textproduct: North Platte

KEY MESSAGES

- Warmer and becoming windy on Thursday with elevated to near critical fire weather conditions across southwest Nebraska.

- Very strong northwest winds arrive Thursday night lasting through Friday afternoon with gusts up to 65 mph possible. A High Wind Watch remains in effect for all of western and north central Nebraska.

- Snow showers possible Friday into Friday night mainly across north central Nebraska. This could result in low visibility from the snow and strong winds.

- Much colder Friday into Saturday, with a warming trend Sunday into the middle of next week.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT/

Issued at 326 PM CST Wed Jan 14 2026

A backdoor cold front will stall out over the panhandle this evening and move east overnight. Lows in the low to mid 20s will occur late evening into early morning, with rising temperatures toward daybreak as westerly winds increase.

Thursday, northwest winds increase as a cold front sweeps through the area by early afternoon. Windy conditions by afternoon, with northwest winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 40 mph. Skies turn mostly sunny in the afternoon with highs in the 50s. The warmest temperatures in the upper 50s across the southwest with afternoon humidity to around 25 percent. This will lead to elevated to near critical fire weather conditions due to the combination of gusty winds and low humidity.

Thursday night, an upper trough and closed low will move into the Northern Plains and western Great Lakes. This will bring a slight chance for light snow across northern Nebraska after midnight. Will also see an increase in northwest winds with gusts up to 50 mph possible after 06Z Friday, as a High Wind Watch is in effect.

LONG TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/

Issued at 326 PM CST Wed Jan 14 2026

Friday, the upper trough will move into the region. Snow is likely across eastern South Dakota, with 40-50 POPs across the eastern half of north central Nebraska. Light snow, and even the potential for snow squalls exist, as non zero CAPEs are present in soundings. This is shown by Hi-Res models including the 3km NAM and FV3 and ARW. Any snow squalls would bring very low visibilities when in combination with northwest winds of 35 to 45 mph with gust to 65 mph possible.

A High Wind Watch remains in effect across all of western and north central Nebraska later Thursday night through the day Friday (06Z Friday until 00Z Saturday). Probabilities of wind gusts of 55 mph or higher are 70 percent or higher across much of western and north central Nebraska. Northwest winds of 35 to 45 mph with gust to 65 mph remain possible.

In addition to strong winds, this trough will also usher in much colder, below normal temperatures to the region. Current model guidance suggests 850 mb temperatures as low as -12 to -23C range by 18Z Saturday. This will result in highs from near 30 and low 30s north central to mid and upper 30s southwest on Friday.

Despite the colder temperatures on Friday, elevated to near critical fire weather conditions will again occur across southwestern Nebraska due to the combination of low humidity and strong wind gusts.

Saturday the coldest day, with highs forecast even colder from the mid teens northeast to the low 30s far southwest. Overnight lows are also a concern where temperatures will drop into the single digits to low teens and wind chill values drop as low as 10 below zero across portions of north central Nebraska.

Upper height rises begin Sunday, with northwest flow persisting through the middle of next week. This will bring a return to above normal temperatures Sunday. Another strong cold front Sunday night will bring colder temperatures near normal Monday. Above normal highs Tuesday and Wednesday. Dry conditions forecast.

AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z FRIDAY/

Issued at 601 PM CST Wed Jan 14 2026

VFR conditions are expected through the forecast period.

Lingering low clouds will gradually climb with bases exceeding 10kft AGL by later this evening. The main concern then becomes strong northwesterly winds arriving Thursday. This will produce strong gusts at the surface but also LLWS at all area terminals. Speeds should decrease slightly towards the end of the period but remain fairly steady heading into early Friday where stronger peak values are expected.

LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

High Wind Watch from late Thursday night through Friday afternoon for NEZ004>010-022>029-035>038-056>059-069>071-094.