Weather event diary, & station news

09/25/2023...A rather benign weather week ahead with the next best chance of precip coming Saturday night. Temperatures start off near normal then edge above as a strong ridge develops midweek. No sign of our first freeze yet. Freeze data for this station is HERE. We are getting close to the October 6th date.

09/23/2023...Final rainfall reports Miller Field (.11"), NW Valentine (.11"), NE Valentine (.15"), and 3/4 mi east of here Adams place (.21").

6:50 am: Doppler rainfall estimates overnight Rainfall . Under an inch of rainfall most areas with a couple of yellow 1" areas by Olsonville and near Crookston. My experience with Doppler rainfall, it overestimates but does give an idea of where the heavier rain occurred.

5:30 am: The Fall Equinox started last night at 1:50 AM. Some tree leaves have already started changing. Overnight so far we received (.08") here on the NE side of Valentine. Our next chance of moisture after today comes toward the end of this upcoming week. For the year now sitting at (30.92") at the NE Valentine location so not that far off from 2019 which ended with (34.40"). Need to include 2019 was the year this station was relocated from west Valentine to this northeast side in June so 2 locations were involved.

09/22/2023...7:28 am: We have fog around the area this morning. Reporting 3/4 mi visibility at the airport. About a 1/4 mi here in NE Valentine.

Miller Field set a daily rainfall record yesterday of (1.68"). Later tonight another round is possible. Update: On the lion KVSH confirmed that the animal was euthanized in accordance with Game and Parks policy to protect public safety.

The mountain lion being seen inside Valentine was captured and relocated last night says KVSH radio this morning. There could be more than one lion with the multiple sightings.

09/21/2023...Updated totals: Since this morning: The KVSH radio station (Updated) reporting (1.60") here in NE Valentine (1.48"). Coco rain gauge NW Valentine near the Catholic Church (1.87"). Miller Field ASOS (1.61"). The Cocorahs gauge near airport office 1/4 mile from ASOS recorded (1.58") was dumped this morning about 11 am had (.10") from yesterday. (1.13") 3/4 mile east of here and finally Coco gauge far west Valentine near Thatcher St. and end of 3rd St. (2.33"). The old Station location. Here is the Doppler rainfall estimates. The color scale is on the left side of image. Showing about +1/2" more than what this NE location received.

2:37: Very heavy rain over 8" per hr. rate and Low visibility.

2:18 pm: This thunderstorm has a TVS so radar indicates the likely presence of a strong mesocyclone that is in some stage of tornadogenesis.

Looking at Prep game delays Thursday and Friday. Starting this afternoon is the wettest period according to the HRRR model locally. Has as much as 8" falling just north of Valentine. Not much happening Friday night according to this model. So may get lucky for Friday games if it all falls tonight. This model updates and runs hourly HERE. Also linked under External links "HRRR total Precip." Adams 3/4 mile east of here reported (.10") in the Cocorahs gauge this morning, (.03") in the NW Valentine COCO gauge.

6:00 am: Scattered areas of showers and thunderstorms overnight. Only (.03") fell here so far, out at Miller Field (.11"). The atmosphere has moistened up with the dew point temp this morning around 60°. Now with thunderstorms, more rain will reach the surface. Pretty much on schedule for a chance of substantial rainfall over the next couple days with a couple of heavier amounts (HRRR and ECM) showing 2" plus for Valentine. All models are not in agreement some take the heavier rain just east along the SD border.

09/20/2023...5:13 pm: Hearing thunder. Current RADAR.

5:35 am: An active weather pattern starts Thursday night. Forecasters are pretty confident with 80% chances Thursday night through Friday night for Valentine. A look at Models this morning. We did reach (90°) yesterday here on the NE side of Valentine. (91°) at the airport. Today upper 80s before cooling below normal over the upcoming wet period. Normal now is (79°).

09/19/2023...6:50 pm: Had a brief heavy downpour with (.03") measured. That was a little unexpected. This side of town missed out on the (.03") a couple days ago so catch up. The Cocorahs rain gauge NW Valentine reported nothing today.

6:24 pm: Getting some rumbles, a small isolated cell popped up just to the west. It may clip this north side of town as many do following the river valley. The atmosphere is really dry only 21% RH currently so more lightning than rainfall.

5:00 am: Not much has changed from yesterday, still looks like starting Thursday it turns wet. Once again the high today is expected near 90°. Won't be shocked if it stays a little below here on the NE side. At this hour it's running about 6° cooler (47°) than at the same time yesterday.

09/18/2023...5:20 pm: Our High today came in at 88° here in NE Valentine.

Above normal high temps Monday, Tuesday near (90°) cooling slightly Wednesday (85°). Our normal is around (80°), then turning wet starting Thursday night through the weekend. Looking at models we could end up with an inch or two of moisture before it's over. It's sure been a good year for moisture. Sitting at (29.30") here on the northeast side. The south side of Valentine has been receiving more recently and starting to catch up but it's still about 4" behind at (24.86"). It's likely due to the Northeast side closeness to the hills and river valley where the ponderous pines grow naturally, during the early wet period (May, June) thunderstorms followed the river valley and higher elevation on the north side sometimes missing or barely clipping the airport side.

09/16/2023...Chilly this morning, as I work on the opinion blog it's down to 67° inside and 45° outside. Should be a perfect day mid-70s with light wind. A chance of smoke any time the wind direction is out of the north. Yesterday it happened but was short-lived.

12:20 am: Smoke is rolling in, you can see and smell. Took the widget off again it doesn't match the Purple Air map. Linked under "External Links".

We had a trace of precip overnight here in NE Valentine. Miller Field looks like (0.03"). NW Valentine (0.03") also. Our next chance of moisture is Wednesday night.

09/14/2023...The PA widget is working again so put back on the front page for now. Scroll to bottom.

You may have noticed the Purple Air AQ was removed from the front page. The reason was the widget stopped working correctly and didn't match the actual. This morning the widget was in the 70s while the actual was 40, the links under "External links" are working along with the (New) EPA corrected formula matching the AirNow instruments. (article) The forecast for Valentine has a (30%) chance of moisture tonight as a cold front passes though.

09/13/2023...Under "External Links" Added the EPA adjusted Air Quality link (AirNow) map. Updates come about 13 min after top of each hour. The refresh doesn't work. For Realtime use the Purple Air link. If you scroll out on the AirNow map you can see the 6-Nebraska Government sensors (round) the (square) sensors are Purple Air.

For more info about the the EPA corrected equation, Quote: “The correction equation developed by EPA scientists allows us to show the sensor data on the map, in a format that you can compare to information from regulatory monitors operated by experts,” Go HERE for full article.

09/12/2023...5:15 am: Clouds this morning holding our temps into the 50s but should clear off by sunrise dropping us into the upper 40s. Next best chance of precip comes Thursday night at 50%.

09/10/2023...The (1.54") recorded at Miller Field was a daily rainfall record.

Updated 10:20 am: A couple more rainfall amounts came in after going back to bed, NW Valentine near Catholic Church (1.28") and Adams place 3/4 mle east of here (1.17").

The tipping bucket auto rain gauge was right on with the manual measurement (.99"). KVSH radio rain gauge recorded 1.37" and the Cocorahs gauge at the airport old NWS office area a whopping (1.59"). Both of those gauges were emptied yesterday after the rain. This NE side once again received the lighter amount. Mother Nature's way of catching up on the south side these last couple of months. Looks like the Miller Field ASOS total since midnight is (1.53"). It's another .23 mi south of the Cocorahs gauge location.

4:10 am: Heavy rain and T-storm. Didn't see any hail on this side of town, south of here (dot the T in Valentine for this location) likely did have some looking at the white radar return. Will get a manual measurement once it stops completely. The tipping bucket may be behind slightly with the rainfall rate reaching 3" per hour at least once. Looking at Miller Field (1.10") at 3:52 am so heavier on the south side again. Radar image during the storm. This one was elongated and lined up on Valentine moving west to east. Looking at radar, rain will continue lighter until about 5am.

09/09/2023...10:10 am: Received brief heavy rain (0.05") and pea-sized hail. The T-storm is east of Valentine moving toward the SE. Radar

7:30 am updated: Early this morning had a thunderstorm and rain, (Radar) We did have a nearby lightning strike you may have heard. Total rainfall (.17") here on the NE side. Looks like the south side of Valentine received twice as much, around (.42") at the airport. The Cocorahs gauge near the AP old NWS office (.62") but that includes the rainfall on the 4th-5th that didn't get dumped. (.20") fell here on those days. The Miller Field ASOS is showing (.42"), also downtown at KVSH radio (.42"), 3/4 mi east (.25") at Adams place. For the rest of the day, the forecast has a 20% chance with the best chance returning Sunday at 50%.

09/08/2023...Strong thunderstorms passed just south of Valentine yesterday evening. We did reach 91° yesterday, Miller Field reported 93°. What's been going on the Miller Field ASOS has been spiking up a couple degrees over a period is why the +2° daily differences. The south Tempest near Miller Field reported 92° yesterday vs 91° at the NE Tempest on this side so (apples to apples) it was +1° warmer. We just aren't seeing these same spikes in Northeast Valentine. Only a 40% chance of precip in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow. The smoke cleared out yesterday for a short period and got down into the Yellow but this morning we are back into the Red at 164, at least it's not purple again. Airport visibility is (3.5 to 4 mi) this morning.

09/07/2023...The forecast has us topping at around 90° today. Maybe some of the smoke will get out of here with the south wind and warmer air. The latest ECM run thinks something may slip in tonight (0.07") in moisture, nothing in the morning forecast package, however. Starting Friday night will be our best chances of moisture.

09/06/2023...12:00pm: At top of noon hour 63-64° here in NE Valentine and at the airport. AQ is still 210+ (purple) with a 2 mile visibility reported at the airport.

The low temperature so far this morning has been down to (41°) both here and out at Miller Field. We may have a little ground fog mixed in with the smoke haze this morning. Got down to (1.0 mi) visibility at the airport. It sure is ugly outside. The webcams clean it up because the lens isn't as accurate as our eyes.

