textproduct: North Platte

KEY MESSAGES

- A heat wave is expected this weekend, with highs pushing into the upper 90s to lower 100s. Heat indices greater than 100 degrees are expected Saturday through Monday with little overnight relief. A Heat Advisory has been issued for the entire region.

- With hot, dry, and gusty conditions this weekend, elevated to near critical fire weather conditions will be possible, especially across western Nebraska.

- Slightly cooler temperatures into mid-week, along with isolated thunderstorms chances Tue. through Thu.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/

Issued at 1257 AM CDT Fri Jul 24 2026

An upper level high pressure system is observed across the Desert Southwest, with upper level ridging extending across the western United States. The ridge is expected to slowly track to the east, continuing to build across western and north central Nebraska throughout the day. This upper level ridging will largely control the weather pattern over the next several days, leading to additional hot and dry conditions today and through the weekend.

Today, a weak surface boundary is expected to slowly track into the eastern Panhandle, keeping the hottest temperatures mostly across the western extent of the forecast region. To the east of the boundary, expect mostly seasonal temperatures, with highs in the upper 80s to lower 90s. Along and west of the boundary, slightly warmer temperatures aloft are expected, supporting warmer surface temperatures. However, highs are still expected to be generally in the mid 90s along and west of the boundary. The greatest bulk of this area is expected to be generally along and west of the Highway 61 corridor, though some warmer temperatures could be seen east of the boundary, especially further north in Cherry County. Otherwise, dry conditions are expected throughout the day, lasting overnight. Night time lows remain on the mild side, with temperatures dropping into mid 60s.

Saturday, a stronger push of southerly advection aloft will help to lift the surface boundary out of the region, bringing a wave of warm air advection across the region. This begins to usher in several days of well above normal temperatures across the region, with daytime highs roughly 10 to 15 degrees above average. With Saturday being the onset of the expected heat wave, highs are expected to climb into the upper 90s, with several locations pushing just above 100 degrees. With these highs, expecting fairly widespread heat indices around 100 to 103 throughout the afternoon and into the early evening. Little relief is expected overnight, with lows mostly remaining in the lower 70s. Given these heat indices and little overnight relief, have decided to issue a Heat Advisory for all of western and north central Nebraska from Saturday morning through Monday evening. This looks to be even warmer than last weekend's heat wave, so those sensitive to the heat will want to take precautions this weekend. Something else to keep an eye on will be lowering humidity throughout the afternoon, especially across the eastern Panhandle. Strong mixing may create some gusty conditions, with gusts around 25 mph, which may lead to elevated to near critical fire weather conditions, should humidity continue to trend lower.

The heat continues to build in earnest Sunday, which is when the hottest temperatures are expected across the region. Highs on Sunday are expected to break 100 across the entire region, with sweltering heat indices of 100 to 105 across most of the region, and some locations even pushing heat indices of 107 to 109. Throughout the day, a surface low is expected to track through the region. However, this is mostly just expected to bring windy conditions across the region. Gusts of 30 mph are not out of the question Sunday afternoon, especially along and north of the Highway 2 corridor. Will also notice some lowering humidity with this system, with minimum humidity values generally less than 20 percent west of Highway 61 and around 30 to 40 percent east of Highway 61. The sweltering heat, combined with gusty winds and lower humidity may introduce elevated to near critical fire weather concerns throughout the afternoon. By the evening, very little relief is expected, with lows only dropping into the lower to mid 70s across the region, with the warmest lows generally expected along and east of Highway 83.

With very warm temperatures remaining overnight into Monday morning, will again see a rapid warm up across the region on Monday. Highs again push into the upper 90s to lower 100s, with heat indices at or above 100 across a large portion of the region. However, relief may be in sight as a cold front tracks in from the northwest. Still resolving timing of this front, however, expecting a frontal push some time Monday evening or into the overnight hours. Worth mentioning that this may bring a chance for showers and thunderstorms, as well as some slightly cooler temperatures. However, ensemble guidance is not too optimistic on this being a wetting rain, as there is generally good consensus of a 20 to 30 percent chance that rain amounts exceed one tenth of an inch. However, will continue to keep a close eye on forecast trends as this may provide a break from the stronger heat wave.

LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/

Issued at 1257 AM CDT Fri Jul 24 2026

An upper level ridge will remain in place across the central CONUS, with warmer, above normal temperatures continuing through the end of the forecast period. However, cold front passage late Monday night into Tuesday will lower temperatures slightly, keeping criteria below any heat headlines at this time, with highs expected to be in the low to mid 90s. There will also be a couple of disturbances that move through the High Plains region Tuesday through Thursday, bringing a chance of isolated thunderstorm chances each day.

AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z SATURDAY/

Issued at 1234 PM CDT Fri Jul 24 2026

MVFR/IFR ceilings are eroding from the west and SKC should prevail across the area by mid-afternoon. Skies remain mostly clear through Saturday morning. Surface winds will be light, generally 10 kts or less through Saturday morning.

LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

Heat Advisory from noon CDT /11 AM MDT/ Saturday to 10 PM CDT /9 PM MDT/ Monday for NEZ004>010-022>029-035>038-056>059- 069>071-094.