textproduct: Hastings

KEY MESSAGES

- Very pleasant weather today as highs climb into the 60s with light winds and mostly sunny skies.

- Record warmth on Monday as highs soar into the 70s. Near- Critical fire weather conditions are possible due to low relative humidity and breezier winds.

- As a result of the unusual early February warmth, there is at least limited potential for ice jam flooding over the next few days along our Nebraska counties residing along the Platte/Loup River systems (see separate hydrology section below for more).

- Low probability chances for precipitation (15-35%) return Thursday, though widespread or significant precipitation is not expected at this time.

UPDATE

Issued at 311 AM CST Sun Feb 8 2026

Temperatures this morning are currently in the 30s under mostly clear skies. Aloft, ridging is building over the area as troughing persists over the east coast. A beautiful February day is expected as highs soar into the mid/upper 60s, with 70s possible across far western portions of the area. These highs are around 30 degrees above their climatological normals (upper 30s)! Winds will remain light during the day, further contributing to the pleasant weather. Get outside and enjoy the weather if you can! Lows tonight will be in the 30s, under mostly clear skies.

Record warmth remains on track for Monday as highs soar into the 70s, around 35 degrees above their climatological normals! The record warmth will also result in afternoon relative humidity values falling to 15-25%, driest west of Highway 183. Winds gusts will be stronger than on Sunday, bringing a chance for near-critical fire weather conditions. Northwestern portions of the area are the most likely to see the overlap of highest winds (20-25mph gusts) and lowest relative humidity. If winds were to increase further, a brief window of critical fire weather conditions may develop.

Otherwise the cooldown (highs 40s/50s) remain on track through the rest of the forecast period as a cold front moves through the area Monday evening/night. Ridging aloft will transition to southwesterly flow over the area. This brings multiple low probability chances for precipitation (15-35%) Thursday onwards, though any accumulations look to be light and not widespread at this time.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 240 PM CST Sat Feb 7 2026

Variably cloudy skies passed across the local area this afternoon as a warm front approached south-central Nebraska. This warm front will bring a switch in winds this evening, with light westerly flow establishing itself across the local area overnight. This switch in winds will also aid in the warming of the airmass, with high temperatures expected to continue to climb across the area on Sunday when most locations are expected to top out in the mid to upper 60s. These very mild temperatures combined with only light westerly breezes, will result in a spectacular finish to the weekend across the region.

As we transition into Monday, while there will be a mix of increasing high clouds across the area, temperatures are only expected to climb further, with the current forecast indicating new record high temperatures appear likely to start the new week. Given the warmth, dry fuels and airmass the next couple of afternoons, fire weather concerns come to mind, but these concerns should be limited by somewhat light winds generally less than 15 MPH each day.

As the upper level ridge flattens late Monday, a cold front is forecast to cross the local area Monday night, ushering in a cooler (yet still mild) airmass, mostly cloudy skies, and breezy north winds by Tuesday. The upper level flow will then remain more zonal through the end of the week, with some small pops creeping in the forecast as early as Wednesday afternoon and continuing through the end of the forecast period. That said, this is largely a factor of the model blend as we will not see precip settling in across the area for 4 days straight and precip amounts through the end of next week are expected to be light. While there are still significant differences between the EC and GFS, the GFS appears much more promising for precipitation, swinging a trough out of the southwest into the central Plains late Friday or Saturday of next week, while the EC keeps this same trough well south of the local area and across the southern plains. All that said, again, do not anticipate a significant chance for precip or much in the way of accumulating precipitation until possible next Friday night, and even this is still very much in question. Given the mild temperatures, most precip should fall as rain and little to any snow accumulation appears un-likely.

AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z MONDAY/

Issued at 509 AM CST Sun Feb 8 2026

For KGRI/KEAR Airports:

VFR conditions expected through TAF period. Northwest winds of 8-10kts are expected through the late afternoon. Winds shift to the southwest around sunset and remain below 10kts overnight. FEW-SCT High level clouds are possible throughout the TAF period.

HYDROLOGY

Issued at 550 PM CST Sat Feb 7 2026

- REGARDING LOCALIZED ICE JAM POTENTIAL ALONG THE PLATTE/LOUP RIVER SYSTEMS...MAINLY THROUGH MONDAY:

At this time, we are not aware of any active/ongoing ice jam flooding within our central/south central NE counties that reside along the Platte and various branches of the Loup River (although earlier today on off-duty NWS employee noted that a jam might be in the process of forming in a typical "trouble spot" just south of the I-80/Hwy 281 interchange south of Grand Island).

With continued well-above normal temperatures (especially through Monday), ice melt and movement will surely increase in the Platte/Loup Rivers over the next few days, which could result in the POSSIBLE formation of localized ice jams and resultant flooding. Unlike "traditional" warm season flooding from heavy rain that is typically easier to detect via radar rainfall estimation and the network of river gages, ice jam flooding is typically difficult to detect proactively/remotely (unless it occurs very near a gauge). Thus we are very reliant on emergency management, spotters etc. to keep us informed of any ice jam flooding issues.

Although our confidence level in actually realizing ice jam flooding issues within our forecast area over the next few days remains a bit too low to justify a formal Flood Watch, this potential concern continues to be highlighted in both our Hazardous Weather Outlook (HWOGID) as well as in a Special Weather Statement (SPSGID).

CLIMATE

Issued at 510 AM CST Sun Feb 8 2026

- RECORD WARM HIGH TEMP POTENTIAL:

Although high temps will jump solidly into the 60s across most of our forecast area Sunday afternoon (Feb. 8), existing daily records in the low-70s at Grand Island/Hastings airports appear to be out of reach (these are the two NWS-maintained sensors for which we issue official Record Event Reports/RERs).

HOWEVER, Monday (Feb. 9) carries a greater potential for breaking existing records at both sites. Please note that * indicates our latest forecast would would tie or break the existing daily record:

- RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE | Latest Forecast Grand Island, NE (GRI) Feb. 9: 70 in 1996 | 71* --------------- Hastings, NE (HSI) Feb. 9: 70 in 1954 | 71*

- SIDE NOTE: Although occasional high temperatures in the 70s are not that uncommon at Grand Island/Hastings during the latter half of February, they are certainly less common during the FIRST HALF of the month. In fact, it has been 9 years now since both sites reached 70+ degrees during the FIRST HALF of February...since Feb. 10, 2017 when Grand Island soared to 77 degrees and Hastings 74 degrees.

GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

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