textproduct: North Platte

KEY MESSAGES

- Near seasonal to slightly cooler than seasonal highs are expected the next few days, with overnight lows in the mid to upper 20s. Precipitation chances decrease after this morning as higher pressure builds into the region.

- Drier and warmer conditions return this weekend, with highs returning to the 70s

- Precipitation chances may return Tuesday into Wednesday, with southwest Nebraska favored for accumulations at this time.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT/

Issued at 310 AM CDT Thu Apr 30 2026

A cold front tracks south across the region overnight, bringing slightly cooler temperatures in its wake. This is expected to drop overnight lows into the upper 20s to mid 30s across the region, with the warmer temperatures across southwest Nebraska, ahead of the front. Latest guidance is slightly quicker with the movement of this front, which is now expected to be south of the region around sunrise. With the quicker movement of this front, expecting lower chances of precipitation this morning into the early afternoon, with the best chances being across far southwest Nebraska. Still, chance of precipitation remain generally under 30 percent, with little to no additional precipitation expected. Chances greatly diminish as the front continues tracking south into Kansas in the afternoon, and expecting no additional precipitation for Friday as well.

Behind the front, higher pressure begins to develop across the northern Plains, which will largely dominate our weather pattern over the next few days. Upper level ridging begins to develop to the west, with a trough to the east, keeping western Nebraska in a mostly northerly to northwesterly flow aloft the next few days. This should all combine to keep temperatures near seasonal to slightly cooler than seasonal for today and Friday. For reference, highs in late April and early May across western Nebraska typically range from around 66 to 67 degrees. At this time, expecting highs to reach into the low to mid 60s today and tomorrow.

As for overnight lows, both tonight and Friday night appear very similar. Very little cloud cover is expected both nights, with light winds across the region. This will allow for strong radiational cooling both nights, and expect that lows will drop into the mid to upper 20s.

LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/

Issued at 310 AM CDT Thu Apr 30 2026

The area remains under the influence of upper ridging aloft as we head into the weekend, with persistent warm advection boosting highs back into the 70s. With minimum afternoon humidity then returning into the teens to 20s this weekend as well, some increase in fire concerns is possible. That said, this will hinge on how fuels react to the recent cool, cloudy, and wetter conditions. A weak shortwave will round the apex of the ridge through the northern Plains, reaching northern Nebraska by Sunday afternoon. This will lead to an associated weak surface low ejecting southeast out of southeastern Wyoming across southern Nebraska. As a weak frontal boundary pushes through the area Sunday afternoon into Sunday night, isolated showers and thunderstorms will be possible. Instability looks very meager (~100-250 J/kg), and strong to severe storms are not anticipated at this time. Any precipitation looks to remain meager as well, with NBM probabilities of >0.10" at <15% across the entire area.

A second, deeper upper low then begins to eject east into the southern Plains by Wednesday morning. This could lead to precipitation development across the area as early as Tuesday morning, as an associated cold front begins to push across the area. Confidence wanes with respect to location and amounts of precipitation as we head into midweek, though southwest Nebraska looks to be favored at this time. It is here where NBM probabilities of >0.10" increase to as high as 40-50% through Wednesday morning. With at least meager instability in place across the area, some threat for thunderstorms looks to exist as well. Any severe weather looks unlikely at this time, though trends will continue to be monitored.

AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z FRIDAY/

Issued at 615 AM CDT Thu Apr 30 2026

VFR conditions are expected to prevail through tomorrow morning across western and north central Nebraska. Winds increase from the northwest this afternoon, with gusts of 20 to 25kts expected. Winds then become light and variable overnight.

LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

None.