textproduct: Goodland

KEY MESSAGES

- A few rain and snow showers remain forecast to move in through Friday morning. There is the potential for refreeze/black ice formation overnight tonight.

- Snow is more likely tonight and into Friday morning. Accumulations look to be under 3 inches, but gusts of 40+ MPH may lead to blowing snow Friday morning and impact travel. - Wind chills around 0F are forecast Saturday morning.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT/

Issued at 1223 PM MST Thu Jan 8 2026

Current observations show the main low pressure center over Oklahoma and Eastern Kansas with the upper trough over the Rockies. With the surface low pushing east, precipitation has been weakening from west to east across the area with locales generally east of Highway 83 still receiving rain. Some lighter bands of snow showers have been falling for western parts of the area. The precipitation coverage is forecast to decline through the remainder of the afternoon with temperatures remaining in the 30s and low 40s as the cloud cover remains in place.

This evening and into tonight, the main trough axis is forecast to swing through the Plains while a secondary axis swings through the Four Corners and Panhandles region. As it does so, it is forecast to bring another round of snow showers into the area. The forecast remains on track that the low and majority of the snow should go south of the area, more into Southeastern Colorado and Southwestern Kansas. With this, locales from Joes, CO to Leoti, KS and south should see around half an inch to two inches while the rest of the area sees little to no snow. There is still about a 20% chance that some bands of the snow wrap around the low and produce higher accumulations closer to 3 to 4 inches. These bands would have to be fairly strong though as snow would likely melt initially with ground temperatures around 40F. Temperatures should be in the 20s through the night, keeping all precipitation as snow. The cold temperatures will allow any liquid on the surface to freeze during the night, potentially leading to patches of black ice.

Tomorrow, the trough and surface low should shift east through the day. Snow showers should continue through the morning, before being pushed out of the area during the afternoon hours. With the cloud cover likely to remain in place and a cold air mass setting in, temperatures should remain cool in the 30s. Winds should increase to around 15-30 mph as the low pressure system moves off and allows for a tightening pressure gradient. With gusts forecast to be around 30- 40 mph, counties around the Colorado border could see blowing snow for locations that total accumulations around 2 inches or more. That being said, chances remain low both due to low accumulation forecasts and the likelihood that the snow should stop falling for most of the area early in the day. Still, be alert for patches of 1/2 to one mile visibility in blowing snow, especially where drifts develop.

Tomorrow night, the upper trough should finish swinging east and remove the moisture from the area. With clear skies and lightening winds as the high pressure sets in over the area, temperatures should fall into the teens for most of the area. Even with winds around 5 to 10 mph, it could feel like the single digits due to the wind chill.

Saturday, the area is forecast to be between the upper trough over the Great Lakes region and an upper ridge developing over the West Coast and Rockies. With this, the area should remain between higher pressure to the west and lower pressure to the east as well. This should allow for winds to become breezy again with speeds around 15- 30 mph and gusts around 25-40 mph. Otherwise, temperatures should warm into the 40s as long as mid-level cloud cover doesn't move in from the north flow until late in the day.

Saturday night should be a bit warmer with temperatures around 20 due to some intermittent mid level cloud cover. Otherwise, light winds may allow some areas to cool into the teens again.

LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/

Issued at 1151 AM MST Thu Jan 8 2026

We remain under a building upper level ridge Sunday with high temperatures in the 50s. Lows are expected to be in the high teens/low 20s. Winds will be light and variable with gusts from 10-15 knots. The western portion of the county warning area (CWA) will be a bit gustier at 15-20 knots. The warming trend continues Monday as a ridge of high pressure continues to build to the north. High temperatures are in the upper 50s. Some areas could see highs in the low 60s. Winds remain light and variable with gusts from 10-20 knots. Higher winds will be mainly in the western portion of the CWA.

Clouds will move in Monday evening into Tuesday. Skies will be cloudy Tuesday, but highs remain in the upper 50s/low 60s. Lows will be in the low 30s. Winds will be primarily from the NW and pick up Tuesday afternoon. Expect wind speeds from 10-15 knots and gusts of 20-25 knots for the southeastern portion of the CWA. Winds will be from 15-20 knots with gusts of 25-30 knots for the northwestern portion of the CWA.

We could see some precipitation overnight Tuesday and Wednesday. Our CWA is between a trough digging in the Great Lakes area and a ridge building on the west coast. Models are in disagreement on the location of the trough set up. Where this ends up setting up will determine if we receive any precipitation from this system. Probability of Precipitation (PoPs) late Tuesday are 10-15% for the western portion of the CWA and <10% for the eastern half. PoPs increase to 10-20% for Wednesday. Winds will pick up Wednesday afternoon regardless of if we receive precipitation or not. Gusts of 25-40 knots are forecast. If the trough ends up digging more southwest, stronger winds could occur. Winds are expected to calm down late Wednesday. Temperatures for Wednesday will continue to be unseasonably warm with highs in the 50s and lows in the upper 20s.

AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z FRIDAY/

Issued at 1000 AM MST Thu Jan 8 2026

For KGLD & KMCK... VFR conditions are forecast through the period, but be alert for ceilings to potentially dip between 1500-3000ft through 21Z. Low chances (10-20%) for rain and snow showers are forecast to continue through much of the period, with the best chances also before 21Z. Winds should remain from the north around 15-20 kts with gusts up to 30 kts until about 23Z. Winds should then lower to around 5-10 kts. Finally, there is a chance for some icing through about 01Z until temperatures completely go below freezing and some of the precipitation ends.

GLD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

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