textproduct: North Platte

KEY MESSAGES

- Red Flag Warning through this evening for all western and southwest Nebraska

- Red Flag Warning for portions of western Nebraska for very low humidities

- Well above normal temperatures through the week, warmest day will be Saturday with highs reaching the 90s

- Cold front moves through the area Saturday and will see gusty winds and more seasonable temperatures behind it

SHORT TERM /THROUGH FRIDAY/

Issued at 411 PM CDT Wed Mar 18 2026

The greatest concern in the short term will be the continued gusty winds and dry conditions for the rest of the afternoon into the into the early evening mainly across western Nebraska into west central Nebraska as good mixing continues to keep winds gusty around 30 mph to a few gusts up to 35 mph. As we head towards sunset winds will diminish to around 5 to 10 mph. Do expect winds to become westerly after midnight, with gusty winds across western Nebraska. It is anticipated there will be a narrow corridor of stronger winds aloft, 850mb level across western Nebraska and do expect good mixing so should see wind gusts 20 to 25 mph and potentially higher, this combined with very low RH Thursday afternoon, less than 15 percent decided to issue a Red Flag Warning for Thursday afternoon across western Nebraska. For more information regarding see fire weather section below.

LONG TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/

Issued at 411 PM CDT Wed Mar 18 2026

Upper level ridge continues to slowly expand eastward through Friday with highs reaching the upper 70s to low 80s both days which is well above normal for this time of year, as highs are typically in the low to mid 50s. No precipitation is expected through the end of the week and relative humidity will remain very low, especially on Saturday. The ridge is expected to break down Saturday and Saturday night a cold front will push across the area. Ahead of the cold front do expect compressional heating an forecaster confidence has increased in the likelihood of seeing our first 90 degree day of year with record breaking temperatures, see climate section for more information.

Will need to monitor winds for Saturday as do expect a sharp wind shift behind the front to the north, timing of the wind shift still remains a little uncertain as there are discrepancies between the models. Forecaster confidence is medium on winds increasing behind the front to near 20 mph sustained and gust in excess of 30 mph.

After the passage of the cold front on Sunday temperatures will drop to near seasonable with highs in the low 50s across northern Nebraska and into the 60s across southwest Nebraska. Temperatures will moderate back into the 60s to begin the week

AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z FRIDAY/

Issued at 1236 AM CDT Thu Mar 19 2026

VFR conditions are expected through the forecast period.

Passing mid to high level clouds will continue for much of the day Thursday with variable winds becoming predominantly west- southwesterly this afternoon. Gusts may climb to around 20-25 knots with the strongest expected over the eastern Sandhills into north central Nebraska.

FIRE WEATHER

Issued at 411 PM CDT Wed Mar 18 2026

Critical fire weather conditions continue into this evening, with warm temperatures, very low humidity, and gusty westerly winds persisting.

As temperatures warm even more tomorrow into the upper 70s to low 80s, relative humidity will again fall as low as 12 to 18 percent across much of western and southwest Nebraska. Winds will again be breezy from the west tomorrow, with gusts of up to 25 miles per hour across western Nebraska. This will lead to critical fire weather conditions across western Nebraska, and a Red Flag Warning is in effect for the eastern Panhandle and western Sandhills tomorrow.

CLIMATE

Issued at 411 PM CDT Wed Mar 18 2026

Records are anticipated to be broken on Saturday as abnormally warm temperatures are expected with highs reaching the 90s across southwest Nebraska, with the potential to break all time March highs. Below is a list of the 4 climate sites record highs for Saturday and Saturday's forecast highs.

..Site..........Record High..............Forecast High...........

North Platte 86 degrees (1910) 92 degrees

Valentine 84 degrees (1910) 86 degrees

Broken Bow 83 degrees(1997, 1928) 90 degrees

Imperial 87 degrees(1907) 92 degrees

All Time March high

Broken Bow 92 degrees set in 1943 Imperial 89 degrees set in 1967 Valentine 86 degrees set in 1910, 2012, 1943, 1946 North Platte 91 degrees set in 2015

LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

Red Flag Warning from 11 AM to 7 PM MDT Thursday for NEZ204.