textproduct: Hastings

KEY MESSAGES

- Temperatures today will be in the mid 50s and 60s following a cold frontal passage this morning. Temperatures will bottom out for the week Wednesday (mid 40s to mid 50s).

- The coverage of scattered showers with possibly a few embedded weak thunderstorms will increase through the the day Wednesday.

- Between 0.25-1" of precipitation will be possible across the area between the period late Tuesday night through Thursday morning. The greatest potential and amounts will lie towards the northeastern areas.

- A second round of precipitation, though likely smaller in coverage (20-50% chance), could arrive between Friday and Saturday. The best potential will once again be to the north and east.

- Temperatures Thursday and Friday will look to range the mid 50s to low 70s.

UPDATE

Issued at 154 AM CDT Tue Mar 31 2026

A cold front, soon to pass southeast and through central NE/KS this morning will quickly steer winds to the north for the day. Winds speeds will ramp up behind the front with speeds blowing between 20- 35MPH and gusting as high as 40-50MPH across much of the late morning to early afternoon hours. Temperatures, starting the day off in the 40s to low 50s, will only warm a few degrees into the upper 50s to upper 60s. Generally the warmest temperatures will be concentrated toward the northwest portions of the area (places the front reaches first) with the warmest temperatures across north central Kansas and southeast Nebraska.

The next chance for precipitation will soon approach as a shortwave trough takes a dive into the Central Plains across the middle part of the week. Though a few scattered showers and even an isolated non-severe storm could pop out as early as this evening (<20% chance), the coverage overnight will likely remain highly limited. The better synoptic-level support will not reach the local area until Wednesday.

Increasing coverage of showers and potentially a few embedded weak thunderstorms will increase through the day Wednesday. These showers/storms will initially start out more scattered and spread out before later congealing into a large cluster by the evening and overnight hours on Wednesday. One of the bigger changes this forecast cycle has been the decreased potential for light snow late Wednesday into Thursday morning. Slightly warmer overnight temperatures Wednesday night (low 30s to mid 40s) could prevent most locations, outside of a few isolated northwestern concentrated areas, from transitioning over to snow.

The last of the precipitation bands should be on the way out of the area Thursday morning. Overall, the "wettest" locations (0.5-1" of accumulated precipitation) will be more so concentrated to the north and east of the Tri-Cities. Meanwhile, precipitation amounts further south and west could may struggle to accumulate more than 0.25-0.5" of precipitation.

Besides the precipitation potential Tuesday night though Thursday afternoon, temperatures will bottom out for the week Wednesday (mid 40s to mid 50s). Highs for Thursday will look to rebound to the mid 50s to low 70s. The winds at the surface will become more easterly oriented Wednesday with directions turning back to the north for Thursday. Wind speeds should not exceed 15-20MPH with gusts occasionally as high as 25MPH for both Wednesday and Thursday.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 1100 AM CDT Mon Mar 30 2026

Despite widespread high clouds, the unseasonably warm airmass is resulting in another day of near-record warmth today. The current records are 89 and 90 degrees at Hastings and Grand Island, respectively. We may come up just short of these records, but it is still a very impressive warmup given the cloud cover. A few sprinkles are possible late this afternoon, but nothing measurable is expected due to dry low- level air.

As mentioned above, a strong cold front sweeps across most of the area prior to sunrise on Tuesday (roughly 3am in the north, and near 8am in the south). Gusts of at least 40 MPH are very likely, and gusts over 50 MPH are possible (40% chance). Tuesday will be much cooler with highs in the 50s and 60s. Lower dewpoints will also accompany the cooldown, so humidity may still dip to around 25% in some areas, resulting in elevated to near critical fire weather conditions.

Chances for precipitation (mainly rain...possibly mixed with snow) increase late Tuesday night through Wednesday as an upper trough pushes into the central Plains. Many areas will remain dry through midday, but all areas are favored to see at least SOME precipitation Wednesday evening into Wednesday night. A few rumbles of thunder cannot be ruled out, but any severe threat remains to our southeast. For most areas, precipitation Wednesday night will likely be cold rain, possibly mixed with some snow. But northwest areas could see some minor snow accumulation (20-30% for 0.5"+ in grassy areas).

There is some cautious optimism in fairly beneficial precip totals. Through Thursday morning, the 00Z ensemble suite shows a 50-90% chance (highest northeast) for 0.25"+ of liquid equivalent precip. While not a widespread "drought-buster", this would be a step in the right direction and will hopefully help with the wildfire threat.

The rest of the week will remain on the cooler side with daily highs generally in the 50s and low 60s. Another shortwave will bring another shot for rain/snow on Friday. Near to above normal temperatures are then favored to return as we head into next week.

AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z WEDNESDAY/

Issued at 1222 AM CDT Tue Mar 31 2026

For KGRI/KEAR Airports:

VFR conditions are expected to retain across the next 24 hours with clouds filling in through the day and night. Ceilings are not expected to drop below 10,000ft. Though not completely a 0% chance, precipitation will more than likely hold off through Tuesday evening.

The primary aviation concern will be a powering cold front that passes through early this morning (between 9-12z). This front will quickly steer winds to the north with speeds sharply rising to between 20-25kts and with gusts as high as to just over 35-40kts through the morning and afternoon hours. Close to sunset, the winds will gradually back away back to steady 10-15kts winds Tuesday evening.

GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

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