textproduct: Omaha/Valley

KEY MESSAGES

- Areas of light snow developing tonight with the best chances (50-90% PoPs) south of I-80. Light snow to continue in southeast NE and southwest IA Saturday into Saturday night. - Highest totals of 2-4" along the KS border, decreasing with northeast extent. A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect.

- Continued cold through Monday morning. Coldest wind chills of -15 to -25 expected Monday morning.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 249 AM CST Sat Jan 24 2026

Today...

Dry air hindered snowfall production for locations north of HWY-30 overnight, while those across the southern half of our forecast area will likely be waking up to at least a dusting of light snow. As of 2 AM, road cameras show snow covered roads across Lincoln, and through Omaha, with a notable improvement across the river in Iowa. With temperatures bottoming out in the single digits below 0, even a light breeze pulled wind chills down to the negative teens overnight. Subtle isentropic lift, reinforced by transient frontogenesis will continue to bring snow, primarily to southeast Nebraska this morning, before tapering off this afternoon. When all is said and done, expect totals up to 2-3" near the Kansas border, with amounts tapering off to the north. Some locations north of I-80 could see little more than a dusting. Minor travel impacts (e.g., reduced visibilities and/or snow- covered roads) will continue in the area of highest accumulation, where a Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect until 6 AM Sunday. Additionally, conditions appear just snowy enough to create slick roads along I-80 from Omaha through Lincoln this morning. Therefore opted to add another Winter Weather Advisory segment for this area until noon, when snowfall will likely taper off sooner. Temperatures will struggle to recover under cloudy skies this afternoon, likely only reaching 5 to 10 degrees. But, that is still double what we saw on Friday.

Sunday through Monday Morning...

Tonight, lows fall back into the single digits below 0, with wind chills of -5 to -15. We'll see a brief "warm up" on Sunday, when highs double again, reaching the mid teens above 0. However, it will be short-lived as the next surge of arctic air moves in Sunday night/Monday morning. Lows to start the school week will fall to -4 to -10, with a light north wind making it feel like -15 to -25 in some locations. This could eventually necessitate another round of Cold Weather headlines.

Monday and Beyond...

With large scale troughing moving off to the east, and ridging building over the western CONUS, expect dry conditions with another brief warming trend Monday through Wednesday. Highs each day are expected to reach the upper 20s and low 30s, with a few upper 30s possible Wednesday. Lows Tuesday and Wednesday morning will remain in the single digits to low teens above 0.

A trough diving south through the Great Lakes could being us a glancing blow of light precip Wednesday, but latest model runs have shifted it just to the east of us. Temperatures will likely dip back into the 20s by the end of the week.

AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z SUNDAY/

Issued at 1121 PM CST Fri Jan 23 2026

MVFR conditions are observed at KOMA and KLNK late this evening as snowfall has pushed into the terminals, while KOFK remains just north of the current snowband. Should see some flakes fly at KOFK after 07z, but the bulk of the activity should remain at KLNK and KOMA. Have introduced MVFR visibilities at KOMA and KLNK for this issuance given latest observations seen within the snow, but could also see brief drops to IFR visibilities in the heaviest snow. Gradual improvement is expected by mid morning as snow tapers off although ceilings will remain in MVFR at KLNK for much of the morning and afternoon.

Winds remain light through the TAF cycle from the northeast, turning south southeasterly by the late afternoon and evening hours.

OAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

NE...Winter Weather Advisory until noon CST today for NEZ051>053- 066>068-078. Winter Weather Advisory until 6 AM CST Sunday for NEZ088>093. IA...None.