textproduct: North Platte

KEY MESSAGES

- A chance for light snow tonight into Tuesday, only light accumulations expected

- Precipitation chances increase towards the end of the week

- Warmer temperatures expected by this weekend with highs in the 70s and 80s

SHORT TERM /THROUGH TUESDAY/

Issued at 258 AM CDT Mon Apr 6 2026

Over the next 36 hours, precipitation chances in association with a tandem of mid level disturbances, will be the main forecast highlight through Tuesday. Weak cold air advection will continue later this morning behind an exiting back door cold front. By afternoon, this feature will extend across far northern Kansas. North of the front, easterly winds and increasing cloud cover (most prevalent over northern portions of the forecast area), will lead to much cooler temperatures. Highs this afternoon will range from the lower 40s in the northeast, to the upper 50s over far SW Nebraska. Through the first half of today, an area of mid level frontogenesis will spread from South Dakota into northeastern Nebraska. This mid level forcing will quickly transition east of the area this afternoon. In the interim, QPF's in association with this forcing will be around a few hundredths of an inch and focused over Boyd and northeastern Holt counties. With the main precipitation timing being during daylight hours. Snow will have a hard time accumulating and any measurable snow will be confined to grassy surfaces. A second area of mid level frontogenesis will enter northern Nebraska tonight, then transition to the east-southeast into eastern Nebraska then Western Iowa Tuesday. As for precipitation timing, the best forcing tracks across the area from 03z to 12z Tuesday. Given the timing and temperatures in the 20s tonight, precipitation should end up as snow. Once again, QPF's are low across the forecast area with the greatest QPF's located across northeastern, into east central Nebraska and western Iowa. Current QPF forecasts have amounts a tenth of an inch or less across the area, so resultant snow accumulations are expected to be light at an inch or less. Looking at the deterministic solns tonight including the NAM12, 4KM NAM, 00z HRRR, and GFS solns indicate a compact band of precipitation with this forcing tonight into Tuesday morning. With the exception of the 00z HRRR, snow accumulations are off to the east of the forecast area. As indicated above, the 00z HRRR does generate some light snow accumulations ie. 1-2 inches in southeastern Holt County tonight. Since this HRRR soln. is the outlier, feel any snow accums. will be an inch or less and confined to far northeastern portions of the forecast area. As temperatures warm into the 40s in northeastern areas Tuesday, ptypes will change over to rain in the afternoon. Further south and southwest, highs will reach into the 50s as some limited clearing will commence Tuesday afternoon.

LONG TERM /TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY/

Issued at 258 AM CDT Mon Apr 6 2026

An upper level low will pass north across the northern plains on Wednesday with a trailing cold front. At this time it looks like the cold front will pass through early in the day Wednesday which will keep temperatures on the cooler end with highs in the 50s and 60s. Thus given the earlier passage of the cold front fire weather concerns for Wednesday have lessen as temperatures have trended cooler and an increase in low to mid level moisture will keep min RH around 25 percent or greater. Will also see a chance for showers across southwest Nebraska by Wednesday afternoon. Will continue to monitor the system as it translate eastward into the central CONUS but models have come into better consensus in the last few runs of the earlier progression of the front.

The pattern will become a little more active with a couple of sw disturbances that will move through Thursday and Friday as moisture increases. Precipitation mode will likely be rain but there is the potential of isolated thunderstorms Thursday night across southwest Nebraska, however the better environment for thunderstorms will likely be south along the KS/NE border. A warm front is expected to push through the area this weekend and will see temperatures warm above normal into the 70s and 80s. There will also be the increase potential for thunderstorm chances as moisture advects into the region, will have to continue to monitor the weekend system.

AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z TUESDAY/

Issued at 1230 AM CDT Mon Apr 6 2026

VFR conditions will prevail over the next 24 hours. Skies will be overcast with mostly high clouds, however near the end of the forecast period there will be some mid level to potentially low clouds that increase late tonight. Winds will become breezy this morning into the afternoon with the strongest winds across southwest Nebraska. Winds will be out of the east around 10 to 15 kts sustained with gusts up to 25 kts. Breezy winds will subside across northern Nebraska to 5 to 10 kts tonight, but will stay breezy across southwest Nebraska tonight around 10 to 15 kts with gusts up to 20 kts.

LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

None.