textproduct: North Platte

KEY MESSAGES

- Continued chances for storms will continue through the 4th of July. Storms will be scattered and mainly during the late afternoon and nighttime hours.

- Storm chances will begin to diminish Sunday into the first of next week. Temperatures will be quite warm through the entire period.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT/

Issued at 1202 AM CDT Tue Jun 30 2026

Southwest flow aloft will continue across the area through Thursday as a broad long-wave trough remains anchored across the western CONUS. This will keep things rather unsettled with continued chances for scattered convection. It appears that a meso-high will build into the area for much of the day Wednesday in the wake of the MCS crossing the area right now. This should largely keep most of the day dry. The environment will remain strongly sheared, and there should be some decent boundary layer recovery, particularly across southwest Nebraska by late afternoon. Most hi-res models develop at least scattered late afternoon convection across northwest Kansas where steeper low-level lapse rates will be located. These track northeast during the evening into southwest Nebraska. Some uncertainty on how far into the area they will track, or if the more concentrated area of storms remains east of the area. Thursday the overall shear is a little less favorable but still adequate. instability will be moderate to strong, with pockets of 3000+ J/KG. Uncertain on how convection may evolve Thursday. One of the more probable scenarios may be for convection to organize across South Dakota and then develop southward into the low-level jet across northern Nebraska.

LONG TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/

Issued at 1202 AM CDT Tue Jun 30 2026

Flow aloft becomes more zonal this coming Holiday weekend. Appears that a decent wave will embedded within the flow Friday. Very unstable conditions, along with a highly sheared environment, favors at least isolated supercell potential later in the day. This may be locally enhanced with a warm front anchored across the area as surface low pressure deepens across southwest Nebraska. Another wave impacts the area on the 4th of July, with at least scattered convection in the area during the afternoon into the evening. By Sunday into the first of next week, ridging aloft builds into the area with the threat for storms diminishing as the overall flow aloft weakens and temperatures aloft warm.

AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z THURSDAY/

Issued at 1222 PM CDT Wed Jul 1 2026

Expect some scattered to broken coverage of clouds around 2500 FT AGL mainly east of a line from KLBF to KANW through mid afternoon. Clouds will then burn off with a few to scattered high clouds around 25000 expected tonight into Thursday morning. There is a minor threat for isolated thunderstorms this evening and overnight across portions of the area. At this time, given expected isolated coverage and model uncertainity, will forgo mention of TSRA's in this 18z TAF package.

LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

None.