As winter weather returns the Nebraska – Southwest Iowa Region of the American Red Cross is urging residents to take steps now to stay safe. Tina Lebellarte is the Region CEO and says those who have to travel should reconsider their options. If travel is unavoidable she recommends having a well stocked emergency preparedness kit with you. It should include a cell phone and charger, a shovel, jumper cables, bags of sand or kitty litter and a tool kit. She also recommends having plenty of batteries for flashlights or having a hand-cranked device. The same goes for a radio. Lebellarte also suggests packing dry clothing, extra hats, coats, mittens or gloves and dry boots. Bottled water, hard candy and non-perishable foods should also be kept inside the vehicle. First aid kits should also be kept in a vehicle and inside each home.

The American Red Cross also recommends making sure you have plenty of food at home during severe winter weather. They suggest non-perishable food that doesn’t require electricity to cook. Make sure you have a non-electric can opener. Lebellarte says if you are making a trip to the store don’t forget to stock up on extra pet food and supplies.

During disasters that include floods, tornados and fires, the American Red Cross provides assistance by putting up shelters for victims to stay. Lebellarte says during snow storms it is much too dangerous for their volunteers to be out and about but they do survey motel operators to get reports of vacancies.

Old man winter is back. Much of the state is under a winter storm watch with some areas reporting 13 inches of snow Friday afternoon. Plowing snow is quite a job in Nebraska’s largest city. Scott McIntyre is the city of Omaha’s Street Engineer and says trucks and crews are ready to tackle the snow. The city will have 90 snow plows and trucks ready to hit the streets when the snowflakes start to fall. With the mild winter Omaha has only used 10-percent of their supply of salt and sand so there is plenty to tackle this storm.

The snow plows will concentrate on the city’s main streets. McIntyre says if extra help is needed they will contract 18 contractors who have 80 trucks to clear residential streets.

Some weather sources are reporting we could get an inch of snow per hour and thunder-snow is likely. Snow and blowing snow will also create dangerous driving conditions. Strong winds are also expected with this storm.

A mild January gives way to a winter storm watch for Nebraska this first weekend in February.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch for the state, predicting a storm will move from Colorado into the state. It could leave anywhere from four to 14 inches of snow in its wake.

Meteorologist Ken Siemek predicts winter returns with a vengeance this weekend.

“This one bears watching,” Siemek says. “It is certainly is, without question, going to be the most significant storm Nebraska has seen this entire winter. And they’re still talking about the potential of 10, 12, maybe up to 14 inches of snow in parts of western and central Nebraska.”

This winter storm should move from in Friday evening, hitting western Nebraska hard.

“We’ve got blizzard warnings in the far west,” according to Siemek. “We’re talking about west of North Platte in the Imperial and McCook areas and then winter storm warnings out around North Platte.”

It is a forecast so bleak that Speaker of the Legislature Mike Flood has announced that legislative hearings at the Capitol on Friday afternoon have been cancelled. The hearings have been rescheduled for Monday, February 13th, beginning at 9:30am. The legislature plans to only be in session for a couple of hours this morning so that members can get home ahead of the storm.

AUDIO: Brent Martin reports [:40]