textproduct: North Platte

KEY MESSAGES

- Light snow will move southwest Nebraska later this afternoon through early Saturday with accumulations of around 1-1.5" possible.

- Cooler temperatures continue through the weekend, though precise values will depend on timing of snow melt.

- Expect dry to mostly dry conditions for much of next week with a return to above normal temperatures.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT/

Issued at 312 PM CST Fri Feb 20 2026

Departing trough responsible for Thursday's snow continues to deepen over the Great Lakes thanks to strong synoptic lift. A secondary shortwave crossing Colorado is bringing increasing high level clouds across the area. Light precipitation is falling over northeast Colorado and this activity will move into southwest Nebraska later tonight. Temperatures, thanks to new snowpack, range from middle teens to middle 20s. These values exceed 20F below normal for western Nebraska, certainly making it feel like winter has returned following the extended period of well above normal temperatures.

For late this afternoon/tonight...modest shortwave trough will cross the Rockies with a low pressure center forming over southeast Colorado. Weak height falls will spill into western Nebraska this evening as the center of circulation tracks through the Oklahoma/Texas Panhandles. Further north, a h7 low will form and track along and just south of the Nebraska/Kansas border. Along this trajectory, increasing mid-level fgen will lead to broad precipitation for southwest Nebraska. With temperatures already safely sub-freezing and expected cooling tonight, thermal profiles will support an all snow event. Low-levels will be slow to saturate but eventually these will be overcome. While forecast soundings show reasonable DGZ depth and saturation, the lack of stronger lift should support a slow and steady snowfall rate with less than a half inch per hour expected. QPF closely matches HREF localized probability-matched mean output with measurable snow limited to the I-80 corridor and points south and closer to 0.10" along the southern Chase/Hayes/Frontier County borders. With snow ratios around 13-16:1, expecting a light and fluffy snow with totals of 1- 1.5" in our southern three counties and less than an inch north. Though light and fluffy snow is expected, winds will remain light at or below 15 mph during active snowfall and limit the threat of blowing/drifting snow. Even so, visibility reductions remain possible and folks are advised to use caution if traveling in the area. Lows should fall into the teens for most and perhaps a few locations hitting single digits. The increasing cloud cover should prevent values from falling too significantly and precluding a repeat of sub-zero lows seen Thursday morning.

LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/

Issued at 312 PM CST Fri Feb 20 2026

This weekend...Amplifying ridge will build in from the southwest late Saturday into early Sunday. This will promote dry conditions. Though typically this coincides with much warmer temperatures, the residual snowpack will likely hold us back on Saturday with middle 30s to lower 40s expected. Encroaching high pressure over central Canada will drive a cold front south. Reinforcing cold air is expected in its wake and as a result, high temperatures on Sunday will cool slightly with upper 20s to upper 30s expected.

Next week...amplified northwesterly flow will develop on the downstream side of strengthening ridge. Multiple perturbations within the mid-level flow will dive southeast across the Midwest and impacts from these should remain east of the area as a result. A more pronounced shortwave on the backside of deep troughing over the Hudson Bay will drive ridging back as flow transitions to zonal. Even so, temperatures should favor above normal values with NBM envelope values generally in the 40s/50s for Monday but further climbing to the 60s/70s for Tuesday through Friday. A stronger disturbance will approach the area around the middle of next week but NBM trends have been to decrease PoPs as they retreat north. Overall this is in good agreement with EPS/GEFS solutions but their respective deterministic solutions suggest not writing off the potential just yet. With that in mind, will continue to highlight dry to mostly dry conditions but mention Wednesday/Thursday bear watching. The warmer temperatures with westerly flow will again support increasing fire weather concerns as temperatures return to well above-normal values and breezy conditions appear plausible. While it's too early to get into specifics, each day Tuesday through Friday will be worth monitoring over the coming days.

AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z SUNDAY/

Issued at 1125 PM CST Fri Feb 20 2026

For the KLBF terminal, expect broken to overcast ceilings overnight through mid-morning Saturday ranging from 2500 to 3500 FT AGL. Skies will scatter out by mid morning gradually clearing into the afternoon hours. By late afternoon into Saturday evening, expect mainly clear skies. For the KVTN terminal, skies will be broken through Saturday afternoon with broken VFR ceilings ranging from 10000 to 20000 Ft AGL.

LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

None.