textproduct: North Platte

KEY MESSAGES

- A back door cold front will bring cooler readings to western and north central Nebraska today.

- High temperatures Saturday through Monday will run 25 to near 30 degrees above normal with near record highs possible Monday.

- Highs cooling to the mid and upper 40s Tuesday through Thursday with at least a slight chance for precipitation across portions of the area each day.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH SATURDAY/

Issued at 215 AM CST Fri Feb 6 2026

An upper low over Hudson Bay Canada and an upper trough deepening south across the Great Lakes Region will push a back door cold front through western and north central Nebraska today. low clouds will build in across northeastern portions of the area this morning, to as far west as Valentine to BRoken Bow. The front will stall out across the western Sandhills into southwestern Nebraska early afternoon. Temperatures will vary widely across the forecast area from the low 40s in the northeast to near 60 in the southeastern panhandle and far southwest. Low cloudiness lingering over northeastern portions of the forecast area this afternoon could limit highs to the upper 30s far northeast.

Tonight, winds will become southerly, and even breezy across north central Nebraska late tonight. Lows from the low 30s northwest Sandhills, to around 25 portions of the southwest and east with increasing cloudiness. The HREF mean visibility does indicate patchy fog potential for 3-5 mile visibility across western Kansas into portions of central and southwest Nebraska. THE HRRR and RAP do not indicate this yet, so will not mention fog at this time.

Saturday, the upper ridge briefly flattens out as a surface trough advances into western Nebraska. This will bring a return of much warmer temperatures in the mid 60s west, and upper 60s far southwest, with the far eastern zones reaching the mid 50s. Southwest winds will turn to the northwest across the western Sandhills with gusts to around 25 mph possible and near critical fire weather conditions are possible as afternoon humidity falls to as low as 20 percent with a mostly sunny sky.

LONG TERM /SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY/

Issued at 215 AM CST Fri Feb 6 2026

Unseasonable warm temperatures are forecast Sunday and Monday with highs in the mid 60s to near 70. These highs will be from 25 to near 30 degrees above normal. The NBM 50th percentile is warmer in the upper 60s to near 70 Sunday, and the low 70s to near 75 Monday. This indicates that even warmer highs are possible, which is plausible given the upper ridge breaking down Monday afternoon. This would support near record highs possible on Monday. With afternoon humidity from the upper teens to mid 20s each day, elevated fire weather concerns Sunday with westerly winds 10 to 15 mph, and near critical fire weather conditions Monday with westerly winds gusting to 25 mph western Sandhills into the north central.

A strong cold front shown to drop through the area Monday night. A return to more normal temperatures in the 40s each day Tuesday through Thursday, though these highs may still remain 5 to near 10 degrees above normal each day.

While upper ridging will persist across the Southern Plains, the flow across the Central and Northern Plains will become zonal and more active, with at least more cloudiness. This will bring a slight chance for precipitation to the northwest Sandhills Monday night, with at least a slight chance across portions of the area Tuesday through Thursday. While precipitation is much needed, the GEFS and ECMWF ensembles do not support much precipitation during this timeframe, mostly less than a tenth of an inch, and that mainly across north central Nebraska.

AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z SATURDAY/

Issued at 519 AM CST Fri Feb 6 2026

A cold front will back into the area from the northeast this morning. This will bring an area of MVFR ceilings. This area is expected to be located along and east of a BBW to VTN line. At KVTN an MVFR ceiling is forecast from 15Z to 18Z, then improving to VFR. Ceilings should gradually lift during the afternoon hours across eastern portions of north central Nebraska. A northwest wind to 15kts through mid morning, will become light northerly this afternoon, then southeast tonight.

LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

None.