Very cool this morning with low to mid 40s. The airport visibility has been down to (1.75 mi) with the AQ in the 220+ purple range. 201-300: Health alert: "Everyone may experience more serious health effects if they are exposed for 24 hours." Tried to open the bedroom window but the Conway air purifier sensor kept saying dirty air and kicking on high which makes a lot of noise so gave up and closed it. Really like the Conway if you have hay fever or allergies it helps. For this Saturday and the Chaduza cook-off at the City Park, it's looking wet, here is what models are saying this morning. (Models) The GFS models are the exception.

09/05/2023...8:45 pm: Current AQ map. We are beyond red in the purple.

Here was the sun just before setting, no filters with the heavy smoke Image. If wondering about this thick smoke tonight whether it may affect the temperature by acting like a blanket the answer is no. It will keep daytime temps lower but doesn't act like a blanket at night.

4:10 pm: Put the Air Quality back on the front page. It's really yucky outside today with the smoke. Currently a solid Red at (181). Miller Field is at 3 miles visibility. Almost too cool to run AC, they recommend not to below 60° it can stress the unit and cause damage over time and the air quality is bad enough opening windows isn't a good idea either. Between 151-200: Everyone may begin to experience health effects if they are exposed for 24 hours; members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects.

12:18 pm: We are getting some light rain and mist not sure why it doesn't show on radar. The temperature is down to (57°) at the noon hour. The wind NW at 25 with gusts to 36 mph. What a difference a day makes.

Moved the Air Quality off the front page, it was hanging up yesterday it's back on the sidebar under "external links".

Finally got a little moisture from thunderstorm activity overnight as a cold front moved through. (.20") Here in northeast Valentine. The high temp will reach only into the mid-60s today. A brief warmup on Thursday and Friday then below normal temps and chances of showers and T-storms. For Saturday it looks wet toward mid-day, forecast says evening however, this is what current models say.

It was brought to my attention that the Chaduza cook-off in the City Park starts at the same time as the Huskers kickoff in Boulder at 11 am. Lots of interest in that game outside of Nebraska and Colorado with talk on the sports shows mainly about how Prime Time rebuilt the Buffs. Hopefully, the Huskers will bring them back down to earth. My suggestion is take the team to Colorado early and acclimate to the higher elevation it generally takes 1-3 days.

09/04/2023...8:31 pm: Thunderstorms are developing right over us. Getting big rain drops currently. We had a 60 mph wind gust.

One last hot day, then a chance of a thunderstorm tonight. Models aren't saying much rain but anytime there is a T-storm you never know. Miller Field tied the record high yesterday at 102°. Here in NE Valentine (100.4°) on the primary thermometer and a couple of others reached (100.5°). As mentioned before here in NE Valentine there are 2-aspirated shields each radiation shield has 2 Sensirion temperature sensors.

09/03/2023...6:00 am: A couple more hot days with a 60% chance of a thunderstorm Monday night. Yesterday was another record high at Miller Field (104°), 102° here. The south Tempest near the airport also reached 104°.

09/02/2023...2:20 pm: It's already reached 100° today, we're almost +7° vs the same time yesterday. Ouch!

6:00 am: Another hot one today with the NWS issuing a "Heat Advisory" through tomorrow. Our forecast says 101° for Valentine. The HRRR model usually does a good job on high temperatures experienced here on the NE side of town has us topping at around 101.5°. The Fire danger is getting up there without any significant rain for a couple of weeks so we do have a (Burn Ban) in place currently, no open fires allowed.

09/01/2023...9:45 pm: The airport reported a record high of (103°) and was all alone. Only (100°) here in NE Valentine on all (5 total, 2x in each aspirated shield) thermometers including the NE Tempest station (100.4°). The south side Tempest recorded (101°) and KVSH radio downtown reported (101°). It felt a little warmer the high heat index was 102° here on the NE side today. Sounded like the Badgers had a better game tonight even after a freshmen QB had to come in, temperature at kickoff here in NE Valentine was 97° and 84° at the end of game tonight. The airport reported 98.6° at 7:pm and 84° at 9:35 pm when the game ended. The HS football field is 1/2 mile from here and 1.25 miles from the airport ASOS.

Tonight will be one of the warmer prep football game kickoffs in years here in Valentine, kickoff temperature will be near 97° dropping to around 84° by 10 pm.

A Hot September start with the forecast high near 100° today and over the weekend. Here in NE Valentine, we ended August with near normal temperatures Summary. Rainfall was +1.7" for the month.

08/31/2023...Blue moon this morning. Turned off the west camera IR for a better view. Still a little smoke haze too. (118) on the AQ this morning.

The forecast has us looking at the century mark Friday, Sat., and Sunday. This is some of that hot air from the SW. Phoenix was 117° the other day at the heat island Sky Harbor airport. You may have heard some thunder early this morning but no precip here.

08/30/2023...12:10 pm: Our air quality is still not great at noon (136) EPA PM2.5. The alert did expire however.

Air Quality is poor this morning around (144) EPA PM2.5 Members of sensitive groups may experience health effects. It should clear out starting about 10 am today as a south wind kicks in. The forecast gets hot approaching the century mark Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

08/29/2023...Smoke haze is the main concern, our Air Quality could get in the red (Unhealthy) category after 5 pm today. We are in the Yellow this morning at (81) EPA PM2. This AQ alert expires tomorrow at noon. For new visitors the Air Quality sensor is located here in Northeast Valentine. There are 2-different sensors and it calculates the average.

08/28/2023...Here is something of interest since many of the southern states have been so hot and still setting daily records of (100°+) temperatures how did Valentine Nebraska compare to other summers? HERE. Compared to Houston Texas HERE.

Weather records for Valentine go back to the 1880s the stats above was after they moved the thermometer from downtown on top of a building out to Miller Field. North Platte was the same way for a time, here is an IMAGE. I believe there may be a photo of the Valentine station on top of the building at the museum.

08/25/2023...Updated: (.08") in rainfall overnight. (.09') reported at KVSH radio, (.08") at Adams place 3/4 mi east, (.08") near the Catholic Church in NW Valentine and the Miller Field ASOS reports (.09").

08/24/2023...8:50 pm: Thunder and lightning close.

7:55 pm: That's a strong T-storm when you see the white hail reflection turn to pink. Radar

Forecasters think we are gonna get rain tonight, pretty confident at 70% chance, Fingers crossed...Forecast 94° today for the high temperature. Yesterday's final highs 100° here and 101° at Miller Field.

08/23/2023...Today was our 3rd consecutive day of reaching 100°.

5:45 am: One more hot one today (101°), then some relief tomorrow at 94° before a 60% chance of T-storms Thursday night and much cooler into the extended. So if this ends the heat wave we'll end up with 4-100° plus days all coming in August.

08/22/2023...6:30 pm: The high temp here in NE Valentine was (102.7°) but the heat index reached a couple degrees higher at (105°). Miller Field was also 103° today.

4:50 pm: The MesoWest website is down it takes area observations and Miller Field down so added a different link for Miller Miller under External Links. This one loads a little slower because of the graph but has much of the same information. Utah MesoWest Weather Data from the University of Utah and the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Salt Lake City.

5:am: The Heat Advisory is still in effect through Wednesday. The high temperatures around Valentine yesterday were (103°) here and (104°) at Miller Field which broke the old record 103°. Both the Tempest stations 103.5°, Got a report from NW Valentine observer near the Catholic church 103° also. The thermometer setup is a passive shield with a Sensirion sensor (+/-) .5°f accuracy. There was enough wind yesterday the passive shields worked well. Yesterday also had our warmest low for the date 71°, the old warmest low was 67°F (1986). Today the same thing the old warmest low 64°F (1966) and we will stay well above currently 77°. Don't think warmest lows are labeled as records.

08/21/2023...5:00 pm: Our high temp so far has been (102.6°) will update later if it changes. It's dry enough the heat index has been only slightly higher (103.4°).

A muggy morning with the dew point temperature in the low 70s holding the air temperature up also. The air temperature can't go below the dew point. Our high-temperature today is expected around 102° for Valentine. Think some of this high humidity will move out as it heats up today and a warm front pushes through. If not the heat indices will get high if the dew point stays in the 70s. Dry air heats up quicker than humid air so it's a catch-22. So watch for that dew point temperature to drop into the 60s later today, hopefully. Today is another good example of why it's about dew point temp and not RH. It can hit 100% RH with a 40° air temp and it's very comfortable with a light jacket and not muggy. Just went out on the back deck and everything is wet even the wood this morning. Windows are fogged up too.

Some station news, just finished swapping the aspiration fan out on the south side sensor with a higher airflow unit matching the north shield, while doing so updated the radiation shield. Image1 , Image2 , Image3. This DIY shield works as good or better than the RM Young. What's nice about it with the 4" dia. sensor chamber, there's room for multiple sensors inside unlike the RM Young which is now getting installed at airport ASOS stations around the country. Believe I read by the end of 2024 all ASOS would have the RM Young shield. Have a correspondence friend in South Texas with both these shields in service.

08/20/2023...6:26 pm: A nice below-normal day with the high coming in at 79°. Hot tomorrow with Heat Advisories up for dangerous heat indices possible. Thursday we should cool into the mid-90s with thunderstorm chances.

08/19/2023...Our high today 91° here in NE Valentine after a very warm 72° morning low temperature. Only mid-80s forecast for tomorrow so should be a great day to get those outdoor chores done before 3 days of 100° heat expected.

5:35 am: We have our warmest morning of the summer ongoing with the current temperature only 76° with a light west breeze expected to switch to the NW with gusts to 30 mph during the daytime. Our high today is forecast to reach the mid 90s. A couple models have a thunderstorm rolling through Sunday but not all in agreement so only a slight 20% chance in the forecast. Above 100° once again Monday through Wednesday before it cools down with Thursday night into Friday morning looking like our best chance of Thunderstorms.

08/18/2023...The high today did reach the century mark (100.5°) at 5:12 pm. We had a peak wind gust of 40 mph here on the NE side of Valentine. Out at Miller Field also 100° was reached with a peak wind gust of 42 mph.

