textproduct: North Platte

KEY MESSAGES

- Critical fire conditions this afternoon across the western Sandhills and southwestern Nebraska.

- Elevated fire weather conditions Sunday and critical fire weather conditions possible on Monday.

- Dry conditions and very warm temperatures today through Monday, with potentially record-breaking temperatures on Monday. - Cooler temperatures in the mid 40s to lower 50s Tuesday through Friday along with low chances for rain or snow across portions of the area.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH MONDAY/

Issued at 201 AM CST Sat Feb 7 2026

Today, a large upper level ridge will extend from the Alberta and Saskatchewan Canada south through the Central Rockies into Texas. A shortwave trough currently over Wyoming will move across western Nebraska today advancing a surface trough through the area. This will bring a return of much warmer temperatures from 65 to 70 degrees across much of the area. Southwest winds will turn to the northwest across the western Sandhills and southwest Nebraska, with gusts to 30 mph and low humidity as low as 15 percent. A Red Flag Warning has been issued for the western Sandhills and portions of southwest Nebraska from 18Z this afternoon until 00Z this evening.

Unseasonable warm temperatures are forecast Sunday and Monday with highs in the mid to upper 60s Sunday and the upper 60s to lower 70s Monday. These highs will be from 25 to 30 degrees above normal. The NBM 50th percentile is about 2 to 4 degrees warmer both days. This indicates that even warmer highs are possible, which is plausible given the upper ridge breaking down Monday afternoon. Current record highs for Monday are 74, 70, 69, and 72 at North Platte, Valentine, Broken Bow, and Imperial respectively. There is high confidence that some if not all of these records will be broken on Monday as the latest model trends continue to rise higher than guidance.

With afternoon humidity from the upper teens to low 20s Sunday, elevated fire weather concerns with westerly winds 10 to 15 mph.

Critical fire weather conditions are possible Monday with westerly winds gusting to 25 to 30 mph across the western Sandhills into the north central. Afternoon humidity to range as low as 15 to 20 percent.

LONG TERM /MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY/

Issued at 201 AM CST Sat Feb 7 2026

A strong cold front shown to drop through the area Monday evening. This will bring a cloudy sky and much cooler highs on Tuesday ranging from 44 to 50 degrees. A slight chance for rain or snow across portions of north central Nebraska.

Temperatures will remain in the upper 40s to lower 50s Wednesday through Friday, though these highs may still remain 5 to 10 degrees above normal.

While upper ridging will persist across the Southern Plains, an upper trough over the Great Basin will lift across the Northern Plains and Southern Rockies. The more active flow will remain across Wyoming into the Northern Plains. Mainly cloudy skies Wednesday into Thursday. 20 to 30 POPs across portions of the area Tuesday night through Friday. While precipitation is much needed, the GEFS and ECMWF ensembles do not support much precipitation during this timeframe, mostly less than a tenth of an inch, and that mainly across north central Nebraska.

AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z SUNDAY/

Issued at 1142 PM CST Fri Feb 6 2026

VFR conditions will continue across western and north central Nebraska the next 24 hours. LLWS will be the main aviation concern from 09Z-14Z at the KVTN and KLBF terminals. Surface winds will begin the TAF period southeast at below 10kts, veering to the southwest 14Z, with gust to 18kts at KVTN. Winds become westerly by afternoon, with gusts to around 20 kts at KVTN. Wind become light northwest at below 10kts by 00z/8th.

LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

Red Flag Warning from 11 AM this morning to 5 PM MST this afternoon for NEZ204-210.