textproduct: Hastings

KEY MESSAGES

- Scattered showers (and a few weak t-storms) continue today. Activity clears west to east late this afternoon into this evening.

- There is a low chance (20%) for spotty showers again Tuesday night. Otherwise, dry conditions are favored until Friday.

- The rain potential for Halloween has trended lower compared to previous forecasts.

UPDATE

Issued at 322 AM CDT Mon Oct 26 2026

So far, the heaviest rainfall has occurred along a corridor stretching from near Red Cloud to Hastings to Central City...which is significantly further east than was initially expected. Rain should continue to fill in over our western areas this morning, and rain showers will remain more sparse/light in our southeast.

We will start to see some breaks as drier air aloft arrives from the south. Coverage through the afternoon will be isolated to scattered and more convective in nature. There is enough instability for a few rumbles of thunder (100-200J/kg), but not nearly enough for anything strong/severe. Rain is expected to end from west to east roughly in the 5pm to 1am range. Additional rainfall is expected to range from 0.10-0.50" in most locations.

Temperatures fall into the 30s and 40s tonight, but lingering cloud cover should keep most (if not all) of the area above freezing. Northern and western areas (Cambridge, Lexington, Ord, Greeley) are most favored to see near-freezing temps by Tuesday morning.

Lingering clouds will keep Tuesday on the cooler side...but highs in the upper 50s and 60s is just about normal for late October. Models still hint at some light showers with an upper shortwave Tuesday evening into Tuesday night, but many areas will likely miss out on this.

Above normal temperatures return Wednesday through Friday, and the next meaningful chance for rain arrives Friday into Saturday. As mentioned in the Key Messages, Halloween is looking less rainy compared to 24 hours ago. The latest NBM shows a 30-40% chance for rain during the daytime, while 24 hours ago it was closer to 50-70%.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 214 PM CDT Sun Oct 25 2026

An upper level trough is over much of the Rocky Mountains and extends eastward over portions of Nebraska and Kansas. This has brought an increase in upper lift over the region which has resulted in rain showers approaching the forecast area from the west. Winds across south central and central Nebraska and north central Kansas are mainly out of the east at around 5 to 10 MPH. High temperatures today are expected to range from the 50s to the 70s. The rain showers and maybe some isolated thunderstorms will spread eastward across the forecast area this afternoon through tonight. Low temperatures tonight will mostly be in the 40s and 50s. Some upper 30s may occur across northwestern portions of Valley County.

The upper trough will be over the region on Monday with winds beginning to switch to the northwest and north across western and northern portions of the area. High temperatures are expected to range from the 50s to the 70s although there is some uncertainty due to the timing and positioning of the cold front. Rain showers and thunderstorms will continue across the area Monday into Monday evening. Rain will be coming to an end Monday night. Western and northwestern portions of the forecast area are expected to see the highest rainfall amounts with this system (around 1 to near 1.40 inches). Low temperatures Monday night are expected to range from as low as the upper 20s to the low 50s.

A surface high will remain near the area on Tuesday allowing for temperatures to remain cooler (highs ranging from the 50s to low 70s). Light rain may develop across the area Tuesday evening and night (15% to 30% chance) with a broad upper trough over the region. Wednesday appears to be dry across the area with high temperatures in the 60s and 70s. Similar conditions are expected Thursday. Rain chances increase (up to around 60%) on Friday and Saturday as upper lift increases over the region. High temperatures in the 60s and 70s are expected Friday with highs mainly in the 60s on Saturday.

AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z TUESDAY/

Issued at 1229 AM CDT Mon Oct 26 2026

For KGRI/KEAR Airports:

Showers and IFR to LIFR ceilings are expected to prevail through sunrise on Monday. Areas of fog/drizzle are also possible in the breaks between showers.

Showers are anticipated to break up a bit after sunrise, with additional redevelopment around midday and into the afternoon.

Ceilings improve as showers depart the area late Monday afternoon into Monday evening.

GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

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