HASTINGS, Neb. -- Wednesday's winter storm was as advertised, dropping remarkable snowfall totals and shutting down highways across the state.

Residents in central Nebraska were hit the hardest, with storm spotters near Merna reporting just shy of 24 inches of snow.

Custer County was the epicenter of the heaviest snow, with towns like Callaway and Broken Bow reporting totals around 20 inches.

Heavy snowfall was reported all over the state. An 18-inch total was reported near Harrisburg in the Panhandle. North Platte reported 14 inches. The Tri-Cities received approximately 10 inches. Ainsworth saw 15 and a half inches. Norfolk reported nine inches, and in the extreme northeast community of Jackson, there was a report of eight inches.

Heavy snow had hundreds of miles of highway closed or considered impassable across Nebraska Thursday morning, including U.S. Highway 30 and I-80 from Grand Island to the Wyoming border.