This would be nice, the Local 4 TV meteorologist this morning has moisture Sunday over Valentine. He must be looking at the German Icon the only model showing moisture Sunday. Would be perfect timing to help deflect those 100° temps next week.

Hot and windy today with the highs expected 100-103° (103°) for Valentine itself. The SW wind has already picked up and is expected to gust into the 30s. This will be our first-century mark of the year and hopefully last. The forecast isn't as optimistic with low 100s on Monday through Wednesday next week also. What happens today may give an indication, does it struggle to reach 100° or shoot right up? Still think the moist ground and plant growth will temper the high temps somewhat.

08/17/2023...Heat advisory starting at 1 pm tomorrow. Includes Eastern Cherry and Valentine.

A good example of why not to stand under a TREE during a thunderstorm.

08/16/2023...5:00 pm: The high temperature in NE Valentine reached 98° today. We have a dry cool front pushing through currently with a 15 to 25 mph NW wind so down to 92°. Tomorrow back into the 80s and then the heat turns back up with the upper 90s to 100° for the rest of the week going into next week Tuesday at least. Not seeing any rain chances as of yet.

08/14/2023...12:30 pm: The GFS has Valentine having (6) 100° plus days coming up, hope this is way overdone. Regardless it looks hot.

5:30 am: Upper 70s today then the forecast has a couple of days near 100° this week both on Wednesday and again Friday. One of the benefits besides plant growth of our wet pattern is keeping the ground moisture high. The moist ground can help moderate air temperature by using energy to evaporate water so hopefully this helps keep us under the century mark as it did back in July. Once the ground dries out the higher temperatures become more likely and it doesn't look like any new chances of moisture until Saturday night. During the week long heat wave back in July we had a big rain dump right in the middle helping prevent reaching 100°, just barely (99°).

08/13/2023...2:20 pm: We picked up another (0.03") since the 7 am measurement. So storm total (1.92") here on the NE side. NW Valentine reported +(0.03") also. Very cool with the temperature in the mid-60s and a 23 mph sustained NW wind gusting to the upper 30s near 40 mph occasionally. Almost too cool, stopped in at the Cherry County Fair for some food and those without jackets looked cold. The parking lot was near full last night so turnout looked good for the rodeo. One of the food vendors said this was their biggest Fair sale this year.

Updated: Rainfall totals as of 7:35 am NE Valentine (1.89"), Miller Field ASOS (2.44"), the Cocorahs gauge nearby, 1/4 mi. (2.51"), 3/4 mi. East at Adams (1.90") and finally NW Valentine near Catholic church (1.80"). The south side of Valentine finally got a bigger share. For the archives here was the radar at 1:15 am, Radar image

6:00am: Big rain overnight with multiple T-storms, so far here in NE Valentine (1.86"). Still raining currently but may end soon according to radar. Will do a final manual rain gauge check with the 8" SRG once it stops. Very cool today with the high temp expected lower 70s. Next week a big change with the upper 90s starting Wednesday. Did notice on the models the ECM (european) is advertising rain again starting next Saturday so something to watch if others start agreeing. It also turns much cooler again. Actually the Canadian Gem also shows some precip next weekend. The model I usually don't give a second thought to, Access-G out of Australia had Valentine receiving 2" in this storm.

4:00 am: (1.54") so far in NE Valentine, Miller Field is (2.03"), it's not over yet. Current Radar.

1:45 am: The first round of thunderstorms hit at around 11 pm yesterday with the second at about 1 am. Will get manual rain gauge reading once it stops and adjust the website if needed.

08/12/2023...6:00 am: Thunderstorm chances are good tonight as a strong cold front pushes through. Temps get very cool on Sunday low 70s. Then the heat starts building again mid-week into the mid-90s starting Wednesday with above-normal temperatures. We do have a slight chance of a T-storm Wednesday night again.

08/11/2023...Updated: The Cherry County Fair and Rodeo kicked off yesterday with the parade downtown. The high yesterday was (86°), 88° out at Miller Field so very pleasant with the nice breeze. Looking at models think we have a decent chance of one more thunderstorm tomorrow afternoon or evening (Saturday) as a cold front pushes through. The current forecast has a 40% chance but that could change as we get closer. This may be our last precip chance for an extended period. Looks like the airport picked up (0.02") out of that little thunderstorm early this morning. The Cocorahs gauge at the airport also recorded (0.02"). The rain started just south of McDonalds according to the wet road. Didn't even get a sprinkle on the NE side.

3:50 am: Getting some thunder, current radar. South side of Valentine getting some rain, nothing on the NE side.

08/09/2023...Update: Rainfall last night (0.07"). The tipping bucket was a couple of drops shy of that amount so says (0.01") on the website today keeping rainfall total for website correct. Everything fell before midnight. Miller Field reported (0.02"), 3/4 mi. east, (0.07") and NW side (0.06").

08/08/2023...9:25 pm: Getting rain and thunder. Current Radar.

6:25 pm: The afternoon forecast package increased the thunderstorm chance tonight for Valentine to 60%. Busy radar to the SW currently.

Our best chance of thunderstorms is tonight at 40%, and then a mini-dry period until the weekend. Our temperatures are getting back to normal on Thursday reaching around 90° then upper 80s to finish the work week out. The upcoming weekend will be the next best thunderstorm chances after tonight. Many of our bigger storms have occurred with less than a 50% chance. It's just the way Mother Nature works so it could get wet tonight.

08/07/2023...Updated am: Noticed the RH was running 100% at times, also out at Miller Field. See a little scattered ground fog this morning. The RH is high because of the cool temps near or at the dew point temperature.

A slight chance of thunderstorms today at 30% with the best chance Tuesday night at 60%. Temperatures unlike what you may hear on the news continue below normal with Thursday our warmest day forecast at 87°. Normal for Valentine is 90° this time of year. The same weather pattern that's bringing the abnormally hot weather to southern areas is keeping us below normal, it doesn't fit the popular narrative so the news doesn't talk about it. I do feel for those in areas with relentless heat, have family in both Arizona and Houston area, they are sick of it. I've invited everyone to move to Valentine.

08/06/2023...3:50 pm: A ThunderStorm is just east of Valentine. Radar. The east camera has the best view. Cameras tab..

7:30 am: Just got a rainfall report from Adams place 3/4 mi east of here (0.36") in the Cocorahs gauge. So that thunderstorm yesterday dropped (.03") more out there. The NW Valentine COCO gauge reported (.16") including last night. It's still spitting rain and mist this morning. Not showing that well on radar.

5:30 am: Spitting light rain this morning. Looks like another (.09") overnight since the heavy shower (.24") yesterday afternoon. Haven't checked the manual gauge to confirm yet. Feels a little like fall with the strong NW wind (61°) currently. Not sure why the west camera FTP doesn't upload every time, been trying to figure out what's causing it. ALLO Fiber did change the router last week so may end up going back to my own again.

08/05/2023...4:05 pm: Manual rainfall measurement (0.24"). Didn't empty gauges we may get more later tonight. Miller Field picked up (0.01").

3:45 pm: Getting heavy rain over on the NE side of Valentine. See it on (0.16") radar and (0.24") here. looks like it didn't reach the south side again. Almost like two different climate zones when it comes to rainfall this year. It does it in the winter too with snowfall just not as obvious. Dot the "t" in Valentine that's where the NE station is located on radar.

7:20 am: Yesterday evening's rainfall amounts around town: NE side (1.27"), near Catholic Church (.87"), downtown KVSH radio (.80"), Miller Field (.51"), Adams 3/4 mi east (1.02") and Lake Shore Dr. Mill Pond (1.20"). That location is HERE .

The Cocorahs gauge (Stratus) model recorded (1.25") so -2% low. The Tropo only 1.20" so -6% low and fails once again. There was little wind in this event with the peak gust only 18 mph at 26' height so no excuses. The Tropo was taken down and put back up yesterday to give it one more chance and it failed again. Gauges need to be within 4% of the NWS 8" SRG so how it passed testing to get approved, no idea.

08/04/2023...10:40 pm: Rainfall total here in NE Valentine was (1.27") . Won't be getting the Cocorahs gauge measurements tonight in the dark, will wait for light tomorrow. Miller Field looks like only (.51") in that gauge. Amazing how the storms continually dump more over on this side with just a few exceptions. You could see it on radar too, north of highway 20 was heaviest on Radar. The white dot above the T is this NE side location.

9:38 pm: Pouring again we had (.98") prior on 8" SRG so the tipping bucket was behind.

9:25 pm: Will be getting a manual rainfall measurement once it completely stops and make website adjustment if needed. Did see 6" per hr. rate.

8:55 pm : Rain just started, heavy. Radar image

8:45 pm: A strong thunderstorm just NW of Valentine currently. Loaded with hailstones too. image.

6:00 pm: The afternoon forecast package dropped thunderstorm chances from 60% down to 40% tonight so less than likely for Valentine. We do have thunderstorms to the east and a few to the west which are moving in our general direction.

5:30 am: Only picked up a trace last night which was surprising, expected more. The morning forecast has a 60% chance again tonight with the best chance at 70% tomorrow night. Highs in the 70s over the weekend are still in the forecast. Model rainfall totals have scaled way back on precip this week. A couple of models get over the 1" mark later in the week. Why the hesitancy yesterday to mention how much we could get out of this, not all models were in agreement and overnight they've mostly all backed off. The atmosphere did dry out just a little overnight with our dew point temp 60-61° this morning. With the next cold front passage the DP is expected to get even lower down into the low 50s.

Something to pass on to visitors, this website forecast comes directly from the NWS specifically for Valentine, and not a generic regional forecast many are so used of getting here. Yesterday was a good example, the updated afternoon forecast package downgraded rain chances substantially and it showed on the website forecast, while other sources were still stuck on the early morning forecast package. Weather situations can change often during the day. Forecast models run a minimum of 2 to 4 times daily so every afternoon the forecast can get adjusted by the NWS and sometimes does several times throughout the day with changing conditions. This website will automatically adjust to these NWS forecast changes. One size doesn't fit all when it comes to getting an accurate forecast, especially during weather events when things change rapidly.

