textproduct: Hastings

KEY MESSAGES

- Rain will switch over to snow across much of the area late this afternoon and evening with precipitation coming to an end for the majority of the local area by midnight.

- Up to a slushy inch of snow will be possible in spots this evening, but many locations will see little to no snowfall accumulation at all as air temperatures will remain near to above freezing until precipitation comes to an end by midnight.

- A couple of nuisance precipitation chances Friday (mainly KS) and Saturday (mainly north of HWY 92) with more seasonal temperatures through Saturday. Near to above normal temperatures and predominantly dry weather expected for the remainder of the forecast period.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 222 PM CST Thu Jan 8 2026

An area of low pressure can be seen circulating on radar across Northeastern Kansas this afternoon. A large shield of stratiform precipitation on the backside of this low has provided steady light rain event across much of the area today, with a few snowflakes mixing in at spots the past hour or so. Expect precipitation to gradually change over to light snow from northwest to southeast as we continue through the remainder of the afternoon/early evening hours as cooler air continues to advect southeast across the area behind this system. While the cooler air advecting in aloft will support snow, surface temperatures will likely remain near to above freezing through around midnight, and given the thawed out soils, have a hard time imagining much accumulation will be possible outside a few brief, heavier bands of precipitation, if they materialize at all. The NAM and NAMnest have not surprisingly backed off on snowfall potential with this system as they come into better agreement with other mesoscale models such as the HRRR, which indicate around an inch or so of snowfall accumulation will be possible across mainly the Tri-cities area. While this still seems likely too high of a snowfall total given the precipitation rate and antecedent conditions, will continue to advertise up to an inch of slushy snowfall accumulation through around midnight in the HWO.

As this system pushes further east overnight, expect temperatures to fall by daybreak Friday as some partial clearing is realized, with morning temps expected to be mostly in the lower to mid-20s to start the day. Aloft, expect the subsequent upper level disturbance lifting out of the southwest to mainly pass south of the local area Friday, brining only a small chance of light precip to mainly north central Kansas, slightly out of phase with a reinforcing shot of cooler air reaching the area from the northwest Friday afternoon/night. A weak disturbance in northwest flow could then bring some very light snow across our far north (mainly north of HWY 92) Saturday, which should be just a glancing blow with little to no snowfall accumulation. Temperatures, however, will likely be impacted, with more seasonable temperatures remaining in the forecast through Sunday morning, when temperatures will start to rebound thanks to southwesterly surface flow returning and rising heights aloft, eventually resulting in above/well above normal temperatures returning through at least next Thursday.

While upper level ridging is forecast to start next week, a pair of upper level disturbance could clip the local area in north/northwest flow Tuesday and Wednesday, bringing a brief dip in temperatures (although still above normal) to the area on Wednesday along with some very small chances for precip Tue/Wed. While most ensemble members are dry over this period, the official blended forecast does have some small POPS for areas north and east of the Nebraska Tri-Cities Tuesday into Wednesday, but this should be another glancing blow with little to no precipitation accumulation anticipated at this time.

Beyond Wednesday, north to northwesterly flow is expected to continue across the local area aloft, with additional passing disturbances late next week/weekend. While these do not appear like major precipitation makers given their trajectory and model data, it could mark the beginning of a more prolonged period of near or below normal temperatures returning to the local area starting around the 16th of the month.

AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z SATURDAY/

Issued at 1128 PM CST Thu Jan 8 2026

For KGRI/KEAR Airports:

VFR conditions are expected through the period. (85% confidence). BKN-OVC skies are expected for most of Friday, but cloud bases should remain around 10kft.

Winds remain out of the northwest through the period.

GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

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