textproduct: Hastings

KEY MESSAGES

- Cold today...but much warmer days will be here soon. - There is a low chance (20-30%) for light rain/snow on Tuesday, mainly north and east of Grand Island.

- High confidence in dry conditions and well above normal temperatures for Wednesday through Saturday.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 1236 AM CDT Mon Mar 16 2026

As of 1230am, satellite shows a broken area of stratus over north- central Nebraska, but otherwise mostly clear skies across the area. As such, temperatures are already in the teens, and will likely reach the single digits for most. The cold start to the day won't get much better in the afternoon, thanks to continued northerly winds and cold air advection. High temperatures are expected to range from the upper 20s in the northeast to perhaps near 40 in the southwest....roughly 20 degrees below normal for mid-March.

This blast of winter will not last long, though. The pattern quickly flips on Tuesday, and southerly to westerly winds return to the area. Meanwhile, a relatively weak shortwave will bring a low chance for light precipitation to northeastern portions of the area. This could fall as a mixture of rain/snow. The potential for any winter impacts is low at this point, although it may set up a very strong temperature gradient between eastern and western Neb/Kansas. Areas around Highway 81 may struggle to reach 50 degrees, while some areas near and west of Highway 183 will almost certainly reach the 70s.

Beyond that, there is high confidence in dry conditions through the rest of the week. Additionally, upper-level ridging over the western CONUS will result in unseasonable warmth for Wednesday- Saturday. Friday and Saturday are expected to be the warmest days...likely the warmest days we've seen since at least mid- November. Record high temperatures for Friday and Saturday are in the 82-86 degree range, and at this point it appears likely that they will be broken.

AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z TUESDAY/

Issued at 1154 PM CDT Sun Mar 15 2026

For KGRI/KEAR Airports:

VFR conditions are favored through the period, but there is a low chance (20%) for some MVFR ceilings currently over north- central Nebraska to sneak into GRI/EAR through around 15Z today.

Winds gradually decrease into Monday morning. Gusts may briefly increase again after sunrise, but a general downward trend is expected through the daytime. Winds become light/variable Monday evening.

FIRE WEATHER

Issued at 1250 AM CDT Sat Mar 16 2026

Today will remain cold, but the airmass is also very dry, which will allow humidity to dip as low as 15 to 25 percent (lowest west). Winds will be on a general decreasing trend, but gusts 20-25 MPH will persist into the afternoon...especially east of Highway 281. The overall fire weather threat is significantly lower than recent days, but some elevated to near-critical fire weather conditions remain possible...mainly southwest of a line from Kearney to Hebron.

There will be a large spread in temperatures on Tuesday, but western areas could see temps reach the 70s and humidity dip below 20 percent. Widespread fire weather issues are not expected, but a surge of stronger westerly wind could result in near-critical conditions west of Highway 183.

Wednesday through Saturday will be unseasonably warm. Winds do not look overly concerning for most of this timeframe, but will may trend a bit stronger for Friday/Saturday. These days also will feature near-record warmth and very low humidity. As such, we will have to keep a close eye Friday/Saturday for potentially another round of fire weather issues.

GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

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