textproduct: Hastings

KEY MESSAGES

- A few places of fog may be possible to form tonight. Though the total coverage of the fog remains somewhat uncertain, any location within the forecast area will still at least have some potential.

- Temperatures will be heating up for the weekend. Highs are expected to peak Sunday (90s with a few isolated places in the low 100s) with heat index values as high as 106 degrees.

- Highs for much of the rest of next week will look to mainly range the 90s.

- The next real chance for precipitation (>25% chance) does not come until Monday night (25-45% chances concentrated towards the northeast portions of the area).

DISCUSSION

Issued at 322 PM CDT Fri Jun 26 2026

Tonight...

Mostly cloudy to overcast skies today have helped keep highs in the upper 70s to lower 80s for one last time this week. Strengthening southerly winds, however, will later help warm things up for the weekend. Aloft, stable conditions from zonal (west to east) flow will help keep widespread precipitation chances out of the forecast for now.

A few scattered storms developing across the foothills of the Rockies this afternoon may later tonight approach the vicinity of a few west central NE/KS areas. Though it is unlikely for these storms to reach far past our western edge (Dawson/Gosper/Furnas counties in Nebraska and Phillips/Rooks in Kansas), a small possibility of a brief storm or shower can't be 100% ruled out (less than 20% chance). In all likeliness, these storms should generally be on their last leg if not just showers by the time of their potential arrival (around 10PM-3AM).

The only last feature to highlight tonight will be the potential for fog. Though winds may not fully calm overnight, speeds dropping less than 10MPH with broad southeast upslope flow and temperatures falling near their dewpoints (low to mid 60s), may lead to a few areas of condensation or in other words, fog formation. The high resolution models at this point in time, tend to favor east central Nebraska for the "densest" or best potential for fog formation tonight. Though the fog potential really can't be ruled out for the rest of the region given similar conditions. Confidence is not yet high enough to consider the issuance of a Dense Fog Advisory this shift, however, if certain model trends continue, one may be considered during the next forecast cycle tonight.

The Main Story this Weekend: The Heat...

Despite some morning to early afternoon cloud coverage on Saturday, highs will begin a weekend warmup, stretching into the 80s to low 90s Saturday and the 90s to low triple digits on Sunday (generally the warmest temperatures towards the far southwestern portions of the area). This multi-day warmup will mainly be influenced by the presence of a northward lifting warm front, accompanied by at times breezy southerly winds (gusts as high as 25-35MPH, possibly even a tad bit higher at times). This strong surface warm air advection will additionally feed in moisture on top of the warm airmass (60s and 70s dewpoints), especially across eastern NE/KS. This surge in moisture will ultimately result in inflated heat index values ranging the mid 90s (far west areas) all the way up to 106 degrees (far east areas with higher moisture content).

As far as the heat risk for Sunday goes, the area is currently forecast to range Moderate to High Heat Risk classifications (levels 2&3 out of 4). Even though gusty southerly winds may provide some heat relief Sunday afternoon, limited cloud coverage should not be able to limit the solar flux much. The Wet Bulb Globe Temperature forecast (an index to measure the solar/wind contribution/influence to/on heat relief) also shows values in the Moderate to High classifications (level 3&4 out of 5). Though the issuance of a Heat Advisory was held off for now (forecast nearing criteria), this heat will likely still be fairly impactful, especially to individuals without an effective hydration or cooling source.

Besides the warm temperatures, the mention of precipitation remain out of the forecast through the weekend. Aloft, southwest flow is slated to return as a Northwest U.S. centered trough provokes height/pressure falls across the Rocky Mountains. In addition, a Southeast U.S. ridge is expected to strengthen, partially halting the troughs eastward momentum. This ultimately should keep precipitation chances north of the area until at least Monday.

Monday and Beyond...

A little more nuance enters the forecast next week, though a few general conclusions can still be made. The main signal that continues to show merit is with the temperatures. Highs from Monday through Friday look to mainly stay in the 90s with overnight lows in the 70s. Besides the hot temperatures, a drier pattern may also lie on the horizon. The only mentionable PoPs in the forecast lie Monday night (10-45%) and Tuesday (25-45%) as the aforementioned trough sweeps by just northwest of the area. Several details regarding these storm's total coverage and intensity are still to be ironed out.

AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z SATURDAY/

Issued at 514 PM CDT Fri Jun 26 2026

For KGRI/KEAR Airports:

Steady southeasterly winds around 10 KTS will continue across the terminals through the overnight hours with CIGS lowering and becoming MVFR late tonight...likely aft 27/06Z...with some lower CIGS and VSBYS possible in light BR/-DZ towards daybreak Saturday as the atmosphere continues to saturate. These IFR/near LIFR conditions should improve by 27/15Z and winds begin to increase and gust to around 20 KTS...although MVFR CIGS will likely linger into the afternoon hours before finally clearing towards the tail end of the TAF period.

GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

NE...None. KS...None.