textproduct: North Platte

KEY MESSAGES

- Very windy conditions today across the Sandhills and northern Nebraska. Peak wind gusts of 45 to 55 mph are expected along and north of Highway 2. These winds will lead to elevated fire weather concerns this afternoon.

- An arctic front arrives Thursday night, bringing bitterly cold temperatures in its wake. Wind chills of 15 to 30 below zero are expected Friday morning. An Extreme Cold Watch has been issued for north central Nebraska, where wind chills of 30 below are expected.

- The front also brings a chance of accumulating snowfall across western and north central Nebraska. There is still some uncertainty in exact amounts, but probabilities for at least an inch of snowfall continue to increase.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH THURSDAY/

Issued at 338 AM CST Wed Jan 21 2026

A cold front races south across the Dakotas this morning, which will bring very gusty winds across western and north central Nebraska this afternoon. Strong winds aloft will mix down to the surface, with the highest winds expected along and north of Highway 2. As the front approaches, winds shift from westerly to northwesterly. This morning, sustained westerly winds of 20 to 25 mph are expected, gusting up to 35 mph across northern Nebraska. By late morning/early afternoon, sustained northwest winds of 30 to 40 mph are expected, with gusts of 45 to 55 mph. With the arrival of the cold front, high temperatures this afternoon across northern Nebraska reach the mid 30s to the low 40s. This will keep afternoon relative humidity values between 30 to 40 percent, remaining above critical fire weather thresholds. However, these very strong winds are cause enough for at least elevated fire weather concerns this afternoon, especially across northern Nebraska and the Sandhills. Winds gradually weaken this evening as the front continues south. Behind the front tonight, lows drop into the teens across the region.

Thursday, an arctic cold front races south across the Dakotas, with a strong surface high building across western North Dakota/eastern Montana. While a fairly quiet weather day is expected on Thursday across the region, this front and high pressure system will set the stage for the next few days of weather. For Thursday afternoon, highs across the region range from the 20s across northern Nebraska to the upper 30s across southwest Nebraska.

LONG TERM /THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY/

Issued at 338 AM CST Wed Jan 21 2026

Thursday evening, the arctic front is expected to track through Nebraska. The strong high pressure across western North Dakota and an upper level trough support strong cold air advection across the region, bringing a blast of frigid temperatures. Overnight lows are now expected to be subzero across the region, with the coldest lows around 10 to 15 below zero. However, the winds behind the front will bring dangerous wind chills across the region, with wind chills ranging from 15 to 30 below zero. The coldest wind chills are expected across north central Nebraska, where widespread wind chills of 25 to 30 below (and potentially colder) are expected. As such, have issued an Extreme Cold Watch for portions of north central Nebraska this shift, as confidence is high in exceptionally cold wind chills Thursday night into Friday morning. Even outside the current watch, wind chills are expected to drop to 15 to 25 below zero. Additional cold weather headlines may be needed for most of the region, so be sure to keep up to date with the forecast!

Friday remains bitterly cold across the region, with highs in the upper single digits in southwest Nebraska to potentially subzero highs in north central Nebraska. Though the exceptionally cold wind chills of 20 below zero are expected to "warm up" by mod morning, subzero wind chills are expected across the region Friday, at most feeling around 10 degrees below zero. With the cold temperatures throughout the day, another very cold night is expected Friday night into Saturday morning. Subzero lows are once again expected, with lows ranging from 5 to 10 below zero. Winds are expected to be somewhat lighter, but very cold wind chills are again expected. Widespread wind chills of 20 below or colder are expected, so there is potential for additional cold weather headlines Friday night through Saturday morning.

The other concern with this arctic front is the potential for snow showers across the region. Guidance continues to remain in disagreement on amounts, with large disparity between the GFS solution and the ECMWF and Canadian solutions. The European and Canadian ensembles continue to increase probabilities of one inch or greater of snowfall this weekend, and the latest NBM reflects this with higher PoPs. Between the European and Canadian solutions, the probability of one inch or greater of snowfall now sits at 70 to 100 percent across portions of the region, while the GEFS solution remains pessimistic, only bringing up to a 50 percent solution across southwest Nebraska. However, deterministic solutions from the NAM, RRFS, ECMWF, GDPS, and even the GFS, are all in agreement bringing accumulating snowfall across western Nebraska, the Sandhills, and into southwestern Nebraska. There is still some disagreement in amounts, with solutions varying from 1 to 3 inches and varying in the location of snowfall. However, all of this combined does increase confidence that accumulating snowfall is likely somewhere in western Nebraska this weekend. This will continue to be refined over the next few forecast cycles.

Continuing to look ahead, another cold morning is expected on Sunday, with subzero lows and wind chills around 10 to 15 below zero across the region. Slight upper level ridging attempts to track across the region, which should bring another period of quiet weather Sunday into early next week. This may also support some gradual warming into early next week, with highs early week potentially pushing into the 30s and 40s again.

AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z THURSDAY/

Issued at 526 AM CST Wed Jan 21 2026

An approaching cold front will bring strong, gusty winds across western and north central Nebraska this morning and afternoon. Prior to frontal passage this morning, westerly surface winds are expected, which will gradually increase ahead of the front. Strong winds aloft will continue this morning, causing LLWS concerns across the region through late morning. As the front passes late morning into the early afternoon, winds shift to northwesterly and become very gusty across northern Nebraska and the Sandhills. In fact, surface gusts of 40 to 50 knots will be possible this afternoon. These strong winds are expected to weaken this evening as the boundary layer decouples. Through the night, light and variable winds are expected across most of the region. VFR conditions are expected to prevail throughout the TAF period, with no impacts expected to ceilings or visibility.

LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

Extreme Cold Watch from late Thursday night through Friday morning for NEZ005>010-027>029.