textproduct: Hastings

KEY MESSAGES

- Fire Weather remains the primary concern through the next week. See the Fire Weather section below.

- Record warmth is expected again on Wednesday. - Thursday will be windy with a low chance for light rain/snow. Little to no impact is expected, and many areas will remain completely dry.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 143 PM CDT Mon Mar 23 2026

Southeast winds persist through the afternoon, gradually diminishing this evening into tonight. There should be enough breaks in cloud cover to allow temperatures to once again fall to near freezing by Tuesday morning.

Winds become more southerly on Tuesday as upper-level ridging builds over the western CONUS. This will allow solidly above- normal temperatures to return to the area. Widespread highs in the 70s are expected...which is 10-20 degrees above climatological normals.

Wednesday trends even warmer as the upper level ridge moves overhead and we see west-northwesterly surface winds. Based on the NBM, there is a high chance (90%) that we will reach/exceed record high temperatures at both Grand Island and Hastings. The current records are 88 and 85 degrees, respectively.

A cold front moves through Thursday morning, ushering in stronger north winds. Gusts 35 to 40 MPH are likely in most areas, and there is a chance (20%) that some areas see gusts in excess of 50 MPH. The timing of the front will also result in a wide range (and uncertainty) of high temperatures across the area. A shortwave may bring some light rain/snow to portions of the area, mainly during the evening and overnight. That said, the probably for any snow accumulation is less than 5%...and many areas will remain completely dry.

Friday will remain on the cooler side, but above-normal temperatures are favored to return over the weekend and into early next week. Details remain very uncertain, but there are early indications that we could transition to a more active (wetter) pattern to start the month of April.

FIRE WEATHER

Issued at 143 PM CDT Mon Mar 23 2026

Today: Cloud cover will keep temperatures on the cooler side, and therefore humidity may only briefly dip to near 20% in western areas. Nevertheless, southeast winds are expected to gust 25-35 MPH through late afternoon before slowly diminishing. As such, the Red Flag Warning remains in place until 9pm.

Tuesday: Tuesday will be warmer with minimum humidity in the 15-20% range in western areas. South winds have trended upwards slightly, but are still expected to decrease in western zones in the mid to late afternoon. Near-critical conditions are still expected, but there should be limited overlap of any critical conditions.

Wednesday: Like Saturday, Wednesday will be very warm and dry, but winds currently look to be more marginal than on Wednesday (sustained 10-20 MPH). It is possible that deep mixing could trend the gusts higher, but this is more likely in areas further to the west.

Thursday: As mentioned above, Thursday will feature strong north to north- northeasterly winds. These winds will lead to a heightened fire weather concern, but falling temperatures may prevent humidity from dipping to critical levels.

Friday: Breezy north winds continue, and despite the cooler airmass, humidity is likely to dip low enough to fuel at least a near- critical fire weather threat for portions of the area.

Saturday/Sunday: Warmer temperatures return, along with breezy south winds. Near critical to critical conditions are likely for portions of the area...especially on Saturday.

GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

NE...Red Flag Warning until 9 PM CDT this evening for NEZ060-072- 073-082-083. KS...Red Flag Warning until 9 PM CDT this evening for KSZ005-017.