textproduct: North Platte

KEY MESSAGES

- Dangerous wind chill values continue Monday morning, with a quick warm-up expected by midday.

- Temperatures waver through the upcoming week as recurring cold shots dropping through the Missouri Valley clash with warmer air over the High Plains.

- A backdoor cold front will serve as the focus for light snow across western and central Nebraska Thursday into Friday.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/

Issued at 401 AM CST Mon Jan 26 2026

Early morning satellite imagery shows clear skies across the region. Surface high pressure has settled south into Kansas and as result westerly flow has increased. The strong radiational cooling combined with the increased wind has produced sub -20F wind chills across much of western Nebraska. In fact, a few locations have threatened Extreme Cold Warning criteria (-30F). Needless to say, dangerous temperatures are being reported across the local area and folks should take great precautions if heading out early this morning. At these temperatures, hypothermia and frost bite can develop in as little as 10 minutes if adequate precautions are not taken.

Monday...as mentioned, westerly flow continues to strengthen on the northern periphery of the strong surface high pressure. Strong warm air advection will overspread the area and daytime temperatures will climb quickly across the area. This will bring a swift end to wind chill concerns as forecast values exceed the -20F criteria by 9-10am CST. This closely aligns with the inherited Cold Weather Advisory expiration time and so no changes were made. HREF probabilities show rapid increase of temperatures exceeding 32F by early afternoon west of Highway 83 and show all locations surpassing 60% during the daytime. A local minima is apparent along an Alliance to Callaway line and this matches up with the greatest lingering snowpack from days previous. So overall, highs should reach the middle 30s for all and lower 40s for areas that are largely snow-free. Strong westerly downsloping winds should drive the warmup and erosion of any light snowpack. Gusts should approach 25 to 30 mph, strongest across the Sandhills into north central Nebraska. In areas where little to no snowpack exists and the afternoon temperatures climb the most, some elevated fire weather concerns are possible. This is largely driven by forecast wind gusts as humidity will fall short of reaching critical levels.

Monday Night...westerly winds should wane through the evening as a second high pressure system approaches from the north. The core of cold air should remain to the north but westerly flow should lead to cold air drainage in the valleys. Overall, lows should remain above zero and closer to climatological values. This precludes any additional wind chill concerns with forecast values in the -5F to 5F range.

LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/

Issued at 401 AM CST Mon Jan 26 2026

Tuesday-Wednesday...amplified ridging with strong height rises will arrive late Tuesday into Wednesday. This will allow temperatures to climb through mid-week with 20s to 40s Tuesday and a return middle 40s and lower 50s for our southwest zones on Wednesday. The warmer temperatures may reintroduce some increased fire weather concerns but winds appear marginal so no headlines are anticipated.

Thursday-Saturday...ridging will breakdown by late week as a disturbance dives southeast through the enhanced mid-level flow. At the surface, strong high pressure will settle into the northern Mississippi Valley and gradually settle south through the Central Plains. The resulting baroclinic zone across the High Plains will be the focus for precipitation Thursday night into Friday. Precipitation will largely favor snow ample mid-level cold air extends west towards the Front Range. At this time, QPF appears limited to 0.10" or less thus any potential snowfall appears light with EPS/GEFS guidance both painting only 30-50% probabilities for seeing > 1" total snowfall for the model run. The bulk of any precipitation should fall Friday but light precipitation may linger into Saturday. Temperatures should moderate quickly though as upper- level ridging builds back across the west.

Sunday and beyond...general thought is enhanced northwesterly flow continues through the following weekend into early next week. Multiple weak disturbances will pass through the flow and could potentially bring additional light precipitation in the extended forecast. NBM extended output shows great variability in forecast temperatures for the start of this period, but confidence increases in warmer temperatures by Day 7 with a potential return for widespread 40s to lower 50s.

AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z TUESDAY/

Issued at 1124 PM CST Sun Jan 25 2026

Over the next 24 hours, expect mainly clear skies across western and north central Nebraska. A few high clouds are possible mainly Monday afternoon into the evening hours with few coverage at 25000 FT AGL. Some scattered ceilings around 10000 FT AGL are possible at the KVTN terminal Monday evening. Winds will shift around to the west by Monday morning. Wind speeds will increase with gusts of 20 to 25 KTS expected Monday afternoon. Winds will gradually diminish Monday evening to under 10 KTS.

LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

Cold Weather Advisory until 9 AM CST /8 AM MST/ this morning for NEZ004>010-022>029-035>038-056>059-069>071-094.