textproduct: Hastings

KEY MESSAGES

- A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for our Kansas forecast area Friday afternoon through 6am Sunday (this part of our forecast area is most favored to receive at least 3-6" of snow). The bulk of the snowfall is expected to fall Friday evening through Saturday morning.

- No formal Winter Weather Advisories currently in effect for our Nebraska forecast area, but most places expected to pick up 1-4" of snow Friday-Saturday (generally lowest north/highest south), and at least some counties could be "Advisory candidates" in later updates.

- A Cold Weather Advisory is now in effect for our entire forecast area through Monday morning. Wind chills of -15 to -25 will be common especially during the overnight-morning hours.

- Next week will be mostly dry and a bit warmer...but still slightly below normal.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 334 PM CST Thu Jan 22 2026

Overall, there aren't significant changes to the forecast, although increasing confidence in snow totals supports the issuance of a Winter Weather Advisory for our Kansas counties. Additionally, the Cold Weather Advisory has been extended through Monday morning.

Tonight, cold air will plunge into the area and steady north- northeasterly winds will push wind chills to the -15 to -25 degree range by Friday morning.

Some light snow may move into northwestern areas by sunrise Friday, although accumulation is expected to be minimal until we see more low-level saturation Friday afternoon into Friday evening. Snow is very likely (80-100%) across the entire area between 6pm Friday through 6am Saturday. The bulk of the snow is expected in this timeframe, although light to moderate snow may linger across southern portions of the area through the day on Saturday...which will inflate the totals in that area. Total QPF has not changed substantially, and snow ratios are still expected to be 15-20:1 thanks to a deep, saturated DGZ. As a result, the official forecast ranges from 3-6" over our KS zones, and between 1-4" over Nebraska.

A Winter Storm Warning is in effect just to our southeast, and it is possible that snow amounts could approach/exceed warning criteria (5") in some spots near and south of of Highway 24 in Kansas. That said, this snowfall is occurring over a relatively long duration (primarily weekend) and will be a light/fluffy snow. These factors are expected to limit overall impacts somewhat.

Snow gradually winds down from north to south Saturday into Saturday night. Sunday is expected to be dry and "warmer" (highs in the teens), but temperatures will plunge again Sunday night into Monday morning with clearing skies. This could actually end up as the coldest night, with air temperatures in the -5 to -10 degree range across the entire area. Fortunately, winds will remain fairly light, with wind chills could still dip below -20 degrees by early Monday morning.

In general, the warmup has been a bit delayed/muted for next week. Daily high temperatures are expected to be in the 20s and 30s with overnight lows in the single digits. The threat for any additional precipitation is minimal through next week.

AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z SATURDAY/

Issued at 1152 PM CST Thu Jan 22 2026

For KGRI/KEAR Airports: - General overview: High confidence in VFR ceiling/visibility and snow-free conditions through at least these first 4 hours (with only gradually thickening/lowering VFR cloud layers), but especially beyond sunrise Friday, the majority of the period will likely feature a tricky-to-pin-down mix of low-VFR/MVFR ceiling, along with MVFR/IFR visibility in intermittent periods of snow. Winds will not be a major issue, but most of these first 12 hours will be modestly-breezy with gusts commonly 20-25KT out of the north- northeast.

- Ceiling/visibility/snow details: We are down to only about four hours of truly high-confidence VFR/precipitation-free conditions. However, already by 10-12Z, some models/guidance continue to insist that a narrow band of MVFR ceilings and light snow with at least MVFR visibility could break out over the general area of both KGRI/KEAR. As a result, have moved up the start of the previous PROB30 group to 10Z to account for this. Honestly, beyond especially around 14Z confidence in "exact" ceiling/visibility and related snow intensity is only medium-at-best. Overall though, expect snow to become increasingly-likely/persistent with time (especially by later in the period Friday evening), and have gone with prevailing light snow by then with a mix of MVFR ceiling and MVFR/IFR visibility. Cumulative accumulation of any snow at KGRI/KEAR during this valid period is currently only expected to range 1-2" (and be light/fluffy in consistency).

- Wind details: Direction will be rather consistent through the period, but generally transitioning from more northerly to more easterly (mainly ranging 020-060 degrees). The first 9-12 hours Friday morning will feature the overall-strongest speeds...commonly sustained 15-20KT/gusts 20-25KT. Thereafter, speeds will steadily decline Friday afternoon-evening , settling down to only around 10KT.

GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

NE...Cold Weather Advisory until noon CST Monday for NEZ039>041- 046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087. KS...Cold Weather Advisory until noon CST Monday for KSZ005>007- 017>019. Winter Weather Advisory from noon Friday to 6 AM CST Sunday for KSZ005>007-017>019.