textproduct: Hastings

KEY MESSAGES

- Showers/sprinkles and strong winds (with gusts to near 50 MPH) will wind down across the local area during the late afternoon hours.

- After a seasonably cool day Monday (highs 20s/30s), temperatures climb back above normal Tuesday-Thursday (upper 30s to near 50).

- Another blast of arctic air expected to end the week and linger through next weekend along with a small chance (10-30%) for some light snow.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 241 PM CST Sun Jan 18 2026

Lots of clouds and a few light rain showers (some mixed with some light snow) have moved across the local area this afternoon. Strong winds have also accompanied this shower activity, with numerous gusts 50+ MPH observed. Expect the responsible disturbance to continue to track southeast this evening, allowing for at least partial clearing and a cool start to the day across the region Monday. These cool temperatures will linger into the daytime hours Monday as the associated cold front is forecast to remain draped across the local area.

This front should then shift east as a warm front on Tuesday as surface winds turn westerly...helping temperatures warm into the upper 30s (east) to upper 40s (west) across the local area. As temperatures warm and westerly breezes increase during the afternoon hours, elevated to near critical fire weather conditions look likely across our extreme west (mainly west of HWY 183), but this is looking less likely like a more widespread or critical fire weather day locally. This will also mark the start of a return to mild temperatures for the middle of the week as the upper level flow remains northwesterly through the end of the week and a more mild airmass remains near the surface.

Late in the week, operational runs of both the EC/GFS now take the next west coast trough into the southwest by Friday, where it either cuts off or is slow to emerge into the southern plains. While there is still plenty of time for models to change, this scenario would result in less moisture reaching the local area as the next arctic blast comes in from the north. That said, numerous ensemble members do indicate there is light snow potential next weekend, although totals have not surprisingly trended down since yesterday. What has not changed, however, is the expected cold forecast to return Friday and continue through next weekend, with highs likely only in the teens/low 20s and lows in the single digits to near zero.

AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z TUESDAY/

Issued at 523 PM CST Sun Jan 18 2026

For KGRI/KEAR Airports:

Cloud bases currently ranging between 3,000-5,000ft this evening will soon be back on the rise. Other than a brief period of MVFR ceiling before 6z (likely only less than an hour in duration) the rest of the period is slated to be VFR. The light snow/flurries should be wrapping up this evening with no other precipitation in the forecast through the next 24 hours.

Winds are the primary aviation impact tonight as northwest winds presently gust as high as 50kts at KGRI and as high as 40kt at KEAR. These gusty winds will eventually lighten some tonight (sometime before midnight) though gusts as high as 30kts through the early AM hours of Monday will still be possible. Shortly following sunrise, wind directions will turn towards the southwest. Winds during the day should mainly stay between 8-15kts.

GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

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