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Shaded-relief map of Broken Bow, Nebraska: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
NEBRASKA · CUSTER COUNTY

Broken Bow

3,491 people, 2,480 ft above sea level in Custer County.

2,480 ftElevation, city center
3,491People, 2024 estimate
2 sq miLand area
Sunny 45°
Sunny now Dew point 28° · SE 15 mph · high 42°
City of Broken Bow River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Broken Bow plate. Relief from Copernicus GLO-30; rivers and lakes from USGS NHD; watersheds from the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset; roads and city limits from Census TIGER 2024.

MILE1
TODAY

Today in Broken Bow

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 4:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW Broken Bow Municipal Airport (KBBW) · 3:53 PM
Sunny
45° Sunny Feels like 38° · high of 42° near 4 PM
WindSE 15 mphno gusts
Humidity51%rising to 92% by morning
Pressure30.05 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 28° · Dry40° by Tuesday: more humid
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Rain
Friday70% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 30.03 in · 11 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Custer County
NWS North Platte and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 4:46 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 7:25 AM5:20 PM ↓
9 h 54 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 26% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
10
GOODAir quality index · fine particles
No pollen source yet.

The next three days, hour by hour

Sky: clear, cloudy, night Rain likely National Blend of Models
SATURDAY, NOV. 14
SUNDAY, NOV. 15
MONDAY, NOV. 16
TUESDAY, NOV. 17
4p
7p
10p
1a
4a
7a
10a
1p
4p
7p
10p
1a
4a
7a
10a
1p
4p
7p
10p
1a
4a
7a
10a
1p
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
mostly sunny
clear day
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy day
mostly cloudy day
windy
TEMPERATURE °F
42°
32°
48°
36°
50°
38°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
14
12
9
8
8
9
13
15
12
11
12
12
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15
17
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HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 25 to 27° ↑ Humid air returns More humid: 39° by Tuesday

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 52° / 25°
SAT Nov. 14 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
42° 30°
0% rain — SSE 14, gusts 25 A
SUN Nov. 15 Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
52° 33°
0% rain — S 12, gusts 26 B
MON Nov. 16 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
54° 35°
0% rain — SSW 15, gusts 30 B
TUE Nov. 17 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
53° 40°
0% rain — S 15, gusts 29 B
WED Nov. 18 Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
61° 33°
10% rain — WNW 8 C
THU Nov. 19 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
54° 38°
20% rain — SE 6 C
FRI Nov. 20 Showers likely Showers likely
60° 38°
70% rain 0.08–0.9″ SW 12 C
How sure are we? AModels agree: highs within 4° BSome spread: within 8° CWide spread: check back
Range from the National Blend of Models percentiles · graded on Forecast Scores
AIR MAIL

Where today’s air came from

The air arriving over Broken Bow about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the southern Rockies three days ago, and over the southern Plains a day ago, about 830 miles back along its path. It rose from near the ground on the way. Near the ground the air came from Texas; at 10,000 feet, from the southern Rockies. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses, nine paths at each of three heights.

THIS WEEK IN 2005 Nov. 12, 2005

The hottest this week has been

82° on Nov. 12, 2005, the hottest reading for this week of the year since 1894. Next is 81° in 1941.

81°
82°
19412005
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Broken Bow 2 W record since 1894.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Broken Bow stands on

Broken Bow’s center stands about 2,480 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 2,440 ft to 2,650 ft, a difference of 210 ft: rolling country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is East Table, about 2,880 ft, 9 miles northwest.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Ogallala Group or Formation (siltstone-mudstone, conglomerate-sandstone), from the Miocene, 5.3 to 23 million years old.

Broken Bow, cut in half from west to east

A section west to east, 24 miles through the town center
2,400 ft2,600 ft2,800 ft BROKEN BOW2,480 ftHigh point of the line2,920 ftLow point2,390 ft ← WWesterville · E →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 36×. The colored band under the surface is the rock the state geologic map shows at the surface, not a picture of what lies beneath.

Rock at the surface along the line

Ogallala Group or Formation

Siltstone-mudstone, conglomerate-sandstone. Age: Miocene, 5.3 to 23 million years old. About 24 mi of the line.

From the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation (Horton and others, 2017), the states’ geologic maps joined at a common scale.

Heights from Copernicus GLO-90 (a surface model: it includes buildings and tree canopy); summits from USGS GNIS; rivers from USGS NHDPlus HR; rock from the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation.

MILE3
THE WATER

Where Broken Bow’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Broken Bow reaches the Gulf of America by way of Mud Creek, the South Loup, the Middle Loup, the Loup, the Platte, the Missouri and the Mississippi: about 2,070 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Broken Bow≈ 2,070 mi · the Gulf of America
FROM THE CENTER OF BROKEN BOW ≈ 2,070 mi to the Gulf of America Mud Creek → South Loup → … → Platte → Missouri → Mississippi

1,170 miles of the trip are on the Mississippi.

Traced down the USGS NHDPlus V2.1 river network from the Census center point of Broken Bow; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Broken Bow’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1894 · Broken Bow 2 W

Broken Bow has a dry-winter hot-summer continental climate. Summer afternoons average 86° in July; winter nights fall to about 11° in January. A normal year brings about 30 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 23 inches of water.

