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

Osceola

885 people, 1,650 ft above sea level in Polk County.

1,650 ftElevation, city center
885People, 2024 estimate
1 sq miLand area
Sunny 45°
Sunny now Dew point 26° · SE 12 mph · high 42°
City of Osceola River Interstate 2 miles
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The Osceola 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 Osceola

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 4:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW Lincoln Municipal Airport (KLNK) · 4:54 PM
Sunny
45° Sunny Feels like 39° · high of 42° near 5 PM
WindSE 12 mphno gusts
Humidity47%rising to 85% by morning
Pressure30.21 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 26° · Dry39° by Tuesday: more humid
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Rain
Friday80% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 30.48 in · 11 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Polk County
NWS Hastings and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 5:16 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 7:16 AM5:12 PM ↓
9 h 55 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 26% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
8
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
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
clear night
clear night
clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
clear day
clear day
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
windy
windy
TEMPERATURE °F
42°
27°
51°
33°
54°
42°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
8
7
7
5
3
5
8
10
7
8
8
8
8
10
15
16
13
13
13
13
14
17
21
22
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 23 to 39° More humid: 38° 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° / 28°
SAT Nov. 14 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
42° 27°
0% rain — SE 8 A
SUN Nov. 15 Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
53° 32°
0% rain — S 7 B
MON Nov. 16 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
55° 39°
0% rain — S 13, gusts 28 B
TUE Nov. 17 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
58° 45°
0% rain — S 18, gusts 30 B
WED Nov. 18 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
63° 45°
10% rain — S 17, gusts 30 C
THU Nov. 19 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
60° 45°
10% rain — ESE 5 C
FRI Nov. 20 Showers likely Showers likely
66° 50°
80% rain 0.1–1.2″ S 20, gusts 32 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 Osceola about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the central Plains three days ago, and over the southern Plains a day ago, about 560 miles back along its path. The nine paths traced from around the city fan out, so treat that as a best guess. It came down from about 10,300 feet up, warming and drying as it sank. Near the ground the air came from Texas; at 10,000 feet, from the Great Basin. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses, nine paths at each of three heights.

THIS WEEK IN 1999 Nov. 13, 1999

The hottest this week has been

81° on Nov. 13, 1999, the hottest reading for this week of the year since 1895. Next is 81° in 2025.

81°
81°
20251999
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Osceola record since 1895.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Osceola stands on

Osceola’s center stands about 1,650 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,610 ft to 1,700 ft, a difference of 90 ft: gently rolling country.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Carlile Shale, from the Late Cretaceous, 66 to 100 million years old.

Osceola, cut in half from southwest to northeast

A section southwest to northeast, 24 miles through the town center
1,500 ft1,600 ft1,700 ft OSCEOLA1,650 ftHigh point of the line1,700 ftStromsburg1,680 ftLow point1,480 ft ← SW · BenedictNE →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 64×. 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

Carlile Shale

Shale. Age: Late Cretaceous, 66 to 100 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 Osceola’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Osceola reaches the Gulf of America by way of Davis Creek, the Big Blue, the Kansas, the Missouri and the Mississippi: about 1,970 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Osceola≈ 1,970 mi · the Gulf of America
FROM THE CENTER OF OSCEOLA ≈ 1,970 mi to the Gulf of America Davis Creek → Big Blue → Kansas → Missouri → Mississippi

Lake on the way: Tuttle Creek Lake.

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 Osceola; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Osceola’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1895 · Osceola

Osceola has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 86° in July; winter nights fall to about 13° in January. A normal year brings about 29 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 29 inches of water.