08/03/2023...4:00 pm: The afternoon forecast package dropped our rainfall chance tonight down to 60% from the previous 80%. Still likely but less confidence. Models are still jocking around. A stronger cold front moves through tomorrow night so a better chance of significant rain.

The upcoming wet and cool period is still on track. There are some model differences as to where the heaviest rains will fall. Most keep it in South Dakota where Flood Advisories have already been issued including the counties just north of Cherry. Models will keep adjusting being the differences so at this juncture it's hard to nail down what Valentine could be looking at for rainfall amounts. Over the next few days starting tonight with an 80% chance we will have a general wet pattern with heavy rain chances.

Some station news a couple days ago installed a new temperature/humidity sensor. This one will reach 100% RH pretty easily. What happens due to the 24/7 aspiration they can dry out so need replaced every year or so. The temperature sensor doesn't go bad but the humidity side does eventually. Ideally, the humidity/dew point sensor shouldn't be aspirated for that reason but the Sensirion SHT-31 sensor come as an all-in-one unit. For accurate air temperature measurement aspiration is necessary.

08/02/2023...7:00 am: Rainfall today (0.07") image. Miller Field (0.07"), NW Valentine (0.08") and Adams homestead 3/4 mile east (0.09").

6:30 am: Light rain this morning...The forecast says we can expect continued chances of rain and thunderstorms over the next few days and turning much cooler as a cold front pushes through later this week with highs in the 70s. Some models show a couple inches of rain is possible during this wet period. The cold front arrival will bring drier air into the area dropping dew point temps down into the 50s with low temperatures forecast mid 50s by Saturday morning.

08/01/2023...Just how wet was this July compared to other years? The (6.65") here in NE Valentine set a station record for July dating back to 2014. As you can see May, June, and July have all been wet this year. Our temperatures have also been below normal for July (-3.5°) as shown HERE. 6 of the 7 months (2023) have run below normal on temperatures this year. March may have been the coolest in 50+ years. Hopefully, it's not too much of a good thing I know the insects like grasshoppers are all doing well this year too.

07/31/2023...Updated 8:15 am: Other rainfall amounts around town: KVSH radio downtown (0.40"), Adams 3/4 mile east (0.35"), NW side near Catholic Church (.038") and Miller Field (0.33").

Active evening with thunderstorms, slept through most of this one, our max wind gust was 32 mph here on the NE side of Valentine picking up (0.39") total image . (0.06") fell prior to midnight. This puts us at (6.65") for July and (24.13") on the year. Our air quality is as good as it gets down to (1) this early morning. We have a continued threat of thunderstorms throughout the 7-day forecast. Predicting these numerous thunderstorms can be a challenge so even slight chances can't be ignored, when some of our larger storms have occurred like on Saturday.

07/30/2023...5:00 pm: It's been a muggy Sunday with the dew point in the 70s making the feels-like (+9° to 10°). The chance of thunderstorms later tonight is 60% so will leave the second radar up overnight. Both radars are always available under the Sat/Radar tab.

07/29/2023...Updated: Final Rain amounts around town Saturday: Adams place 3/4 mile east of here- (2.05") in Cocorahs gauge. NE Valentine 8" SRG- (2.03") and the Cocorahs Stratus gauge same location 4 feet apart- (2.00"). KVSH radio downtown NWS 8" SRG- (1.98"). NW Valentine near Catholic church- ( 1.45"), and Miller Field- (1.33"). Lots of tree limbs down this side of town.

5:40 am: The manual measurement on the 8" SRG was (2.03" image) on the measuring stick. The 4" Cocorahs gauge did overflow, into the outer cylinder so will get that measurement once the sun comes up.

The NE Tempest weather station also located here recorded a 244 mph gust. It's not correct of course but it did reach 71 mph.

4:12 am: WOW, the wind is gusting to 71 mph, the noise is incredible with the heavy rain, saw it at 13" per. hr. rate.

4:00 am: Heavy rain 3.65" per hr. rate.

07/28/2023...6:10 am: 63° here in NE Valentine this morning also at Miller Field. Our high temperatures yesterday peaked at (98°) Miller Field and (97°) here at the NE location. As far as the heat wave goes it looks over after today and into the near future 10-day temps. (90-91° is Normal) Slightly cooler today with the forecast high of 94° then back into the 80s over the weekend as a cold front pushes through with decent moisture chances on Saturday and Sunday. Next week is looking like daily chances of Thunderstorms. Historically the last week of July is the hottest time of year across Nebraska and there were some 100° temps yesterday (16 total) including North Platte at 102°, Grand Island 103°, Thedford 100° and on the western side Alliance 100° and Chadron 101°.

07/27/2023...8:50 pm: We had a wind gust of 53 mph, non thunderstorm. It was mentioned in the afternoon forecaster discussion that could occur and it did.

5:10 pm: A peek at what may be ahead next week. Right now it's looking active with one exception GEM. Even 4" on the ECM, that won't stand but does show the trend ahead. Models. You can see why it's a 50% chance Saturday night. So 1-week of hot weather and right back into a wet pattern. Really for Valentine, it hasn't been that bad temperature-wise, anytime we stay under 100° for July that's a plus. The ground being moist and very green may have played into keeping the temps under the century mark.

Today may be our first 100° day (forecast 101°) for Valentine, yesterday Miller Field reached 99° and 98° here on the NE side. It's not unusual during summer to run slightly cooler inside areas of town where shade trees and lawns help temper the high temps vs the more open airport. Even driving around yesterday while traveling north on Green Street the vehicle outside thermometer was saying 99 to 100° and would peel off to 98° as soon as the NE side of town was entered. We still have a slight chance of daily thunderstorms with Saturday night being the best chance at 40%. Our Air Quality is in the green (25) this morning and got down to (7) yesterday.

07/26/2023...6:05 pm: The dew point temp made a 10° drop in 10 minutes. So much drier air just moved in, you can see it on the radar sort of. Radar, dry boundary. A big thunderstorm on the south end also.

The heat continues with upper 90s to around 100 the next couple days with slightly drier air. If you looked to the ESE yesterday evening there was a large impressive-looking supercell thunderstorm that produced a tornado in Loup county. We have slight chances of thunderstorms daily 20% and a better chance Friday evening 30%. Our high yesterday here in Valentine reached 98°, wasn't sure it would get that hot with all the rain that fell, moist air and ground takes more energy to heat up but it did and felt very sticky.

07/25/2023...10:05 am: Updated Rain amounts last night: Adams place 3/4 miles east (.89"), KVSH radio downtown (.85"), NE Valentine (.83"), NW Valentine (.65"), and Miller Field ASOS (.46"). All measured with 4" Cocorahs (Stratus) or 8" SRG the exception Miller Field ASOS weighing gauge.

Updated am: The SRG measurement (.83) image, The 4" Stratus (.81") or (-.02%) low and within the +/-4% criteria Cocorahs allows for gauge error. And the new Tropo was way low again (.77"). or (-7%) low. There is an ongoing debate on whether the Tropo should have been allowed in as an Official gauge for Cocorahs is why I'm doing this gauge comparison. What counts is how a rain gauge performs under real conditions and it falls way short. Wherever they tested this gauge, I'm told (Colorado) apparently they had nice light rains but that's not real world conditions. The debate is over here the Tropo rain gauge is coming down, I've had several rains at 4% to 7% low and several smaller rains where it was the same but if it can't perform in real world conditions like thunderstorms no reason to keep testing especially since the Stratus at 1/2 the cost works better.

2:59 am: 3.7" per hr. rate. As always the 8" SRG will be measured after the event and website adjusted if needed to the official gauge. For those sound asleep this was the radar image at the height of the storm. The bulk of the storm was on the north side of town.

2:48 am: Heavy rain now. 2" per hr. plus rate.

2:27 am: Rain just started. 53 mph wind gust.

2:00 am: A large complex of thunderstorms heading our way. Radar image

07/24/2023...4:20 pm: Cloud cover has slowed our heating process today with only (91°) so far but it's not over looking at the satellite loop it may clear off soon. This heat wave so far just hasn't cooperated which I'm more than okay with.

5:30 am: Cooler on the south side early this morning running 64° at Miller Field currently and 69° here on the NE side with a 11-14 mph WNW wind. High temps are expected to flirt with 100° over the next 4-days with heat indices exceeding the century mark. Slight chances of thunderstorms almost every day this week. Most of the thunderstorms have been avoiding direct hits on Valentine lately, mother natures way of saying you've already received 20" of moisture so spreading it around. Earlier in the year almost everything was hitting us like May 11th on this NE side Storm image . That was one crazy downpour.

Yesterday changed the snow stake camera to a newer model due to FTP issues. All 3 cameras can be seen on the "Cameras" tab. Also ordered a new SHT-31 temp/humidity sensor for a backup. These humidity sensors can go bad after a year or so of being aspirated 24/7. That's why yesterday was checking the dew point manually. It still looks good but eventually will need changed out so will have a spare unit ready to go.

07/23/2023...8:00 pm: The third manual dew point check 70°. The station sensor shows 70-71°.

6 pm: Did a second manual dew point check in the shade and came up with 68°. Pretty much what the main station sensor shows too. It does bounce around a little (+/- 2°) due to the aspiration. Some activity in SD so put the second radar up.

5:35 pm: Just did a manual dew point check in the shade with the Psychro-Dyne and came up with 67°. The high temperature peaked at 94.6° at this location.

2:40 pm: Doesn't look like 100° will be reached today currently (91°) but the feels-like just might, currently 96 to 97° with a dew point upper 60s and occasionally flirting with 70°. Ouch! The south breeze must be really moist we started out with a 54° dew point this morning.

Today may be our first 100° day says the HRRR model (99.5°) for Valentine and is the only model predicting the century mark but has a good track record with temperatures so won't be surprised. This same model has our low this morning at 57.2°. That thunderstorm complex yesterday just missed Valentine on the west side stayed together traveling south and strengthened hitting several areas with hail along the way including North Platte. Yesterday reached 92° here in Valentine before it clouded up.