37°11°40°14°51°23°60°32°70°44°80°55°86°60°84°58°77°48°64°34°50°22°39°13° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 123 TODAY BROKEN BOW 23.0 in rain and snowmelt
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average86° / 60°high / low, the warmest month
January, average37° / 11°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow23.0 inwettest months: May and June
Snow a year29.5 insnowiest: February
Hottest on record116°FJuly 11, 1954
Coldest on record−42°FJanuary 23, 1915
Wettest day on record4.72 inAugust 10, 1968
Snowiest day on record19.0 inJanuary 19, 2023
90° days a year24about 1 of them 100° or more
Nights at or below 32°175and 41 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeDry-winter hot-summer continentalKöppen Dwa

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Sept. 28, to the last in spring, about May 13 (median dates)
2Lows below freezingOct. 19 to April 17; normal lows fall below 32°
3Wettest stretchMay through July: 10.9 of the year’s 23.0 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Broken Bow normally reaches 51° and falls to 22°. The record high is 79°, in 1999; the record low −12°, in 1940. The most rain on this date, 0.16 in, fell in 1972.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high37°40°51°60°70°80°86°84°77°64°50°39°
Normal low11°14°23°32°44°55°60°58°48°34°22°13°
Rain and melt, in0.320.471.292.524.033.733.122.482.031.830.720.50
Snow, inches4.47.03.82.80.10.00.00.00.02.03.75.7
Record high78° (1896)79° (1982)94° (2026)99° (1910)110° (1895)107° (1946)116° (1954)113° (1936)106° (1895)98° (2015)84° (2005)77° (1939)
Record low−42° (1915)−41° (1905)−22° (1960)−5° (1936)15° (1954)30° (1954)37° (1971)33° (1950)16° (1984)−1° (1925)−23° (1976)−30° (1967)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1894 at Broken Bow 2 W, here. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Broken Bow on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Lincoln NE · 160 MI 160 miles east Omaha NE · 187 MI 187 miles east Bellevue NE · 193 MI 193 miles east Council Bluffs IA · 197 MI 197 miles east
FORECASTCITY
Map of Broken Bow, Nebraska. Explore the plate
NEBRASKA · CUSTER

Broken Bow

3,491 people, 2,480 ft above sea level in Custer County.

2,480 ftElevation
3,491People
2 sq miLand
Sunny 45°
SunnyDew point 28°
1

Today in Broken Bow

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now partly cloudy day 42° 0%
7p partly cloudy night 40° 0%
10p partly cloudy night 36° 0%
1a mostly cloudy night 35° 0%
4a partly cloudy night 33° 1%
7a partly cloudy day 32° 1%
Rain
NEXT RAINFriday · 70%
→
Sat0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
30
42
A
Sun0%
Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
33
52
B
Mon0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
35
54
B
Tue0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
40
53
B
Wed10%
Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
33
61
C
Thu20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
38
54
C
Fri70%
Showers likely Showers likely
38
60
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK IN 2005 · NOV. 12, 2005

82°, the hottest this week of the year has been since 1894.

2

What Broken Bow stands on

Broken Bow’s center stands about 2,480 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 2,440 ft to 2,650 ft, a difference of 210 ft: rolling country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is East Table, about 2,880 ft, 9 miles northwest.

Broken Bow, west to east Broken Bow2,480 ft ← WE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 69×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center2,480 ft
Within 3 miles2,440 to 2,650 ft
Lie of the landRolling (210 ft of relief)
High point nearbyEast Table, 2,880 ft, 9 mi northwest
Rock at the surfaceOgallala Group or Formation
Its ageMiocene, 5.3 to 23 million years old
5

Broken Bow’s year

Broken Bow has a dry-winter hot-summer continental climate. Summer afternoons average 86° in July; winter nights fall to about 11° in January. A normal year brings about 30 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 23 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 123 23.0 in
July, average86° / 60° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average37° / 11° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow23.0 in · wettest months: May and June
Snow a year29.5 in · snowiest: February
Hottest on record116°F · July 11, 1954
Coldest on record−42°F · January 23, 1915
Wettest day on record4.72 in · August 10, 1968
Snowiest day on record19.0 in · January 19, 2023
90° days a year24 · about 1 of them 100° or more
Nights at or below 32°175 · and 41 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeDry-winter hot-summer continental · Köppen Dwa
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Sept. 28, to the last in spring, about May 13 (median dates)
2Lows below freezing · Oct. 19 to April 17; normal lows fall below 32°
3Wettest stretch · May through July: 10.9 of the year’s 23.0 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Broken Bow normally reaches 51° and falls to 22°. The record high is 79°, in 1999; the record low −12°, in 1940. The most rain on this date, 0.16 in, fell in 1972.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1894 at Broken Bow 2 W, here. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 2,070 mito the Gulf of AmericaMud Creek → South Loup → … → Platte → Missouri → Mississippi

A raindrop that lands in Broken Bow reaches the Gulf of America by way of Mud Creek, the South Loup, the Middle Loup, the Loup, the Platte, the Missouri and the Mississippi: about 2,070 river miles.

1,170 miles of the trip are on the Mississippi.