textproduct: Hastings

KEY MESSAGES

- Dangerous fire weather conditions return today. A Red Flag Warning is in effect for areas along and west of Highway 281. Refer to the "Fire Weather" section for more specifics.

- Very strong north-northwest winds arrive early Sunday morning and continue through the day. Gusts near 60 MPH are possible, and a High Wind Watch is in effect for the entire area.

- This system will also bring a significant cooldown and a chance for light snow to the area during the day on Sunday.

- Near-record temperatures return for the middle to end of next week.

UPDATE

Issued at 305 AM CDT Sat Mar 14 2026

Overall, there are no significant changes from previous forecasts.

Temperatures warm into the the 70s for most of the area today, fueled by gusty south-southwesterly winds ahead of an approaching storm system and associated cold front. This cold front will then sweep across the area between 1-4am Sunday, ushering in gusty northwest winds and a significant cooldown.

The initial surge of winds behind the front will be noticeable (~50 MPH), but north-northwesterly winds will continue to increase during the daytime. Sunday afternoon gusts near 60 MPH are increasingly likely (60-70% chance).

There is still potential for light snow to accompany the wind on Sunday (primarily during the daytime hours). Fortunately, the heaviest snowfall rates are expected to remain to our northeast, and the probability for 1.0" of snow accumulation is very low (10% or less). Nevertheless, localized poor visibility or patchy slick spots are possible.

And, speaking of poor visibility, the strong winds could promote areas of blowing dust during the day on Sunday. While this is not a "classic" blowing dust setup, the burn scars from the recent wildfires will present a source for blowing ash/dust.

Temperatures plummet into the single digits and teens Sunday night, and continued northwest winds will drive wind chills as low as -15 degrees. Monday remains cold and breezy, but a warmup is still on-track for the middle to end of the week.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 250 PM CDT Fri Mar 13 2026

Cooler temperatures and lighter winds prevailed across the region today as surface high pressure filled in from the north behind yesterdays cold front. Southerly return flow on the backside of this high has resulted in winds picking up a bit across western areas, with southerly wind gusts of 20 to 25 mph being observed in a few spots mainly west of highway 183. These modestly gusty winds combined with minimum relative humidity values below 30 percent are resulting in elevated to near critical fire weather conditions to our west, and can see an uptick in fire activity on the Cottonwood fire on satellite the the past few hours as a result.

As the sun goes down tonight, expect southerly winds to increase to near 10 MPH across the entire area overnight, with less gustiness...as the pressure gradient increases across the center of the local area. This tightening of the gradient should result in a more breezy day across the area on Saturday once we begin to mix the atmosphere by late morning, and a Red Flag Warning was issued from roughly 281 westward this morning to account for the combination of breezy south winds and low relative humidity values from the late morning through early evening hours. Was a bit generous with the eastward extent of the warning, but if we mix just a bit deeper (temperatures have been trending upward) the more critical conditions will have the potential to spread further east. Outside fire weather concerns, Saturday will be a fairly pleasant/breezy day across the local area - with high temperatures returning to the 70s for most.

Saturday evening the focus will begin to shift to a strong cold front approaching from the north. One small concern not covered in the current headlines is the potential for a surge of southerly winds late Saturday evening as indicated in a few models, with the potential for southerly winds to reach 60 mph across mainly southeastern portions of the area overnight. While it will be windy across the area Saturday night in this surge, did not include this period in the high wind watch as the main show is still expected to be during the daytime hours Sunday with/behind the cold front. Multiple EC/GFS ensemble members are strongly signaling severe gusts with this front, and issued a high wind watch to cover this (albeit, it may be need to eventually begin earlier if southerly surge ahead of the front continues to trend stronger).

While winds on Sunday continue to indicate a very windy day across the region, precipitation has trended downward, and snowfall totals with the latest model runs have roughly been cut in half from just 12 hours ago. Evenso, any snow that falls with 60+ MPH winds could cause significant impacts, so will need to continue to monitor. In addition, the dry weather and recent fires could also contribute to some blowing dust/ash across the area, and added areas of blowing dust to the forecast for Sunday primarily for areas southwest of the Nebraska Tri- Cities during the daytime hours.

As winds start to diminish Sunday evening, temperatures will plummet, and expect a very cold start to the work week, with low temperatures Monday morning falling into the single digits in spots, with wind chills as cold as -10 degrees anticipated. This cold start to the week will be brief, however, and a return to high temperatures in the 70s and 80s is anticipated for the middle and latter portion of the week. Thankfully, as temperatures soar thanks to a strong area of high pressure building aloft, winds will be on the lighter side, and while there will still likely be some fire weather concerns, it could be much worse.

AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z SUNDAY/

Issued at 609 AM CDT Sat Mar 14 2026

For KGRI/KEAR Airports:

Winds today will turn to the south with gusts 20-25kts in the afternoon. There will be a brief period of LLWS tonight ahead of an approaching cold front. The front will move through around 07Z, ushering in strong north-northwesterly winds (gusts 40kt). Even stronger winds are expected to arrive during the daytime on Sunday.

VFR conditions are expected for most of the period, but MVFR ceilings are expected to return just prior to 12Z Sunday.

FIRE WEATHER

Issued at 305 AM CDT Sat Mar 14 2026

Today, humidity will dip very low (15 percent or lower) in western portions of the area. This will be accompanied by south-southwest winds gusting 25-30 MPH at times. As a result, areas along and west of Highway 281 are in a Red Flag Warning.

Strong north-northwest winds arrive early Sunday morning and continue through the day. Gusts near 60 MPH are expected during the daytime. Temperatures will trend much colder, therefore humidity will remain well above critical thresholds. Additionally, light snow is possible, mainly over northeastern portions of the area during the day on Sunday.

Monday will remain cold...but still relatively dry and breezy. Temperatures warm through next week, although winds do not look particularly concerning at this time.

GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

NE...Red Flag Warning from 11 AM this morning to 9 PM CDT this evening for NEZ039-040-046-047-060>062-072>075-082>085. High Wind Watch from Sunday morning through Sunday evening for NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087. KS...Red Flag Warning from 11 AM this morning to 9 PM CDT this evening for KSZ005-006-017-018. High Wind Watch from Sunday morning through Sunday evening for KSZ005>007-017>019.