textproduct: North Platte

KEY MESSAGES

- Dangerously cold wind chills are expected each morning Sunday and Monday with values falling below -20F.

- Light snow is possible Sunday, mainly west of Highway 61, with little to no accumulations expected.

- Temperatures warm through mid-week with greater uncertainty thereafter through the following weekend.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/

Issued at 402 AM CST Sun Jan 25 2026

Morning satellite analysis depicts a positive tilt longwave trough settling southeast across the Northern Plains. As this occurs, moderately strong surface high pressure is quickly shunting a cold front south that is expected to bring reinforcing cold air to the area today. Early this morning, under largely clear skies, temperatures have tanked with many sub-zero temperature reports. With these values, any light wind is leading to significantly cold wind chill readings which has prompted a late Cold Weather Advisory issuance.

For today...the cold front will arrive into western Nebraska around daybreak. Winds will sharply increase out of the north with gusts approaching 20 mph immediately behind the front. Though air temperatures may see a slight climb, the increased wind speeds may prolong wind chills below -15F across our northern zones. Confidence was not high enough to warrant expanding the existing Cold Weather Advisory to the NE/SD border but this threat will need closely monitored going forward. Modest fgen around h85-h7 will lead to light snow across our western zones through the day. Overall, the threat for accumulating snow is low with roughly a 50% probability of seeing measurable snow west of Highway 61. Elsewhere, no accumulations are expected. Though a slight diurnal bump in temperatures should occur this afternoon, it'll be plenty cold with highs holding in the single digits north of the Platte Valley and middle teens to the south. Factoring in the winds and wind chills will likely hold in the negative teens for our northern zones through the day.

For tonight...surface high pressure quickly tracks through the area bringing with it much colder air. Low temperatures will once again fall below 0F with some locations reaching -10F. As we get closer to daybreak on Monday, westerly winds will increase and drive wind chill values once again below Advisory criteria (-20F). Widespread dangerous wind chill values has prompted another Cold Weather Advisory for the local area. As winds increase to around 10 mph sustained, a few locations may threaten Extreme Cold Warning criteria (-30F) in the western Sandhills. At this time, will defer any potential need for an upgrade to later forecasts as confidence increases. Regardless if it's an Advisory or Warning, the conditions will be dangerous to be out in so folks are advised to take adequate precautions.

LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/

Issued at 402 AM CST Sun Jan 25 2026

Monday...Westerly flow will continue and propel a warm front off the higher terrain. This will lead to a noteworthy warm up with forecast highs suggesting all of western and central Nebraska should exceed the freezing mark for the first time in multiple days. Given the warming west winds and abundant sunshine, fire weather concerns will be on the increase as gusts near 25 to 30 mph. The lingering uncertainty is magnitude of afternoon humidity drop. Deterministic solutions appear to be fairly split on precise moisture quality and NBM dew point standard deviation values top out around 4-7F. More aggressive solutions, such as HRRR/RAP guidance, suggest greater fire weather concerns that may warrant headlines. For now, will defer to later forecasts citing this uncertainty.

Tuesday...Another passing high pressure system will bring about another slight cooldown across the area, with the greatest changes to the sensible weather expected across central and eastern Nebraska. It's these areas that will likely see high temperatures fall below the freezing mark again with middle 40s further southwest. These cooler temperatures should limit fire weather concerns compared to Monday.

Wednesday and beyond...temperatures recover for the latter half of the week. That said, NBM spread remains large with inner-quartile ranges exceeding 20F+ each day Thursday through Saturday. This is likely due to the enhanced northwesterly flow aloft and placement of any embedded perturbations. The main core of cold air will be anchored over the Great Lakes but how far west some of these upper- level systems track will determine how far west the cold air reaches. Even as track of the disturbances remains in question, scant moisture means that even the more aggressive westerly solutions keep a largely dry forecast for the area.

AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z MONDAY/

Issued at 544 AM CST Sun Jan 25 2026

An approaching cold front will introduce stronger northerly winds and potentially -SN to northern and western Nebraska terminals. Did add a mention of -SN at VTN for a few hours late morning through early afternoon, immediately following frontal passage. Intensity is not expected to be high so impacts remain limited. Lower CIGs will introduce MVFR conditions however. Further south and east, the snow threat is lower and have kept VFR conditions at LBF. Late tonight, skies clear and winds become light and variable as high pressure settles into the area.

LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

Cold Weather Advisory until noon CST /11 AM MST/ today for NEZ004-022-023-035>038-056>059-069>071. Cold Weather Advisory from 9 PM CST /8 PM MST/ this evening to 9 AM CST /8 AM MST/ Monday for NEZ004>010-022>029-035>038- 056>059-069>071-094.