Southwest avoids most power outages

On a snow-packed hill in McCook's Kelley Park, Cameron Burkey tries out an innertube after 12-14 inches of snow fell Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The hills in the park were "kid magnets" Monday, as hundreds tried out new Christmas sleds or used whatever was handy. (Connie Jo Discoe/McCook Daily Gazette)

While Southwest Nebraska received more than a foot of snow, it escaped the ice and snow that caused massive power outages in other parts of Nebraska.

McCook received an inch and a quarter of moisture in the weekend storm in more than a foot of snow, leaving it with 20.89 inches of precipitation for 2006, .73 of an inch below the normal amount of 21.62 inches.

There were more than the normal number of emergency calls and accident reports over the course of the storm, but not an excessive number, according to observers.