07/22/2023...5:30 pm: Getting wind and sprinkles is all so far.

4:20 pm: Radar is showing some activity north of Valentine and heading south. Radar It did reach 92° before it clouded up.

We may reach a normal high today (91°) which has been rare this summer with the forecast at 90°. As of July 21, we've only reached 90° 6 times this year and summer is winding down. High temps during this upcoming hot spell have trended back slightly so may not reach the century mark but the heat index could or even exceed. One of the models (European) is hinting at a thunderstorm on Tuesday with the morning run. Looking at the 10-day model trends after this next 5-6 day hot spell temperatures fall back into the normal range or below toward the end of the 10-day period. Yesterday was H-86°, L-53° at Miller Field. 85.4° and 53° here.

07/21/2023...7:10 pm: A strong thunderstorm passing east of Valentine currently. Traveling north to south.

The stargazers should of had a good night last night. (Satellite image) . Sure many have stayed up all night when it's like this. We have a 20% chance of a thunderstorm tonight, with high temperatures continuing below normal through Saturday. That all changes starting Sunday and throughout much of next week with highs approaching the century mark several times. Dew points are expected to be up some also, running in the mid 60s making the feels-like approach that century mark also.

07/20/2023...We had isolated showers around the area even a few weak thunderstorms popped up yesterday but nothing here in Valentine. Our 65-70 degree dew point temps yesterday have dried out considerably overnight with mid-50s early this morning. The airport high reached 89° which was a couple of degrees higher than NE Valentine 87°. The scattered clouds played a role, normally the airport and NE Valentine temps end up the same give or take a degree but clouds can alter that. The heat is still on for next week starting Sunday with 90s plus and not seeing much moisture either so a pattern shift from the wet and cooler summer we've experienced so far. Hopefully, the pattern change is short-lived.

Our air quality is in the yellow low 60s this morning so it's getting better. Someone asked if it ever gets down to "0" here and yes it has. Both sensors have to agree for 10 minutes so doesn't stay there long. The Purple Air widget will remain on the front page below the forecast so it's easier to follow the air quality here in Valentine.

07/19/2023...Here was a funnel cloud south of Gordon yesterday Image This is even more amazing a hailstone at Pierre SD and almost volleyball size, have never seen one this big ever. Image .

Looks like we're finally going to get some hot temperatures. This summer so far has been running cooler than normal (-6°) for July but it's going to get hot for a few days starting Sunday as that SW desert heat moves our direction. One of the models actually pushes close to 110° next Tuesday but other models upper 90s. We've been pretty spoiled with the coolish summer temperatures and abundant rainfall so not looking forward to the heat. The uncut grass is really tall, not quite to the horse's bellies but it's close. It's been a good summer so far.

07/18/2023...6:20 pm: Our AQ is down in the mid 60s. A strong TS with lots of hail passed well west of the area this late afternoon.

7:50 am: Updated Rainfall amounts NE Valentine (.16"), Miller Field (.21"), KVSH radio (.20"), Adams 3/4 mile east (.16"), NW Valentine near the Catholic Church (.18"). If interested in the official Cocorahs gauges being tested here in NE Valentine the Tropo and the Stratus. Cocorahs wants rainfall measurements rounded to the nearest hundredth so both also report (.16") same as the 8" SRG.

There was a Cocorahs 1" amount reported 11.75 miles east of Valentine and the only (1"+) amount recognized for Cherry County today. Glad to see more joining Cocorahs, especially ranchers. The 3-approved Cocorahs gauges also recognized by the NWS are HERE. Order the approved gauges HERE and join.

5:55 am: Big thunderstorm just east of Valentine with hail. Thunderstorms are avoiding Valentine like it has the gain of function plague again. Our AQ is getting worse again back at (99) currently thanks to the Eco Terrorist and Climate Cultist.. It did get down into the low 70s on the AQ index yesterday.

2:00 am: (.15") manual gauge in NE Valentine so far. (.19") at Miller Field. Looking at the older radar loop the thunderstorms earlier split around Valentine for the most part. Will be hitting the sack again in a bit looks about over, unless more development later.

07/17/2023...10:45 am: Our AQ is getting better quickly, now down in the 70s currently. Visibility at the airport is 10 plus miles also. The Nebraskastarparty.org Stargazers should have a better night, except for the likely thunderstorms.

The smoke haze continues this morning, improvement is expected tonight along with a likely chance of thunderstorms.

07/16/2023...Added the Purple Air Widget bottom of page under the forecast, scroll down to see.

4:45 pm: Saw this buck over on Candice St. caught jumping over a fence and here he is ... in the alley. He's an 8-point by whitetail count and not that afraid of people so apparently grew up around town. Same with the deer across the street here they don't really even run off just continue feeding. Back in the 160-170 range on AQ, ugh!

Thunderstorms did develop overnight some reaching severe levels, overnight image. Valentine did pick up (.01") on the airport side early on. (Just a trace on the NE side.) The main line of thunderstorms stayed south of Valentine. Visibility with the smoke has been down to 1.25 miles at the airport. Looking at the air quality monitor we are staying in the (170 to 180) US EPA PM2.5 AQI range overnight which isn't good. Accuracy is in the 100% range with both sensors having similar numbers.

07/15/2023...5:50 pm: There's a chance we get a thunderstorm tonight. Forecasters know they will occur just not sure where exactly is why the low 20%. Went to North Platte today it was hazy the entire way. It's a little worse the further north.

updated am: The Purple air sensor says 141 US EPA PM2.5 AQI so puts us in the red. Reminder the Air Quality live link is under 'External Links". Cameras clean the haze up but the airport visibility sensor see's it calling it (mist and 6 mi). No mist however just haze, the blue is not there the sky is a solid grey. Look at the sunrise with the east camera (cameras tab) at how thick the smoke is this morning.

This is my great-grandson Jaylen he turned a full handful of 5 yesterday. He lives in Arizona.

07/14/2023...3:30 pm: An air quality alert is in effect through Sunday at 10 pm for the Valentine area. Currently 70 US EPA PM2.5 AQI so not that bad yet. The "Air Quality link" is found under external links. The sensor is located here in NE Valentine.

8:30 am: Rainfall totals with light rain still scattered, includes yesterday evening here at the NE Valentine location on the short end (.75"), Miller Field (1.00"), KVSH Radio (.97"?). 3/4 mi. east Adams place (.74"). NW Valentine near Catholic Church (.83").

5:50 am: Rain continues moderate at times, this NE side of Valentine has been the furthest away from the main thunderstorm track just south and west of town so likely will end up with the least amount of rain. Mother Nature's way of spreading it around. Did do a quick manual check and the tipping bucket is close to actual. Once rain has stopped will do a final check of the manual 8" rain gauge and adjust website if necessary.

4:30 am: Noisy driving rain now with the wind 35 mph and gusts to 44 mph.

3:45 am: Another round of thunderstorms early morning. Image

07/13/2023...There was a couple funnel clouds spotted south of Nenzel Image Probably about the time a TVS rotation was radar reported... RADAR Image

7:37 pm: The bulk of the TS stayed west of Valentine, here on the NE side measured (.22") image. Report from NW Valentine Catholic Church area (.24") and (.39") on the far west side of Valentine at end of 3rd St. Makes sense was closer to the main cell as it passed. Looking at Miller Field new rain looks like (.26").

For those interested in the Cocorahs gauges the Tropo was the highest at 0.23" (image) and the Stratus .22 (image) . Not sure why the Tropo is working so well the last couple of rains but it looks not to be running low now.

6:32 pm: A Thunderstorm with hail potential is bearing down on Valentine, rain has just started at this location. More later.

6:00 pm: A thunderstorm between Gordon and Merriman has a potential of 3" hailstones. . (POH) Possibility of hail, (POSH) Possibility of severe hail. The pink is the bigger hail marker. White smaller hail.

3:55 pm: There was a 1" hail report 10 mi. SW of Valentine from the public.

3:30 pm: Looks like the north side of town will dodge this ThunderStorm, the east camera has another look at this one as it goes by, under Cameras link.

11:10 am: Going to start including the Adams place (0.74) miles east of here with the rainfall reports, the red dot is where the Cocorahs gauge is located. With the strong TS yesterday morning (.50") was recorded. Also played havoc on the garden even with the windbreak of trees. If you want to include your location for the rainfall event diary send an email. Only Official 4" diameter Cocorahs gauges (Stratus, Tropo) or the 8" SRG, and no electronic gauges please.

07/12/2023...6:30 am: A strong thunderstorm rolled through overnight with a wind gust of 55 mph here at the NE Valentine location and 71 mph at the Miller Field ASOS twice. The manual 8" SRG rainfall (.43"). The other two Cocorahs gauges recorded (.415") for the Stratus, and (.422") for the new Tropo. All the gauges are aligned on the same plane and close to each other. This was also a high-wind event. Looking at the Tempest here in NE Valentine the peak wind gust recorded 55 MPH also. Check back later for any additional rainfall amounts if reported around town, HERE: NW Valentine near the Catholic Church (.33"), KVSH radio station reported (.35"), 0.75-mile east Adams place (.50") Cocorahs gauge and Miller Field (.34").

07/11/2023...3 pm: The afternoon forecast update from the NWS has dropped the chance of rain tonight down to 40% for Valentine. (.02") here in NE Valentine so far today. Miller Field looks like (.03").

Here's the storm report for the North Platte area last night. Storm Report NWS employee reported (2.75") hail 11 miles north. At the airport location the Official observation reported (1.75") hailstones.

6:25 am: Getting some light rain currently.

5:40 am: Looks like some scattered showers on radar and fog in the west camera this morning. Our high temp yesterday was 92° both here and at Miller Field. It felt warm too with the dew point upper 50s. Today it's running a little higher 63° currently. Several models are saying rain chances are pretty good late this afternoon. The forecast has a 50% chance.

The Cocorahs Stratus rain gauge arrived yesterday. I'll continue to compare against the 8" SRG and new Tropo gauge. Image One thing discovered years ago during heavy downpours the shallow funnel on the Stratus can splash-out so double cap, hacksaw the top funnel out and double cap preventing splash-out. The top caps glued together are best doubling the weight reducing blow-off chance during high wind.

