textproduct: North Platte

KEY MESSAGES

- The combination of record temperatures, low humidity, and gusty west winds will lead to critical fire weather concerns across a large portion of western and north central Nebraska today.

- Mainly dry, with only slight or low chances for any precipitation, and above average temperatures will persist Tuesday through Sunday.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH TUESDAY/

Issued at 239 AM CST Mon Feb 9 2026

Today, a shortwave trough will move across North Dakota and western South Dakota, and drive a strong cold front southward to near the NE/SD border by late afternoon. South of the front, the entire forecast area the will have westerly winds turn to the northwest by late afternoon. The strongest winds will be west of Valentine through Ogallala, where winds of 20 to 30 mph with gust up to 40 mph are expected. areas to the east will see winds of 10 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph. With an upper ridge breakdown, and approaching cold front, record high temperatures are expected, with highs from the the upper 60s to mid 70s. These highs will be from 25 to nearly 35 degrees above normal. went near the NBM 50th percentile to forecast these very warm temperatures. Current record highs for Monday are 74, 70, 69, and 72 at North Platte, Valentine, Broken Bow, and Imperial respectively. Record highs are likely to be broken at Imperial, North Platte, and Broken Bow.

Critical fire weather conditions will occur today across a large portion of western and north central Nebraska, due to the warm temperatures, low humidity and gusts winds. Details can be found in the Fire Weather Section below.

Cooler temperatures aloft move through behind the cold front tonight, with H85 temperatures falling to 0 to -2C. Northerly winds behind the front will range from 15 to 25 mph this evening, diminishing to 5 to 15 mph overnight. A mainly cloudy sky tonight. with lows from the mid to upper 20s. Tuesday with be much cooler, with highs ranging from 45 to 50 degrees, although these highs are from 5 to 10 degrees above normal.

LONG TERM /TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY/

Issued at 239 AM CST Mon Feb 9 2026

Temperatures will remain in the upper 40s to mid 50s Wednesday through Friday, warming to 55 to 60 by Sunday as an upper ridge builds across the region. These highs are forecast to still range 10 to 15 degrees above normal through Friday, and 15 to near 20 degrees above normal by Sunday.

Overall upper ridging will persist across the region, with a positively tilted upper trough moving the region Thursday through Friday night. 20 to 30 POPS remain in the forecast Wednesday night into Thursday morning across north central Nebraska, though the ECMWF ensemble only shows a 10 to 30 percent probability of greater than a hundredth of an inch and the GEFS ensemble 10 to 20 percent.

The Friday into Friday night period will bring mainly slight chance POPS across southwest into central Nebraska which is supported by the GEFS and ECMWF ensembles. The GEFS indicates a 10 to 40 percent probability of receiving at least a tenth of an inch liquid, while the ECMWF only a 10 to 30 percent probability. Overall, the potential for a wetting rain is very low for days 3 through 7. Precipitation type favors rain.

AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z TUESDAY/

Issued at 1143 AM CST Mon Feb 9 2026

VFR conditions will persist over the next 24 hours. Wind will be out of the west around 5 to 10 kts and gust up to 20 kts early this afternoon with winds switching to the northwest through the afternoon hours into the evening. As winds switch to the northwest, winds will increase to around 10 to 15 kts with gust up to 25 kts, with winds remaining breezy through the overnight hours. Winds will diminish Tuesday morning out of the northwest around 5 to 10 kts.

FIRE WEATHER

Issued at 239 AM CST Mon Feb 9 2026

Critical fire weather conditions are expected across much of western Nebraska and the Sandhills this afternoon. Temperatures likely to reach record values in the mid 70s across much of western, central and southwest Nebraska tomorrow. This will combine with very dry conditions and push humidity values into the mid teens this afternoon. West winds will quickly strengthen across western Nebraska after mid morning, with a quick onset of critical fire conditions. The strongest winds will be west of Valentine through Ogallala, where winds of 20 to 30 mph with gust up to 40 mph are expected. Areas to the east will see winds of 10 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph.

By late afternoon, a cold front will enter northern Nebraska and quickly move south across the area by mid evening. This will lead to an abrupt shift in winds from to west to the north, along with increasing north winds with its passage. This would be of concern with any new fire starts this afternoon.

Temperatures then cool back into the upper 40s to 50s each day Tuesday through Saturday. This will keep humidity values above critical thresholds, though winds do look to increase from the south on Wednesday. Lessening fire concerns are expected beyond tomorrow, though trends will continue to be monitored. This is especially true with widespread wetting moisture not materializing over the next week.

LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

Red Flag Warning until 6 PM CST /5 PM MST/ this evening for NEZ204-206-209.