Snowfall, rain, bomb cyclone bring flooding, road closures to Nebraska

By IAN KAHLER

A combination of snowfall, ice and warm rains mixed into what was called a “Bomb Cyclone” struck Nebraska on March 12-14, bringing massive flooding that caused road closures across the entire Midwest.

Blizzard conditions brought snow, and massive warm rainfalls meant the snow and ice would melt and would eventually bring record and historic flooding to Nebraska.

Hanna Hake is a senior AD/PR major and Multimedia minor at UNK and is from Creston, Nebraska and the surrounding areas around Creston were severely affected by the flooding. 

“My hometown has not really been directly affected or washed out, but the bridges connecting Creston to towns like Columbus and Norfolk were washed out,” Hake said. “It makes it almost impossible to haul grain or move cattle when a lot of the roads are in such poor condition.”

Mike Davis is a former Wood River citizen and his family farm has been effected by the flooding as well. “The flooding is one thing, but when all of the underlying water and snow melts and thaws out, the roads give-way and it cant take it anymore,” Davis said. 

“I haven’t been involved much with the farm recently but hearing what my family has gone through since the flooding has happened breaks my heart,” Davis said. “When I drive through Wood River for work and I see that downtown is submerged is like seeing something out of a movie. It seems impossible, but the impossible happened.”

The biggest thing the Bomb Cyclone and historic flooding brought was the road closures they brought to the state. 

“All I wanted to do was go back home to see the flooding myself,” Hake said. “All I could do from Kearney was look at the pictures from back at home and see all the water and damage, but there was nothing I could do to help. I got home for Spring Break when the water went down enough, and thankfully our house is built higher off the ground, but our fences and fields need a lot of help.”

Besides the washed-out side roads, many streets across the state gave away and crumbled in an instant. 

“The water really did a number on the gravel roads in the area, and there aren’t enough resources for the counties to get out and fix them into an alright condition” Hake said. “I had to take the ‘scenic route’ back home and go all around to find a way back just because the flooding was so bad.”

“I hope the community and national efforts help Nebraskans out in a big way,” Davis said. “It’s bizarre to see national news coverage of my hometown in such a dark state of condition, but whatever brings national attention to us and gets us help, we need all we can right now.”