Added the GRLevel3 radar under the Sat/Radar tab so it's always available if not up on the front page. It will focus on the local area mainly. Occasionally it does hang up and needs restarted if not updating.

07/10/2023...6:50 pm: A strong thunderstorm is approaching North Platte. IMAGE

July-type temperatures today, low 90s. There are a couple of models that want to bring in a light shower this afternoon others are dry. One of them is the ECM with a good track record is why I mentioned it. Nothing in the forecast however, tomorrow will be our best chance of precip at 50% chance.

Yesterday did a field calibration on the tipping bucket rain gauge. Would like to see it perform a little closer to the manual rain gauge but these thunderstorms have such a varied rainfall rate anywhere from 17 inches per hour to a few hundredths and the tipping bucket is only exactly right at the rainfall rate it was calibrated. Just the nature of the beast that's why the website gets adjusted to the 8" manual rain gauge after each event. The airport ASOS uses a weighing-type gauge if I could get one that would integrate with the website I'd of already had one.

07/08/2023...6:00 pm: Rainfall total (.13"). The Tropo agreed too. Got a text from NW Valentine also (.13").

4:45 pm: I'll be doing a manual rainfall measurement and adjust website if necessary when it's over. Current radar image. South Dakota is showing more development on the heels so may not be over.

4:20 pm: Looks like this thunderstorm may skirt the west side of town mainly. Nailing Crookston currently.

2:20 pm: Put both radars up. A little activity is starting to pop up around the area. Not expecting much but we could get a shower later meaning better mow earlier than planned.

07/07/2023...6:05 am: Will Update as new rain reports come in: Storm total here on the NE side of Valentine (1.49") measured with the NWS SRG, the Novalynx 8" SRG measured (1.51"). The Miller Field ASOS measured (1.52"), the NW Valentine Cocorahs gauge by the Catholic Church (1.53"), W.3rd Street report from another 4" Coco gauge (1.51"), Sue far SW side also Coco gauge (1.48"), two reports on Lake Shore Dr. on north end of town and the highest amounts reported (1.80") unknown gauge and (1.90") also using a 4" Cocorahs gauge and finally the new Cocorahs Tropo I'm testing here did better than expected (1.42"). But still (.07") low vs the NWS gauge or (-4%). Previous test it was coming in (-7%) low. The 8" has always recorded more or the same vs the Stratus. This is just a Red Herring to distract from the bottom line, the new Tropo model measures 4% low vs the 8" SRG. This comparison above was a substantial rainfall so a good sample size plus a low wind event and no reason the results aren't true. I don't think the 2-8" diameter gauges are both wrong.

2:40 am: Heavy rain continues radar IMAGE with (.74") on TB gauge. Wind still light 4 mph out of ESE.

2:00 am: Thunderstorm activity IMAGE in the area. So far the TB (tipping bucket) gauge says (.14"). Peak rainfall rate reached (1.7") per hr. Currently between cells so light rain. As always the manual 8" SRG (Standard rain gauge) will be the final say on how much rain fell and website adjusted. Also doing a comparison on the new Cocorahs Tropo gauge against the 8" gauge so will post those results later. What's nice about this rain event very little wind currently 3 mph so no excuses.

07/06/2023...The airport set a record low this morning of 45°, July 6th the old record low was 46° in 1999. The low here at the NE Valentine location this morning was (45.8°). It was a NE station record. The South side Tempest near the airport shows the low was 45° also.

5:45 am: A little ground fog in the west camera. Noticed the airport was showing 100% RH at times, 97% here currently.

Temperatures are cool in the 40s this morning (46°) currently, (46°) at Miller Field. Yesterday here in NE Valentine the high temp peaked at (68°) late at 6:40 pm in the evening which is a little odd. It was a nice day for getting things done outside with a few sprinkles even mixed in. Today will be about 10° warmer but still cool for early July with likely thunderstorms tonight. Several models are putting the timing just after midnight on the early morning model runs but could change as the day progresses. Our forecast has a likely 60% chance tonight.

07/05/2023...Well below normal today on temperatures with the forecast high of 68° our normal is 89°. This week will stay below normal not reaching 80° until Sunday. Thursday night and Friday will be our best chances of precip. in the 60% plus range. Some areas suffering from drought picked up some much-needed rain last night with close to 2" in the Lincoln area. Other areas as much as 4" SE of Hastings.

07/04/2023...Updated 5 pm: Just a trace amount fell from a thunderstorm overnight at the NE location. Miller Field (.02"), also on the NW side of town (.02"). We reached the high temperature already 78° near midnight. The updated forecast has a 20% chance tonight and tomorrow with our best chance Thursday night and Friday.

Happy 247th birthday America...If not for the role the good ole USA played in the 20th century the entire planet would be one giant slave state dominated by National Socialists, Soviet Communists, & the Chinese Communists and no one would have any freedoms at all. You're Welcome World.

Our high temps Monday did reach 92° here and at Miller Field. Looks like some activity in SD so will put both radars up.

07/03/2023...Yesterday the high reached 92° both here and out at Miller Field. Today looks about the same with the forecast high of 92° then back into the low to upper 70s for highs through Saturday with daily thunderstorm chances starting tonight at 30%. Tomorrow night Independence Day we have a 40% chance so it's dropped from yesterday's 60%. Yesterday was only the 4th 90°+ this year. Last year 10-90°+ days by the end of June, so this year has had a cooler summer start and looks to continue this coming week. No complaints here.

07/02/2023...6:10 am: Fireworks in Valentine last night, couldn't have asked for better weather. Our temps will reach into the low 90s for today 91° and Monday 93° which has been rare so far this summer. (Knock on wood) There is a 20% chance of a T-storm starting tonight. Our best chances of moisture will be when a cold front pushes through on Independence Day with a 70% chance in the form of nature's fireworks that evening into Wednesday. This is also keeping our temps well below normal with only a 70° forecast for Wednesday and we don't get out of the 70s for highs until Saturday at 80°. So after Monday a coolish week with chances of moisture mainly in thunderstorms almost daily ahead.

07/01/2023...7:13 am: Getting a little rain shower on the NE side of town.

6:30 am: Updated rainfall amounts: On the first day of July, here in NE Valentine we received (.35") with both 8" dia. gauges agreeing. The June summary can be found HERE. Temperatures were normal only (-0.1f), rainfall (+3.31") with (7.27") monthly total. Our early July forecast has a couple 90° days Sunday and Monday and then cooling below normal 70s later in the week with rainfall and thunderstorm chances.

I'll report other rainfall amounts here: Looks like Miller Field is reporting (.30"). NW Valentine Catholic Church loop (.57") so they had a heavier shower, also downtown KVSH radio (.54") in their 8" NWS gauge.

06/30/2023...7:45 am: The NWS gauge (.35") as was the Novalynx (.35"). Used the matching dip sticks that came with the gauges. The downtown KVSH radio reported (.37"). The airport looks like (.31"). NW side Catholic Church (.37") and final report toward the end of 3rd Street (.40") far west Valentine. Last two were Cocorahs gauges. The forecast has another 60% chance today (Likely) and 50% tonight.

01:10 am: The NWS gauge measurement (.34") so far with light rain still falling. The final check will be around 6-7 am. Adjusted the website to match. With the moderate to light rain and rather light wind this will be another good gauge comparison event, results later.

06/29/2023...10:50 pm: Just dipped the rain gauge (.07") so far. Looks like lots of activity still to come tonight. A strong thunderstorm south of Wood Lake currently.

9:00 am: The drought monitor still has us abnormally dry with 15-17" of moisture. This is the 2nd wettest June since the station started in 2014.

6:20 am: Looking at the forecast and models this morning we do have a good chance (60%) tonight for rainfall but the heavy stuff (1" plus) will stay west and south of Valentine. This is subject to change but what it looks like this morning. We could still pick up (1/3 to 1/2") of moisture by (July 1) Saturday morning. Later next week looks wet too so our wet period continues and it sure is green, like it's been since late spring. Hard to believe they say we are still in a drought with 17" of moisture this year. The (Drought Monitor) gets updated around 8:30 am today. So can't wait to look at it.

06/28/2023...3:10 pm: Occasionally I check the Dew Point Temp using the Psychro-Dyne (image) making sure the weather station is close. The station DP varies as air moves over the sensors and can change rapidly being aspirated so looking for close to the average. As you can see our dew point temp is running in the (63-64°) range this afternoon and close to what the weather station shows. The wet and dry bulb temperature is used to calculate the dew point temperature. image Provided it's above 80° ambient the DP temp will start feeling muggy at 55° and sticky above 65° along with the heat index (feels-like) going up. So the DP temp is what you want to watch closely during the summer months.

A little scattered mist/fog around the area this morning. Our best moisture chance once again comes Thursday night and Friday. We could see another inch potentially before the month is over.

06/27/2023...11:10 pm: Thunderstorm had a couple of really close lightning strikes. Picked up an additional (.16") in rainfall (heavy) reached 2.6" per hr, rate for a daily total (.59"). FYI the difference between the NWS 8" gauge (.59") and the Novalynx 8" gauge (.60"). was .01" today.

9:25 am: Rainfall reports, looks like Miller Field (.56"), near the Catholic Church NW Valentine (.51"), KVSH radio downtown is reporting (.47"), and here NE Valentine (.43").

8:14 am: The thunderstorm has almost stalled and starting to see a little hail (white reflection) showing up to the west. So it may be getting stronger. The rains not real heavy (.40 to .50 inch per hr. rate) on the NE side but steady (.26") currently.

7:55 am: Sure is dark outside. The solar is only 4 W/m2

5:20 am: Active morning getting rain showers off and on briefly moderate at times but short-lived. There was a strong thunderstorm south of Merriman but weakened for now. Trajectory looks slightly SE so storms out of SD are more likely to reach the Valentine area.

06/26/2023...What a nice coolish June day yesterday with the NW breeze and high temp only reaching 78° both here and out at Miller Field. We have the potential for another wet week ahead, here is what models are saying from last night's runs. The ECM is the most bullish once again for Valentine bringing in another 1.5" by week's end.