34°13°39°17°52°26°63°37°73°50°82°61°86°65°84°62°78°53°65°40°50°27°37°17° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 123 TODAY OSCEOLA 28.8 in rain and snowmelt
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average86° / 65°high / low, the warmest month
January, average34° / 13°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow28.8 inwettest months: May and June
Snow a year29.3 insnowiest: February
Hottest on record116°FJuly 25, 1936
Coldest on record−31°FFebruary 16, 2021
Wettest day on record6.95 inAugust 16, 2017
Snowiest day on record13.0 inNovember 28, 1983
90° days a year23very few reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°144and 42 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continentalKöppen Dfa

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Oct. 12, to the last in spring, about April 28 (median dates)
2Lows below freezingNov. 1 to April 3; normal lows fall below 32°
3Wettest stretchMay through July: 12.2 of the year’s 28.8 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Osceola normally reaches 51° and falls to 27°. The record high is 79°, in 1964; the record low −8°, in 1940. The most rain on this date, 1.80 in, fell in 1926.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high34°39°52°63°73°82°86°84°78°65°50°37°
Normal low13°17°26°37°50°61°65°62°53°40°27°17°
Rain and melt, in0.660.781.622.904.864.203.153.582.422.171.361.09
Snow, inches6.27.54.12.00.00.00.00.00.00.92.85.8
Record high73° (1990)81° (1972)98° (2026)98° (1910)104° (1934)110° (1946)116° (1936)112° (1936)105° (1939)96° (1927)83° (1945)72° (1939)
Record low−30° (1912)−31° (2021)−20° (1960)0° (1936)21° (1967)37° (1951)38° (1971)38° (1950)22° (1984)5° (1997)−13° (1964)−29° (1989)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1895 at Osceola, here. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Osceola on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Columbus NE · 20 MI 20 miles northeast Lincoln NE · 52 MI 52 miles southeast Omaha NE · 78 MI 78 miles east Topeka KS · 178 MI 178 miles southeast Lawrence KS · 195 MI 195 miles southeast
FORECASTCITY
Map of Osceola, Nebraska. Explore the plate
NEBRASKA · POLK

Osceola

885 people, 1,650 ft above sea level in Polk County.

1,650 ftElevation
885People
1 sq miLand
Sunny 45°
SunnyDew point 26°
1

Today in Osceola

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now partly cloudy night 42° 0%
8p partly cloudy night 38° 0%
11p partly cloudy night 34° 0%
2a partly cloudy night 31° 0%
5a mostly clear night 28° 0%
8a mostly sunny 29° 0%
Rain
NEXT RAINFriday · 80%
→
Sat0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
27
42
A
Sun0%
Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
32
53
B
Mon0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
39
55
B
Tue0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
45
58
B
Wed10%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
45
63
C
Thu10%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
45
60
C
Fri80%
Showers likely Showers likely
50
66
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK IN 1999 · NOV. 13, 1999

81°, the hottest this week of the year has been since 1895.

2

What Osceola stands on

Osceola’s center stands about 1,650 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,610 ft to 1,700 ft, a difference of 90 ft: gently rolling country.

Osceola, southwest to northeast Osceola1,650 ftHigh point1,700 ft ← SWNE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 122×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center1,650 ft
Within 3 miles1,610 to 1,700 ft
Lie of the landGently rolling (90 ft of relief)
Rock at the surfaceCarlile Shale
Its ageLate Cretaceous, 66 to 100 million years old
5

Osceola’s year

Osceola has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 86° in July; winter nights fall to about 13° in January. A normal year brings about 29 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 29 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 123 28.8 in
July, average86° / 65° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average34° / 13° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow28.8 in · wettest months: May and June
Snow a year29.3 in · snowiest: February
Hottest on record116°F · July 25, 1936
Coldest on record−31°F · February 16, 2021
Wettest day on record6.95 in · August 16, 2017
Snowiest day on record13.0 in · November 28, 1983
90° days a year23 · very few reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°144 · and 42 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continental · Köppen Dfa
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Oct. 12, to the last in spring, about April 28 (median dates)
2Lows below freezing · Nov. 1 to April 3; normal lows fall below 32°
3Wettest stretch · May through July: 12.2 of the year’s 28.8 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Osceola normally reaches 51° and falls to 27°. The record high is 79°, in 1964; the record low −8°, in 1940. The most rain on this date, 1.80 in, fell in 1926.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1895 at Osceola, here. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 1,970 mito the Gulf of AmericaDavis Creek → Big Blue → Kansas → Missouri → Mississippi

A raindrop that lands in Osceola reaches the Gulf of America by way of Davis Creek, the Big Blue, the Kansas, the Missouri and the Mississippi: about 1,970 river miles.

Lake on the way: Tuttle Creek Lake.

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