textproduct: North Platte

KEY MESSAGES

- Elevated fire weather conditions are possible this afternoon, mainly over the western Sandhills and portions of the eastern Panhandle.

- Mild temperatures will continue through this week with record or near record highs Monday, Wednesday and Christmas Day.

- A slight "cooldown" is expected next weekend with temperatures in the 40s which is 5 to 10 degrees above normal for this time of year.

SYNOPSIS

Issued at 312 AM CST Mon Dec 22 2025

H5 analysis tonight had a longwave, low amplitude ridge present across the central CONUS. To the east of the ridge, a trough of low pressure was present over New England. West of the ridge, closed low pressure was located over the Gulf of Alaska. A lead shortwave trough was present approximately 300 miles off the coast of Washington State. Some weak disturbances were noted over far northern California and extended northeast into Oregon and eastern Washington. With the low amplitude ridging across most of the central CONUS, a broad shield of mid and high level cloudiness extended from the west coast of the CONUS east northeast into the northern Rockies and northern High Plains. Across western and north central Nebraska overnight some scattered cloud cover was noted, generally over the northern half of Nebraska. Winds were generally from the south overnight and temperatures as of 2 AM CDT, ranged from 29 degrees at Ogallala to 44 degrees at Ainsworth.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH TUESDAY/

Issued at 312 AM CST Mon Dec 22 2025

Very warm air will surge north from the southern plains into the central high plains this afternoon with H85 temps reaching near 20C over far southwestern Nebraska. Mixing potential appears to be good over the central and northern forecast area this afternoon as westerly winds will reach 20 to 30 MPH this afternoon from the Sandhills north to the South Dakota border. Further south along the I-80 corridor south to the Kansas border, winds will be lighter and mixing potential reduced. However, feel confident enough to paint lower 70s even in those areas where mixing potential is not as great. Record high temperatures across the area for this afternoon are 71 degrees for North Platte and Imperial and 70 degrees for Broken Bow and Valentine. Based on the current forecast of 70 to 72 degrees for these locations, record or near record highs appear likely today. With the gusty winds possible over the Sandhills into north central Nebraska this afternoon, elevated to near critical fire weather conditions will be possible. However, with afternoon dew points in the lower to middle 30s this afternoon, not expecting RH's to drop much below 25 percent this afternoon. This is well above critical criteria so no RFW headlines are anticipated attm. Will however mention the elevated to near critical threat in the HWO and FWF products this morning. A weak cool front will back into the forecast area tonight into Tuesday morning. This will lead to highs in the 50s across the forecast area Tuesday afternoon. The cooldown will be most pronounced across the northeastern forecast area where highs will be around 50 for O'Neill. Highs for Imperial will reach around 60.

LONG TERM /TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY/

Issued at 312 AM CST Mon Dec 22 2025

Ridging aloft will amplify some as a trough of low pressure approaches the Pacific Coast. Warmer air will push north into the forecast area Tuesday night into Wednesday as the back door cool front is displaced northeast of the area. Highs will reach back into the upper 60s Wednesday and Christmas Day. With record high temperatures of 62 and 59 for North Platte and Valentine respectively and forecast highs of 67 and 68, record highs will be shattered on Wednesday. Record highs for Christmas day are 65 degrees for both North Platte and Valentine and the current forecast is for 67 and 68 degrees, so another day of record highs appears to be likely. A "slight" cooldown is in the cards for Friday with highs in the lower 60s. ATTM based on the NBM temperature spreads, which are 5 degrees or less (inter- quartile) and EFI's which are 0.9 to 0.99, feel fairly confident in the current forecast highs which are 22 to 27 degrees above normal Wednesday and Thursday, and 15 to 20 degrees above normal for Friday. A northern stream trough will traverse southern Canada next weekend, forcing a cold front into the forecast area Friday night. Highs for Saturday and Sunday will be cooler with readings in the upper 40s to lower 50s for Saturday and 40s for Sunday. This is still well above the normal highs fore this time of year which are in the upper 30s to the lower 40s. As for fire concerns midweek, the greatest threat appears to be on Wednesday as minimum RH reaches 25 to 40 percent. Winds Wednesday during the afternoon hours are in the 10 to 20 MPH range which could lead to some elevated fire weather conditions on Christmas Eve.

AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z TUESDAY/

Issued at 527 AM CST Mon Dec 22 2025

A few to scattered high clouds will persist across western and north central Nebraska today into tonight. Ceilings will run around 25000 FT AGL. Winds will become gusty from the west this afternoon, especially across the Sandhills, north to the South Dakota border. Wind gusts at the KVTN terminal may gust up to around 30 KTS this afternoon. Winds will diminish after sunset this evening being from the west at under 10 KTS. Winds will be lighter at the KLBF terminal, peaking around 10 to 15 KTS this afternoon.

LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

None.