06/24/2023...7:35 pm: (.05") in a shower. You can see the perfect rainbow on the east camera currently. Image

Looking at the Cocorahs map some of the heavier rainfall reports occurred along the Nebraska-South Dakota border with the highest ( 4.42 inches). Our air quality is really good today in the single digits currently 8 and has been down to 0 US EPA PM2.5 AQI. Looking at the station all-time monthly rainfall record, June 2014 was (8.52") so not in danger of breaking that record yet, currently sitting at (6.28") this year at the NE location. June is historically a wet month for Valentine. Hard to believe but some parts of Nebraska are still suffering from drought.

8:25 am Update: Since yesterday morning (1.79") Image + (.03") prior to 7 am dump (1.82") 2-day storm total on the NWS gauge. Website was adjusted to match. Other 2-day totals the Novalynx came in (1.87"). The Cocorahs new Tropo gauge came in at (1.78"). Got a new rainfall report from the old location in West Valentine toward the end of 3rd Street 2-day storm total was (1.83"). Latest updated report near the Catholic Church, NW Valentine (1.82") 2-day total. Both those reports are using the original Cocorahs gauges not the Tropo model (link)being tested here.

This was the last comparison of the two 8" gauges (Novalynx and NWS) they are close enough to each other. (.05") difference with over an 1.5" of rainfall is minimal with the wind we had overnight gusts reaching 54 mph so the comparison was flawed somewhat anyway. Yesterday morning with little wind the gauges were the same. I'll continue using the NWS gauge as the primary with the Novalynx as backup for now.

1:30 am: Just had a 54 mph gust with 34 mph sustained NW wind along with the rain. It's noisy. Current radar Image. Here is the image of the thunderstorm over Valentine back around midnight. Image. The cell was located over on the NE side of Valentine which seems to be a common track.

1:00 am: A flood advisory has been issued by the NWS for the area around Valentine. Manual measurements will be done and website adjusted to match the NWS 8" dia. SRG once rain has stopped. Just dipped the rain gauges (1.46") since yesterday morning but still coming down.

12:25 am: Couldn't sleep through this one. Really coming down approaching an inch since midnight.

06/23/2023...9:35 pm: You don't see cells with 3" hail potential that often. Image We don't want any of that here.

6:50 pm: It may look tranquil currently but we are under a tornado watch. For more of what to expect tonight look: HERE.

1:05 pm: Rain gauge comparison results: Novalynx (.31") image the same as the NWS gauge (.31") image and the Cocorahs reads (.29") image . Received a rain report from the NW Valentine location (.35"). Including the (.03") before gauges were dumped sitting at (.34") here at the NE location so far today.

7:15 am: Here in NE Valentine (.03") in light rain this morning. We have an 80% chance tonight. In comparing the 3 rain gauges all came in the same. (8" NWS, 8" Novalynx, 4" Cocorahs).... Had all 3-gauges together for the comparison but decided to move off the deck to a location near the main weather station. Was afraid of the potential of turbulence on the deck during high wind events because of the closeness to the building.

06/22/2023...7:00 am: Definitely have some haze this morning with reduced visibility. The airport ASOS visibility says 4-5 miles with mist but looking at the AQI in the orange it's likely smoke caused. Cameras don't pick up the haze well. For anyone who hasn't visited in awhile there is a camera page now showing the 3-cameras together.

5:am: Yesterday we peaked out at 81° both Miller Field and NE Valentine. So far only a trace of moisture this week, with a 60% chance tonight increasing to 80-90% Friday night into early Saturday morning. GFS and ECM are still suggesting 1.5" plus for the weeks total moisture. Next week an additional 1.5" range but it's still early. Noticed the UV index forecast is extreme at (11.2) today based on a clear sky. With scattered clouds actual UV is 89%, broken clouds 73%, and overcast skies 31%. Our air quality is a little dirty this morning in the orange at (108) US EPA PM2.5 AQI. probably still that Canadian smoke hanging around. The AQ sensor is located here in northeast Valentine linked under "External links".

06/21/2023...Today is the longest sunlight day of the year summer solstice. Meteorologically the first day of summer was June 1st. Our highs yesterday (89.6°) NE side and (89°) Miller Field with only trace amounts of precip. We did have thunderstorms in the area as we do this morning with rumblings early on but avoiding Valentine so far. Yesterday was humid with the dew point temps running mid to upper 60s. It's dried out some this morning with a DP temp of 62°. 40% chance of precip today, and not getting into the likely amounts until Thursday now. It starts feeling muggy at 55° dew point and gets worse as it goes up.

06/20/2023...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1000 PM MDT for Cherry County. The previous 70% chance tonight is down to 40% for Valentine however. So we may not see anything tonight.

5:45 am: An active weather pattern ahead starting late this evening with thunderstorms possible. We have a south wind this morning holding the temperature up with the low only reaching 70° so far, our high today is expected near 90° but shouldn't feel too bad with the breeze. Some areas could get locally heavy rain with thunderstorms over the next few days. Positioning of storms is always the key who receives the heavier rainfall and models aren't always right early on. A RAP shift to the east 20-40 miles in this area has been a common occurrence lately.

06/19/2023...6:15 pm: The highs came in at (94°) NE Valentine and both South and NE Tempest stations, Miller Field (95°). The wind also picked up this afternoon with a gust of (36 mph) making it more bearable.

Added an individual camera page making it easier to see all (cameras) at the same time. FYI at anytime you can click on the top banner image (Mill Pond) it takes you back to main page.

97° is the forecast high for Valentine today, the UV index is high too. Looks like a wet week starting tomorrow evening. Heavy rain is a possibility with thunderstorms during this period with chances of rain every day. How much rain depends on getting a direct hit from a thunderstorm or not.

06/18/2023...Our high today reached 88° both on the NE side and Miller Field. 97° is the forecast for tomorrow.

6:25 am: 47° and a little mist this morning. Our high today is forecast at (89°) and (98°) for Monday. So just a small taste of what they are experiencing down in Texas before chances of thunderstorms start Tuesday and look likely later in the week. We could see some significant rainfall amounts during the week. The latest ECM and GFS show 2"+. It's still early however.

06/17/2023...Another chilly morning (46°) here in NE Valentine (45°) at Miller Field for the lows. That ends soon with the Monday forecast high at (96°) then chances of rain again starting Tuesday. Looking at the models we may be in for some heavy rain again toward the end of next week.

06/16/2023...4:15 pm: Ran into a heavy shower about 15 minutes ago by the rodeo grounds and Cemetery. Showers have been spotty. (.03") on the northeast side today. The high temp occurred at 12:01 am 64°. It's running in the upper 50s this afternoon with a stiff NW wind. Light jacket weather.

Update 7am: KVSH radio downtown also reports (.05") from yesterday afternoon. Looks like the south airport side had the most from the thunderstorm (.14") that skirted Valentine. A cold front pushed through overnight, we have slight chances of showers today. Some areas received heavy rain yesterday with thunderstorms and a few hail reports in South Dakota and NW Nebraska.

06/15/2023... 5:50 pm: (.05") fell here at this location and at the NW location near Catholic Church. Looks like (.14") at Miller Field where the cell passed closer.

4:38 pm: A thunderstorm is approaching the Valentine area it may pass on the east side. FYI, added the east view camera yesterday which may also give a decent image should it pass on the east side. The camera is found under Sat/Radar/Cams tab.

06/14/2023...Added an East view camera with the dual-lens. Linked under Sat/Radar/Cams tab. The camera has 5-minute updates. It's a backup camera to the west camera should it ever fail and have had it just sitting around.

Still looks like precip chances are best Thursday night into Friday. We are in the 40s again this morning. Currently 46° here and out at Miller Field.

06/13/2023...7:10 pm: Our high today came in at 78° both Miller Field and here. The smoke likely hampered our potential lower 80s.

4:10 pm: Reading the forecaster discussion our high clouds this afternoon is actually smoke. It's not reaching the ground that much with our air quality at (47 PM2.5) currently in Valentine. Not the best green, we are in the yellow but could be much worse. Valentine AQ is linked under "External Links". The smoke is also keeping us a degree or two cooler. Only 78° so far today.

Another coolish morning in the 40s. 54° is the average low. Yesterday reached 75° at Miller Field and here in NE Valentine. Rain chances are likely again 60% starting Thursday night into Friday. Looking ahead some of that Texas heat may develop northward with 90° forecast next Monday.

06/12/2023...6:15 am: A cool morning for June the low 43°, Miller Field 44° our next precip chances looks like Thursday.

06/11/2023...Updated rain totals below: Looks like the forecast has dried out considerably so if you missed out on yesterday's deluge you'll have to wait until next Thursday when a slight chance is being mentioned again. Temperatures are on the coolish side today and Monday with only 70s for highs and lows into the 40s.

We ended up with (3.98") here at the northeast location with the 8" SRG. Another rain gauge same area just a block south went over 4". The NW Valentine location total was (3.53") with the 4" Cocorahs gauge. Downtown KVSH radio rain gauge recorded (3.28"). There was street flooding around Valentine yesterday.

06/10/2023...10:27 pm: Getting a heavy shower again. Looks short lived however.

9:10 pm: I'm hearing there was a lot of street flooding around town here are a couple pics down Main Street someone sent. Image-1, Image-2

7:55 pm: We've had rain continue since the real heavy downpour ended occasionally moderate. Currently here in NE Valentine (3.90") on the day. Another report I just received also uses a Cocorahs gauge just over 4" about a block south of this location. The NW location Cocorahs gauge just reported an additional .45" for a total (3.47") near the Catholic Church on the day. The two Tempest stations used for comparison only not accuracy across town show (3.97") here at the NE location and (2.80") on the south side of Valentine and close to the airport. These Tempest stations are linked under EXTERNAL LINKS.

