textproduct: Omaha/Valley

KEY MESSAGES

- Cooler temperatures this weekend with additional chances for showers and thunderstorms on Saturday (30-60%) and Sunday (60-90%).

- A few severe storms may be possible Saturday afternoon-evening (5-15%) and Sunday afternoon-early Monday morning (15-30%).

- Near normal temperatures into next week with on and off shower and thunderstorm chances.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 1125 PM CDT Fri Apr 24 2026

An active weather pattern develops this weekend. A stream of shortwave troughs will result in repeated rounds of showers and thunderstorms, mainly during the afternoon and evening hours. This will further be supported by a front that will hang around the region. On Saturday, the aforementioned front begins to lift north ahead of one of the shortwave troughs during the afternoon. The warm front will begin to enter our area during the afternoon, providing a focus for thunderstorm development as the trough moves in. Temperatures will warm into the 70s for most during the afternoon as dewpoints climb into the 50s. While not exceptional moisture, this will be enough to support modest instability for convective development along and ahead of the front. Effective shear is expected to be moderately strong, so a combination of marginal supercells and multicell clusters may support a damaging wind and hail threat across portions of southeast Nebraska as everything moves southeast through the evening.

A brief lull is anticipated heading into Saturday night as a weak cold front swings through the area. This will be short- lived as our next trough in the series will support strong warm advection Sunday morning, lifting a warm front north into our area. Showers and thunderstorms develop along this front, but are not anticipated to be severe at this time. Though as temperatures warm into the 70s behind the warm front, afternoon and evening thunderstorm development is likely. Widely scattered thunderstorms in an unstable and highly sheared environment will support all severe weather hazards through Sunday evening as a result.

This is not the last of the thunderstorm activity though. As a stronger trough ejects out into the Plains late Sunday into early Monday, a potent environment takes shape overnight. With a front draped across the area, a developing area of surface low pressure should quickly lift northeast along this front. At the same time, strong warm advection will overspread the warm sector and areas just north of the warm front. With the alignment of these features, strong forcing for showers and thunderstorms over much of the region is likely. Heavy rainfall is anticipated with at least a low chance of flash flooding. The other concern may be severe weather. Cooling temperatures aloft should support instability north of the surface low alongside ample wind shear. Elevated supercells capable of large hail and perhaps damaging winds may materialize. Along and south of the low pressure, an all hazards severe weather threat is possible. The exact track of the surface low pressure remains a little uncertain, but portions of southeast Nebraska and southwest Iowa are most likely to remain in the warm sector.

Heading into Monday, everything begins to push east of the region towards the Great Lakes. A lingering shower or thunderstorm can't be completely ruled out under the upper-level trough, but the better environment will be outside of our area. Temperatures should be a tad cooler behind this system with upper 50s and 60s for most locations. Drier weather is expected Monday night into parts of Tuesday before our next trough ushers in the return of unsettled weather by the middle of the week. Showers and thunderstorms return to the forecast. Temperatures should continue to hover near normal. We are quickly approaching our peak severe weather season and this active pattern is an early indicator of this.

AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z SUNDAY/

Issued at 609 AM CDT Sat Apr 25 2026

VFR conditions this morning with winds generally out of the east or northeast. Winds will become more predominantly out of the southeast later this morning with a line of storms developing to our west this afternoon. We'll see a 60-80 percent chance for storms to impact the terminals this evening between 20Z and 02Z as this line of storms moves east across the area. Expect winds to shift to northerly once the storms clear. MVFR cigs are forecast to move into KOFK and northeast Nebraska behind the storms this evening, while cigs stay up around FL070 at KOMA and KLNK overnight into early Sunday.

OAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

NE...None. IA...None.