textproduct: Hastings

KEY MESSAGES

- A band of moderate snow will continue to mo NW to SE across mainly south central Nebraska through the early morning hours/sunrise. The heaviest snow only lasts 2-3 hrs at any given location, but a quick dusting to 1" will be possible along and N of I-80. Snow will be accompanied by breezy northerly winds. Snow should largely be done by the AM commute, but slick spots could linger through mid-AM.

- Near-critical fire weather conditions possible across west/southwestern portions of the area this afternoon.

- Widespread critical fire weather conditions favored on Thursday with a Fire Weather Watch in effect 12pm to 9pm.

- Strong/gusty winds on Sunday, with gusts over 50mph possible along with light snow.

UPDATE

Issued at 341 AM CDT Wed Mar 11 2026

A band of snow is currently located along a line from Columbus to Holdrege to Cambridge. This band of snow will continue to slide southeast across mainly portions of south central Nebraska this morning. This band will last only a 2-3 hours in any one location, but a quick dusting to 1" of snow is possible as this band moves through. Areas north of Highway 92 could see localized accumulations up to 2". The snow band is expected to exit eastern portions of the area (east of Hwy 81) around sunrise, resulting in only minor impacts to the morning commute. Northerly winds gusting 20-25mph could result in periods of reduced visibility in falling snow. Temperatures climb above freezing by the late morning hours melting any snow that accumulates by the afternoon.

Highs climb into the upper 40s to low 50s this afternoon. Despite the cooler/seasonable temperatures, afternoon relative humidity values fall below 25 percent across central/southwestern portions of the area as a drier air moves in from the west. Northerly winds gusting 20-30mph combined with low afternoon relative humidity will result in near-critical fire weather conditions along and southwest of a line from Superior to Kearney. A window of critical fire weather conditions could develop this afternoon west of Highway 183 where humidity is favored to be the lowest, but the duration and coverage is uncertain. Additionally, any snow this morning could wet fuels enough to limit fire weather concerns, though fuels may still dry out quickly given the rather meager precipitation (under 0.10").

Thursday continues to be the day of highest fire weather concerns throughout the forecast period, with widespread critical conditions favored across the area. Highs on Thursday soar into the 70s, warmest across southwestern portions of the area. Gusty west- southwest winds are expected throughout the day, gusting 30-40mph. The strongest winds move into the area from the west during the afternoon with the HREF showing the potential for gusts over 40mph. The warm temperatures result in afternoon relative humidity values falling below 20% across the area, and below 15% west of Highway 183. Combined, the winds and humidity result in favorable weather for rapid fire growth. The Fire Weather Watch was maintained for the area, and will be in effect 12pm to 9pm Thursday.

Otherwise the forecast remains on track with fire weather concerns continuing into the weekend. The ECMWF and ECMWF ensembles continue to support the potential for strong winds on Sunday, with the ECMWF ensemble showing a 40% chance for wind gusts over 55mph.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 200 PM CDT Tue Mar 10 2026

A cool and breezy afternoon has been observed across the local area behind a cold front that pushed through during the morning hours. Cold air advection has been a bit faster/stronger with the quick progression of this front, and adjusted down afternoon high temperatures a few degrees accordingly.

With the quicker progression of this front, the potential for severe weather across the local area this evening appears minimal, with storms expected to fire up along the front, just south of our Kansas counties as they initiate later this evening/tonight. That said, cannot rule out a non-severe thunderstorm or two behind the front across our Kansas counties, and have a mention of this in the afternoon HWO. Later tonight, a secondary cold front is expect to cross our Nebraska counties bringing a chance for some light rain or snow to the area, with the focus really being north of I-80. While some light precip cannot be ruled out as far south as the Nebraska/Kansas state line, accumulations will be minimal, with current expectations of only a dusting of snow potentially reaching as far south as I-80 and only a few tenths to maybe an inch of snow possible north of Highway 92.

Behind this second front, expect a breezy afternoon across the area Wednesday with dry air eventually pushing in from the west during the afternoon hours, which will likely result in at least a couple of hours of near critical fire weather concerns. Given how marginal fire weather conditions will be tomorrow afternoon, opted to not go with a fire weather watch tomorrow, and instead focus on Thursday when more widespread fire weather concerns are anticipated as temperatures soar back into the 70s.

Beyond Thursday, the next weather system is anticipated to cross the local area late Saturday night through Sunday. Still plenty of uncertainty with this system, but a fairly strong cold front and trough of low pressure should bring some more unsettled weather to the local area, with light snow and very strong winds possible area-wide Sunday. The EC continues to pain fairly strong wind gusts 50+ MPH across the local area Sunday, but even the GFS is hinting at 40+ MPH gusts, so could be a cold and blustery finish to the weekend. Still too early to predict snow amounts as well, but with the trajectory of this system coming from the northwest, do not anticipated a major snow event although impacts could be noticeable depending on the strength of the winds.

Temperatures are then expected to quickly rebound late in the period with well above normal temperatures returning towards the middle of next week and likely beyond into the following weekend.

AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z THURSDAY/

Issued at 1206 PM CDT Wed Mar 11 2026

For KGRI/KEAR Airports:

High confidence VFR conditions expected through the period with mostly clear skies this afternoon expected to become mostly cloudy with mid level clouds near 15KFT late tonight. As a result, winds are the primary concern, with gusts to near 30 KTS this afternoon out of the north, transitioning to SW winds overnight and gusting to near 35 KTS possible by late Thursday morning. In addition, could see some marginal LLWS for a few hours either side of daybreak Thursday, and introduced this from 12/10-12/16Z.

FIRE WEATHER

Issued at 200 PM CDT Tue Mar 10 2026

Widespread northerly winds gusting 20-30mph are expected throughout the day. Highs today will be in the upper 40s to low 50s. A push of drier air moves into the area from the west during the afternoon hours. This results in afternoon relative humidity values falling below 25% along and southwest of a line from Superior to Kearney. This brings near-critical fire weather conditions to southwestern portions of the area. A localized or brief area of critical fire weather conditions could develop west of highway 183, where the driest weather is expected. One mitigating factor, particularly for northern portions of the area could be light snow that falls this morning. While liquid precipitation from this will be under 0.10", it could be enough to keep fuels moist enough to inhibit/limit fire growth for portions of south central Nebraska.

Widespread critical fire weather conditions are favored across the forecast area on Thursday, with a Fire Weather Watch in effect 12pm to 9pm. Highs in the 70s will result in afternoon relative humidity values falling below 20 percent across the forecast area. West- Southwest winds gusting 30-40mph are expected across the forecast area. During the afternoon, a push of stronger wind gusts is possible as indicated by members of the HREF which shows gusts of 40- 50mph possible. Combined this results in favorable conditions for rapid fire growth throughout the afternoon and evening hours on Thursday.

Fire weather concerns continue into the weekend due to breezy winds and lower relative humidity values resulting in near-critical fire weather conditions across portions of the area during the afternoon. Strong winds gusting to 50mph are possible on Sunday, but cooler temperatures and chances for snow bring uncertainty on the fire weather potential.

GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

NE...Red Flag Warning from noon to 9 PM CDT Thursday for NEZ039>041- 046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087. KS...Red Flag Warning from noon to 9 PM CDT Thursday for KSZ005>007- 017>019.