textproduct: North Platte

KEY MESSAGES

- Cold Weather Advisory remains in effect for the Sandhills and northern Nebraska through 8am CST.

- Dry and mild conditions are expected the rest of this work week and into next week.

- Some increase in fire weather conditions could develop and will be monitored.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH TUESDAY/

Issued at 310 AM CST Mon Dec 29 2025

Cold Air Advisory will remain in effect until 8am CST this morning. As of early this morning, temperatures continue to slowly fall through the teens and into the single digits across the Sandhills and northern Nebraska. Winds chills are currently running 15 to 20 degrees below zero, and with the winds staying up and temperatures cooling a few more degrees, will likely see spots hit around 20 below through sunrise. As surface high pressure builds into the area through the day, winds should steadily decrease and become light by tonight. Very dry air aloft, with little in the way of cloud cover today, and trended high temperatures up just slightly.

Surface high pressure will shift south and east of the area tonight. Light westerly surface winds will create quite a range in lows, with some of the better mixed higher elevations of the Sandhills remaining in the upper teens to near 20 for lows. Meanwhile, river Valleys such as the Platte, will see a good drainage wind with lows around 10 degrees in spots.

Upper level ridging expands northward across the Rockies Tuesday with dry northwest flow aloft downstream across our region. Temperatures warm Tuesday with a downslope west to northwest wind ushering in a Pacific airmass. Highs will climb to above average once again, with far southwest Nebraska likely seeing highs reaching the lower 50s. Some limited fire weather concern as temperatures rise, but both humidity and wind look to remain well within check, so no major concerns at this point for Tuesday.

LONG TERM /TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY/

Issued at 310 AM CST Mon Dec 29 2025

Ridging aloft remains across the Rockies right through the end of the work week. Ensemble trends as well as the operational ECMWF...try and break down the ridge with flow becoming more zonal by next weekend. Overall, this coming week looks dry and very mild once again. Although not currently in the forecast, several members of the GEFS and ENS have highs into the 60s across portions of western and southwest Nebraska. The area as a whole remains dry, with only some limited light precipitation amounts observed across northern Nebraska this past weekend. Will have to watch for an increase in fire weather concerns, especially with the potential ridge breakdown toward the end of the week. As it stands now, Wednesday appears to have the lowest humidity this coming week, with west to northwest winds gusting in the 20-25 mph range. As mentioned though, temperatures could be warmer and humidity lower than currently forecast on other days, so will continue to monitor.

AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z TUESDAY/

Issued at 1127 AM CST Mon Dec 29 2025

LLWS will be possible early Tuesday morning across the northern Sandhills, including KVTN terminal with winds around 35 kts out of the northwest. Sfc winds will be out of the west northwest today around 5 to 10 kts, then become mostly light and variable tonight. Winds will then be light out of the west tomorrow morning around 5 to 10 kts.

LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

None.