textproduct: North Platte

KEY MESSAGES

- Dangerously cold wind chills are expected across the region tonight through Friday morning. Wind chills of 20 below or colder are expected across the region, with wind chills of 30 below or colder across north central Nebraska.

- Accumulating snowfall is expected across the region late tonight through Saturday afternoon. Accumulations of 1 to 2 inches are expected, though locally higher amounts are possible, especially across the Sandhills.

- Saturday, Sunday, and Monday morning remain bitterly cold. Wind chills of 10 to 20 below zero are possible each morning.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT/

Issued at 336 AM CST Thu Jan 22 2026

A cold front tracks south across the Dakotas today, with a strong surface high pressure building in behind it. The surface high and supportive cold air advection aloft will usher in very cold temperatures tonight and into the weekend. AS the front arrives this afternoon, cooler temperatures are expected across northern Nebraska, with highs in the 20s. Further to the south, highs climb to the upper 30s to lower 40s.

Tonight, however, temperatures plummet to subzero across the region, with overnight lows ranging from 1 to 12 below zero. With these frigid temperatures, overnight wind chills drop to 20 below or colder across the region, with wind chills approaching 30 below and colder across north central Nebraska. Given these wind chills through late Friday morning, have upgraded the Extreme Cold Watch across north central Nebraska to a Warning, and have issued a Cold Weather Advisory across the rest of the region. Have also extended the end time until Noon CST Friday, as very cold wind chills linger throughout the morning. This will also set up a very cold day on Friday, with highs in the upper single digits in southwest Nebraska and subzero highs across north central Nebraska. Though afternoon wind chills climb above 20 below, wind chills remain cold, generally remaining 10 to 15 below throughout the afternoon.

Also on Friday, a surface low deepens off the lee of the Rocky Mountains, bringing chances for accumulating snowfall across most of western and north central Nebraska. The last several forecasts, these probabilities have been increasing. However, these last few forecast cycles have also seen an uptick in snowfall amounts as well. These snow showers are expected to last through Saturday afternoon, bringing at least an inch of snow across most of the region. Even the still pessimistic GEFS ensemble, highlight an 80 percent probability of 1 inch of snowfall across the Sandhills. While confidence has increased in snow occurring, the snowfall amounts still remain somewhat uncertain. Ensemble guidance indicates a low chance of exceeding 3 inches of snow, however some deterministic models highlight a chance of 3 inches in regions across the Sandhills where higher amounts are possible. In general, have included 1 to 2.5 inches of accumulations in the forecast, with highest amounts across the Sandhills. However, there is still potential for these amounts to change over the next forecast cycle, especially as more fine scale features are resolved.

Snow aside, this weekend remains quite cold. Friday night will again see overnight lows plunging below zero, with widespread lows of 5 to 10 below zero. Wind chills across the region Friday night into Saturday morning drop around 15 to 20 below zero across the region. Worth mentioning, the NBM has been keeping temperatures on the warmer side, often exceeding the 75th percentile. With this in mind, and in collaboration with neighboring offices, have forced in lower temperatures than what the NBM provided. With this in mind, will still need to keep an eye on these temperature and wind chill trends, as additional cold weather headlines may be needed this weekend.

As for Saturday, snow showers are expected to last through the afternoon. Cloud cover, in addition to the cold air advection, will limit daytime heating across the region, generally keeping highs in the single digits to low teens. Wind chills throughout the day remain cold, just above zero across the Panhandle, remaining below zero across the Sandhills and north central Nebraska. Lows remain cold Saturday night as well. Subzero lows persist Saturday night, with wind chills 10 to 15 below zero lasting through late Sunday morning.

LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/

Issued at 336 AM CST Thu Jan 22 2026

After another cold start on Sunday morning, upper level ridging begins to develop across western Nebraska, which should usher in some warmer temperatures early week through mid week. Sunday remains cool, with highs in the teens and 20s across the region. This will set up another cold start on Monday morning, with subzero lows again and wind chills around 10 to 15 below zero. However, by Monday afternoon, could see temperatures back into the 40s across western Nebraska, with slightly cooler temperatures in the 30s across north central Nebraska. In general, this seems to the pattern for next week, with warmer temperatures across western and southwestern Nebraska and cooler temperatures across north central Nebraska. This period also appears to be a mostly dry forecast, with little precipitation expected. However, much like last weekend's forecast for this week, there is a fair amount of uncertainty in temperatures. In fact, just like last weekend, a nearly 20 degree spread can be seen between the NBM 25th and 75th percentiles. At this range, best to continue monitoring forecast trends, which does indicate some warming, rather than focus on specific numbers. There will likely be change in forecast highs as guidance comes into agreement.

AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z FRIDAY/

Issued at 1140 AM CST Thu Jan 22 2026

A cold front will drop south through western Nebraska this afternoon, bringing northerly to northeasterly winds into tonight and northeasterly winds Friday morning. VFR conditions are expected to prevail through this evening, with MVFR tonight across the central Sandhills between the KLBF and KVTN terminals. Snow is expected to develop mainly across the central Sandhills later tonight into Friday morning, eventually reaching the KLBF terminal by 15Z. MVFR ceilings OVC025 at KLBF by 12Z, with 5SM -SN OVC020 15Z through the remainder of the TAF period.

LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

Cold Weather Advisory from midnight CST /11 PM MST/ tonight to noon CST /11 AM MST/ Friday for NEZ004-022>026-035>038-056>059- 069>071-094. Extreme Cold Warning from midnight tonight to noon CST Friday for NEZ005>010-027>029.