Tropical Nebraska

Why is it that a distance of 100 or 200 miles can make a difference of 20 or 30 degrees in temperature? Oh I know my geography and all of the scientific reasons for temperature gradients and changes and equatorial distance and all that stuff. But when Barb and I visit her family in Nebraska, I refer to our heading for "tropical Nebraska," because the weather's usually warmer there (sometimes quite a bit warmer) than in South Dakota.
On Saturday we made a last-minute decision to go to Kearney to attend a family gathering in honor of Barb's nephew, Josh, who is leaving on Monday for the Air Force. We were lucky in dodging the "S" word (for the most part) on Friday. While much of the state got snow (several inches in some cases), in Hartford we only had a bit more than a dusting... to the point that when we got up Saturday morning the ground was still white, but by mid-morning the evidence was gone, except on the north side of the house, fences, etc.
We packed up and headed out of town Saturday morning. As we headed toward Hwy. 81 (near Salem) we ran into heavier snow cover, which continued all the way down to north of Norfolk, NE. But by the time we reached Columbus (app. 45 miles south of Norfolk), the sun was out, grass was green and one bank proclaimed a temperature of 61 degrees. That sent us to the Weather Channel via Barb's Blackberry to check out local temperatures... Lincoln, 62; Kearney, 64; ... and Sioux Falls, 34. Ugh! Thirty degrees difference in a matter of less than 200 miles.
As we got closer to Kearney we also came upon dandelions. And water. Lots and lots of water in the ditches. Up to 2.4 inches of rain had fallen. That would've been an awful lot of snow farther north.
On our trip home Sunday we knew snow would be waiting for us as we headed north. But near Freeman it started to snow and rain -- snain -- and then more snow than rain, and by the time we reached Interstate 90 there was snow sticking to the roadway, and it looked like things were gonna get slick. But to keep this story short, we made it home fine, and woke up this morning to a snow-white lawn. By tonight, the snow had disappeared, but there's more snow in the forecast.
Hey, it's only April. The snow shovels are still within arm's reach in the garage, and the boots are still in the closet. I expect I'll wear them tomorrow.