An arctic blast moved into the region, bringing with it frigid temperatures coupled with snow, breaking a record for low temperature that was set in 1936.
On Feb. 15 at 12:32 a.m., the new record low temperature of -28 degrees was recorded at the Alliance Airport, breaking the old record of -22 degrees that was set in 1936.
The cold temps combined with wind chill dropped the “feels like” temperature as low as -50 degrees early Monday morning.
With the increased demand for power, the Southwest Power Pool, of which Alliance’s wholesale power supplier, the Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska, issues Energy Emergency alerts on Monday, noting that interruptions may occur.
“Due to widespread and extreme cold, worsening conditions are creating energy deficiencies in the region and may lead to controlled service interruptions,” a press release from the City of Alliance stated.
City officials asked citizens to reduce their power usage to reduce the risk of power outages due to the increased demand for power. They asked citizens to take steps, such as lowering thermostats, unplugging unnecessary appliances and refraining from using large appliances.
On Tuesday, officials announced the grid was stable enough to lessen the need for scheduled blackouts, though the system may fluctuate over the coming days.
According to the National Weather Service in Cheyenne, a snowstorm last week dropped between 1.5 and 6 inches of snow across the county. Due to the expected accumulation of snow, the City of Alliance and the Village of Hemingford each declared a snow emergency.
The snow’s impact was also seen on the TestNebraska site at Box Butte General Hospital, with inclement weather closing the COVID-19 testing site. The site, which announced changes to the hours of operation, reopened on Tuesday from 9-10 a.m. and will be open again from 9-10 a.m. on Friday.