textproduct: Hastings

KEY MESSAGES

- Winds turn back to the south and southeast by this afternoon and evening. Near-critical fire weather conditions are expected near and west of Highway 283.

- Saturday trends warmer and drier, with continued gusty south winds. Near-critical fire weather conditions are expected again for areas near and west of Highway 183.

- A storm system brings very strong winds, a mix of rain and snow, and a a significant cooldown late Saturday night through Sunday. - The cold air will not last long though. Near record temperatures are expected to return by the middle to end of next week.

UPDATE

Issued at 325 AM CDT Fri Mar 13 2026

Winds continue to decrease this morning, and will eventually switch back to the south and southwest this afternoon. Winds will remain light enough to prevent a significant fire weather threat, but western areas could see gusts in the 20-25 MPH range.

Saturday is trending towards a "sneaky" fire weather day. Near- term models are hinting at stronger southerly winds, and the warmup ahead of our next system will lead to at least near- critical fire weather conditions. And it is possible to see at least brief periods of Red-Flag conditions.

Northwest winds increase late Saturday night into Sunday morning as a cold front sweeps through the area. An upper trough may also result in light rain, changing to snow by sunrise Sunday. That said, coverage/intensity of snow is still pretty uncertain in central Nebraska/Kansas. Better chances for meaningful (1.0"+) snow accumulation on Sunday is to our north and east.

Winds continue to increase through the day on Sunday. Afternoon wind gusts near 55 MPH are likely across the entire area, and some areas could reach High Wind criteria (60+ MPH).

Sunday night into Monday will be very cold. Single digit low temperatures and wind chills as low as -10 degrees are favored for areas near and north of I-80. Another brief shot of light snow is possible Monday night, but no accumulation is expected.

After that, a significant warmup is still on track for the middle to end of next week. The latest NBM shows a 70 percent chance for Grand Island to exceed record high temperatures on each day March 18-20th. The current records for this three-day stretch is: 80, 86, and 84 degrees.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 330 PM CDT Thu Mar 12 2026

Dry, windy and warm conditions persisted across the local area today. This combination has led to dangerous fire weather conditions, with multiple fires being reported across the area. Expect winds to subside 5-15 MPH through the early evening hours as the gradually shift and become more westerly in the pre-frontal trough, before increasing again during the late evening hours behind the approaching cold front. While no precipitation is expected with this approaching front, expect a distinct shift in winds and cold air advection to result in a notably cooler day across the area tomorrow.

With a cooler airmass and lighter winds, fire weather concerns should ease across the area on Friday before once again increasing on Saturday as southerly winds return, helping to advect in a warmer airmass along with breezy southeasterly winds. While fire weather concerns do not look as critical or widespread as what we have seen today, expect at least near critical fire weather concerns to return for at least part (mainly SW half) of the area during the afternoon hours.

This warm-up will be brief, however, as a stronger cold front will cross the region on Sunday bringing below normal temperatures, light snow and very strong winds to the local area. At this point, winds in many ensemble members are pointing at 50-60+ MPH wind gust potential, along with upwards of an inch of snow focused mainly north of I-80. While the winds may eventually justify a high wind warning for much of the area Sunday, winds this strong combined with any snow could cause some significant impacts Sunday, so will need to continue to closely monitor this period.

Beyond Sunday, expect a very cold start to next week with lows Monday morning likely falling into the single digits in our typically coolest spots and highs Monday afternoon once again struggling to climb out of the mid-30s. Thereafter, strong high pressure will build in across the region from the west for a potentially extended period of time - meaning dry and warm conditions potentially finishing out much of the month of March. Could even see the return of some 80 degree temperatures by next Wednesday or Thursday.

AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z SATURDAY/

Issued at 549 AM CDT Fri Mar 13 2026

For KGRI/KEAR Airports:

High confidence (near 100%) in VFR conditions throught the period with scattered high clouds continuing to move through the area.

Winds turn to the south and southeast today. LLWS is expected after 05Z tonight.

GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

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