textproduct: North Platte

KEY MESSAGES

- Snow persists tonight into Saturday afternoon across portions of north central Nebraska. The greatest accumulations are expected northeast of a Springview to O'Neill line, where 1-3" are possible.

- Freezing drizzle is possible for areas near and south of HWY 2 tonight into Saturday morning and could lead hazardous travel conditions.

- After a cold weekend, temperatures quickly return to well above average early next week, with highs in the 50s to 60s Monday through Wednesday.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT/

Issued at 320 PM CST Fri Dec 12 2025

Currently, light snow persists across much of northern Nebraska, with light accumulations of one inch or less observed. Further south, drizzle and freezing drizzle continue across central and southwest Nebraska. Temperatures range from the teens near HWY 20 to the low 40s in far southwest Nebraska.

For tonight, expect ongoing snow to slowly shift east across north central Nebraska and into southeastern South Dakota overnight. As this occurs, snow will consolidate into a strengthening FGEN band as the upper trough axis begins to pivot overhead and the thermal gradient constricts in the mid-levels. Guidance continues to come into better agreement with respect to this band, and keep the bulk of notable snow accumulations across southeastern South Dakota into extreme northeastern Nebraska through Saturday afternoon. Still, Boyd county looks to get enough of a glancing blow to lead to 1-3" of new snow accumulation. With this in mind, made no changes to the inherited Winter Weather Advisory.

Further south, a more complex precip evolution is expected across much of southwest into central Nebraska. Forecast soundings continue to indicate a lack of cloud ice within the shallow moist layer and points towards a liquid p-type. As temperatures continue to fall tonight as a shallow arctic airmass overspreads the entire area, any drizzle will quickly become freezing drizzle for areas south of HWY 2. Though isentropic ascent remains meager, some increase is expected into early Saturday morning as low level flow becomes southeasterly. This could lead to light ice accretions, especially on elevated surfaces, and will need to be monitored very closely. Additional Winter Weather Advisory headlines may be needed should confidence in light icing grow for portions of the area Saturday morning.

As the upper low begins to exit well off to the east through the Great Lakes, snow will begin to taper off into Saturday afternoon. In the wake of this system, strong arctic high pressure will then spill into the Dakotas by Saturday evening. This pushes another backdoor cold front through the area, with temperatures falling through the afternoon hours Saturday. This will lead to a very limited diurnal swing for much of the area, with just far southwest Nebraska seeing any increase in temperatures in the afternoon. Highs will struggle to leave the single digits across north central Nebraska, with low to middle 20s across the Sandhills. Winds will also increase from the north with the passage of this front as well, with strong surface pressure rises behind the front. Unfortunately, this increase in winds will combine with the cold temperatures and push wind chills into the low single digits to below zero across much of the area.

LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/

Issued at 320 PM CST Fri Dec 12 2025

Drier conditions return for Sunday and beyond, as northwest flow establishes aloft behind the departing upper low. Low level warm advection begins to increase in earnest Sunday afternoon, beginning the trend back to above average temperatures by early next week. A wide range in highs can be expected Sunday, with low 20s east of HWY 281 to the low 50s west of HWY 61. Westerly downslope flow then establishes by Monday, shunting the cold airmass off to the east of the area. Highs return to the 50s to low 60s for most Monday, and to the upper 50s to 60s for all by Wednesday. Will have to monitor early next week for increasing fire weather concerns, especially Wednesday when strong west winds combine with the mild temperatures. Another clipper system passes by on Thursday, bringing a brief return of cooler highs and a chance for light rain or snow. This looks to be short lived however, with yet another return of above average highs into late week.

AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z SUNDAY/

Issued at 527 PM CST Fri Dec 12 2025

For the KLBF terminal: There will be a threat for very light freezing drizzle at the terminal through the early overnight hours. Visibilities will fall off to as low as 5SM through 08z Saturday. The threat for freezing drizzle will end early Saturday morning with some patchy freezing fog expected to develop after 11z. Visibilities may fall off to as low as 1SM Saturday morning, improving after 17z Saturday. Ceilings will be LIFR and IFR tonight through midday Saturday, improving to VFR late Saturday afternoon.

For the KVTN terminal: Expect periodic light snow to continue at the terminal through late evening with visibilities as low as 3 SM at times. Overnight, expect MVFR ceilings ranging from 1000 to 1500 FT AGL with some minor visibility restrictions with light snow possible after 10z through 17z Saturday. Ceilings will then climb to 1800 to 2500 FT AGL Saturday afternoon.

LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

Winter Weather Advisory from 9 PM this evening to noon CST Saturday for NEZ007.