Chadron, Harrison receive over a foot of snow during spring storm

CHADRON - Blizzard and winter storm warnings were in effect for all of northwest Nebraska through at least Wednesday night. 

The National Weather Service office in Cheyenne reported Tuesday evening Harrison received 20 inches of snow, Chadron got 18 inches, and a foot of snow in Agate. 6 inches of snow fell in Torrington, 10 inches in parts of Cheyenne, and 15 inches in Wheatland.

A single-day record of 26.7 inches of snow fell in Casper, Wyo. on Monday. That broke the previous record of 24.3 inches on Dec. 24, 1982.

A quarter of an inch of ice was reported in Hemingford. Brownson was covered in 0.12 inches of ice.

Highway 385 north of Chadron was the lone road closure as of Tuesday evening. 

Blowing snow was expected to contribute to more blizzard conditions through Wednesday. Winds were forecast to gust as high as 45 mph.

Dozens of schools in the Nebraska Panhandle either adjusted class schedules, or closed school altogether, Tuesday and Wednesday. 

The spring snow storm is part of a larger system striking the mid-section of the United States. Strong storms including hail and tornadoes were again hitting parts of the Midwest and South.

The National Weather Service began issuing tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings Tuesday evening in Iowa and Illinois with forecasters saying severe weather was also likely Wednesday in eastern Illinois, lower Michigan and parts of the Ohio Valley.

Fire danger remains high across portions of Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Colorado.