textproduct: North Platte

KEY MESSAGES

- Critical fire weather conditions continue through early this evening

- High confidence in temperatures near normal Sunday and Monday before returning to above normal through Friday.

- Increased confidence in an active weather pattern with precipitation chances Sunday night through Wednesday.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT/

Issued at 316 PM CST Fri Feb 27 2026

For the remainder of this afternoon into early into early this evening a Red Flag Warning remains in places across fire weather zones 204, 208 and 209, or portions of the western and north central Nebraska. There is the potential for elevated to near- critical fire weather conditions on Saturday across western Nebraska, although RH values drop into the upper teens, winds will remain light. For more information regarding fire weather see the fire weather section below.

A backdoor cold front will move into the region overnight and bring slightly cooler air. This will generally impact north central Nebraska where highs tomorrow will only reach the low to mid 40s and will see lows Saturday night drop into the teens. On the south side of the front temperatures will still remain mild and well above normal with highs in the 50s and 60s and lows in the 20s.

LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/

Issued at 316 PM CST Fri Feb 27 2026

An active weather pattern through the extended period looks to take shape starting Sunday as a negative PNA regime supports multiple disturbances moving through the region. On Sunday, the strongest forcing will remain mostly south of the region, keeping the bulk of the precipitation south and east of our area. However, some light snow is possible Sunday morning for areas mainly east of US-83, with lingering chances through the day, before this system quickly departs.

Another disturbance will move toward the region Sunday night into Monday, bringing additional rain and snow chances through Monday night. The main system will move into the region on Tuesday bringing higher chances for precipitation across the area. A brief lull in the active pattern is expected Wednesday through Thursday, before a larger storm system approaches the region on Friday. This late-week system looks to have a stronger connection to gulf moisture, which would support an increased potential for widespread precipitation. Stay tuned for future forecasts as guidance becomes clearer over the next few days.

Highs Sunday and Monday will be cooler with temperatures mainly in the 40s to low 50s across the area. Overnight lows will mainly be in the 20s, supporting frozen precipitation (snow) before transitioning to rain during the day. Warmer conditions will return Wednesday through Friday, with highs in the 50s to low 60s.

AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z SATURDAY/

Issued at 1154 AM CST Fri Feb 27 2026

VFR conditions will prevail over the next 24 hours. Winds will remain breezy this afternoon out of the northwest around 10 kts with gust up to 20 kts. This evening winds will become light around 5 kts, out of the south for areas across the southern Sandhills into southwest Nebraska. For the northern Sandhills into north central Nebraska winds will be out of the northeast around 5 to 10 kts.

FIRE WEATHER

Issued at 316 PM CST Fri Feb 27 2026

Near-critical to critical fire conditions continue this afternoon as RH values drop to near 12 percent with northwesterly wind gusts up to 35 mph. A Red Flag Warning remains in effect through the afternoon for portions of the Panhandle, northern and central Nebraska. Conditions improve overnight with slightly cooler temperatures and light winds on Saturday. A more active weather pattern arrives Sunday night keeping fire concerns low through next week.

LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

Red Flag Warning until 6 PM CST /5 PM MST/ this evening for NEZ204-208-209.