exceeding 35 miles per hour, which is making visibility difficult.

While the snow didn't get heavy in the Tri-Cities until the afternoon, the areas were affected by travelers and truckers being forced to halt their journeys in central Nebraska.

Northeast Nebraska was seeing varying conditions throughout Wednesday, with places like Norfolk and Columbus getting heavy snow in the afternoon, though further northeast in areas like Laurel, Coleridge and Hartington, precipitation was limited to light rain throughout the early stages of the afternoon, though light snow started to move in by late afternoon.

Further southeast in places like Lincoln and Beatrice, freezing rain was the dominant form of precipitation for most of the day.

That could create even trickier conditions in the southeast part of the state, with the ice causing slick roads and weighing down power lines.

Stay tuned to News Channel Nebraska for updates.