1:00 pm: Still raining lightly 2 different gauge measurements the 4" diameter Cocorahs (3.28") and the 8" diameter SRG (3.48"). Adjusted website to match the 8" SRG @350 pm. The Cocorahs gauge report from NW Valentine near the Catholic Church (3.02"). Downtown the KVSH radio station (2.84") was recorded. Looks like Miller Field is around (2.07"). So (-1.5") less, not surprising the heavier red radar returns were hanging on the NE side throughout most of it.

12:20 pm: Still raining much lighter (.12") per hr. rate. The tipping bucket is over 3" total but not official yet. This is what I can see of the 4" dia. Cocorahs gauge over flow plus the 1" in the measuring tube. Image

11:38:am: 2.50" and not slowing down. One of the heavier rains I can recall and this storm looks almost stalled so be really carefull. Reports of flooding on this side of town says KVSH radio.

11:15 am: The NWS just issued a Flash Flood warning. Be careful out there especially driving, turn around don't drown. Visibility is even low around (1/16) mile currently here on the northeast side.

11:am: Heavy rain continues movement is slow so areas can get some large amounts. For history here is the current radar. (.89") on the tipping bucket currently. A manual rain gauge measurement will be done afterwards and website adjusted if needed.

Thunderstorms and rain likely today possibly heavy.

06/09/2023...Good chances of rain coming up, 50% today, 60% tonight, and 80% tomorrow.

06/08/2023...5:pm: The NW side of Valentine near the Catholic Church picked up (.04") in a shower. Only a sprinkle on this NE side. Looks like (91°) will be the final high today.

8:25 am: The forecast has us reaching (90°) here in Valentine today. The low temp this morning was 58° and 59° out at Miller Field. Our wet period coming up is unchanged with the highest chance Saturday at 90%. Expecting around an inch for Valentine over the weekend with more potentially next week. With the nature of thunderstorms even across short distances amounts can very. No mention of severe weather in the discussions or forecast.

06/07/2023...The high temp reached 88° both on the northeast side and Miller Field today. Forecasters have more confidence in rainfall chances with the afternoon update, now 80% Friday night and 90% on Saturday.

6:45 am: Not much has changed with the upcoming rain chances. A cold front will move through increasing moisture chances 60-80% Friday through Saturday night. Another beautiful morning under our warm high-pressure system, currently no wind. A good morning to sit out on the porch and drink coffee. That Canadian smoke is primarily east of us but have noticed our air quality is in the 80s PM2.5 this morning. So creeping up a little. For new visitors, the Valentine air quality link is under External links, 3rd link down. The sensor is located here in NE Valentine.

06/06/2023...4:40:pm: On D-Day remembrance day we've peaked out at a warm (86.6°) so far here on the NE side of Valentine. Chances of precip start Thursday with likely wording Friday night and Saturday.

06/05/2023...5:40 am: Calm and 59° with areas of ground fog on the NE side of town this morning. Not thick so should burn off rapidly after sunrise. Increasing chances of moisture starting Thursday evening. The airport sits at (.67") on the month and only (.39") here in NE Valentine. Yearly however the airport is still well behind (8.61" vs 10.59"). Part of the difference (around an inch) came in a heavy thunderstorm the airport almost missed completely out on. It was one of the heavier downfalls recorded here at 11 inch per hour rate. You couldn't see across the street at one time.

06/04/2023...9:55 pm: Picked up (.07") additional in NE Valentine for (.15") today and (.39") two-day total.

2:40 pm: Afternoon thunderstorm (.08") here on the NE side of town (.32") 24 hr. total, the NW location near the Catholic church (.14") so (.29") 24 hr. total includes last night. Miller Field looks like (.42") since midnight. So the south side received the most around Valentine with a (.61") 24 hour total.

Thunderstorm last night before midnight dropping (.24") here in NE Valentine. Checking other rain gauges early this morning NW side near Catholic church (.15"), downtown KVSH radio also (.15"), and the airport reports (.19"). We still have a slight chance 30% today and tonight. Beyond it looks like next Thursday precip mentions start again just in time for the weekend.

06/03/2023...12:00 pm: Midday forecast has rainfall odds continuing to decline with a 30% today, 30% on Sunday. Next week now looks dry until Thursday when chances increase again.

06/02/2023...9:30 pm: Rain odds for Saturday keep dwindling down to 50% chance now.

10:55 am: Looks like our best chance of moisture will be Saturday with a 60% chance in the morning forecast package, 30% today and 40% Sunday. Monday looks like a good day to mow with 0% currently.

06/01/2023...The first day of meteorological summer. Our morning forecast has every day over the next 7 days with a chance of rain. Highest confidence is Friday through Sunday with 60-70% chances currently.

The May summary for NE Valentine our temperature was (+3.9°) above normal with rainfall also (+1.89") making up for the below-normal April. Summary here.

05/31/2023...The thunderstorm yesterday started out with hail, a few as large as dime size for a couple minutes and very loud then turned to heavy rain. (.54") fell before midnight with a prolonged rain dumping another (.40") after midnight. The initial thunderstorm peak wind gust was 44 mph at this location. The total rainfall recorded was (.94"). Here was the radar image over Valentine you can see the white hail ball on the northeast side of town. This puts the NE Valentine location at (5.40") for the month of May.

Updated 6:30 am: KVSH radio (.80"), NW Valentine (.74") and only (.46") at Miller Field. What a difference a couple miles makes. Almost feel guilty that the NE side keeps getting hammered but it is what it is. Amounts varied once again with the heavier part of the thunderstorm on radar more north and east as the radar indicated.

05/30/2023...9:45 pm: A line of thunderstorms and rain west of Valentine and moving east. Looks like the travel speed is around 35-40 mph so the arrival time in about an hour. As we get further away from daytime heating these storms are expected to weaken.

05/29/2023...The forecast has rain chances every day throughout the week, it's that time of year. Rain amounts from yesterday are updated below.

Updated: (.97") on the 8" manual gauge. A nice rain, wasn't expecting near this much. Miller Field reported (.86"). NW Valentine only (.72") confirmed. KVSH radio (.83"). Comparison of the two Tempest stations haptic rain sensors which are not accurate they only show which area received heavier rain... NE Tempest (1.24"), South Tempest (.94"). Now keeping the quality control feature turned off on the Tempest stations for actual raw data output otherwise they would adjust to surrounding precip reports and even read the same. The fact they need a "quality control" option tells us a lot about Haptic rain sensors.

05/28/2023.. 10:10 pm: Still coming down too hard to get a manual reading. Soon though it should stop or at least get light enough. The tipping bucket rain gauge you see in near real-time reports (.69") currently and it will be close to the actual. The Tempest here in NE Valentine reports 1.15" and the south Tempest near the airport only .77". Neither is real however, but does show it was heavier on this side of town... Again.

9:00 pm: A line of thunderstorms developed and eventually reached the Valentine area. It's not over yet (.06") in the first heavy shower the electronic sensor on the Tempest recorded (.21") . That's how bad they over-count. I'll post the actual rainfall amount when it's all over from the 8" manual rain gauge.

Light rain early morning, radar is showing heavier activity down by Mullen and heading straight north which keeps it west of Valentine.

05/27/2023...Looks like most rain activity is going to stay in the panhandle west of Valentine today with only a 20% chance for Valentine. Very gusty winds both days. Tomorrow it bumps up to a 40% but still less than likely so not a lot of confidence at this time but always subject to change. If we get any activity nearby will put the GRlevel3 radar back up. The reason it's not left up all the time occasionally it stops updating and needs a restart. Checked the manual 8" diameter rain gauge this morning just under (.02") in yesterday's light shower.

05/26/2023... 5:30 pm: Noticed the flood warning down in the SW corner of Nebraska. These are the COCORAHS reports this morning from the Imperial and McCook areas. Here in NE Valentine picked up a whopping (.01") today, looks like (.02") at Miller Field and (.03") NW Valentine. To show how bad the electronic haptic rain sensors are both Tempest stations (south and NE) recorded (.13") . There is another area of showers near Broken Bow but looks like it will miss us.

10:55 am: Just noticed the NWS updated forecast for Valentine. Rain likely today with a 60% chance. So something has changed from last night. The moisture to the south may hold together as it moves north after all. Looking at the RAP it has the moisture starting to arrive around 1 pm with a total of (.13") today with (.66") by noon Sunday. Nothing to write home about but better than nothing which is what it was looking like this morning.

05/25/2023...7:20 pm: Starting to look a little iffy on rainfall. The afternoon forecast package dropped chances from 50% down to 40% each day. We'll likely get some rain but confidence doesn't look great for a gully washer over the Memorial Weekend. The good thing is we have chances every day through the 7-day.

05/24/2023...6:40 am: Another not much to talk about weather day. The air quality is expected to get better with each passing day but we are back above 100 (PM2.5) this morning. The 2.5 stands for micron size so very tiny and easily ingested as we breathe making it unhealthy even dangerous as levels get higher. As far as rainfall goes it's unusual to go 7-days this time of year without a sprinkle and today is number 7. It's looking more active starting Thursday but nothing stands out as a widespread gully washer right now. Low 80s today (81°) specifically for Valentine but if the smoke haze increases it might keep us slightly cooler on the high temp.

If you live in Valentine the Millers are everywhere. This is what Google says: " Why are there so many Miller moths? The numbers of miller moths in late spring is primarily related to the numbers of army cutworm caterpillars which occurred earlier in the season. Outbreaks of the army cutworm are usually followed by large flights of miller moths."

05/22/2023...6:40 am: Visibility is down to (6 miles) currently. AQ is at 100 (PM2.5) on the Purple Air monitor here in NE Valentine. It could be much worse like last week near 500 (PM2.5) and under 1/2 mile visibility. Not much going on other than patchy smoke caused by the Canadian out-of-control forest fires. Our best chance of rain comes later this week starting Thursday.

05/20/2023...Update: Miller Field low this morning came in at (33.1°) which shares the state low with Gordon Airport and Wayne Airport. Got a report from the NW side of town near the Catholic Church with trees in the area the low was 35°. Here at the NE Valentine location 34° with frost.

6:10 am: We've got frost in northeast Valentine so hope the petunias got covered. This is the front porch roof with visible frost developed. 34° currently. See a little ground fog also. It sure is nice and green now. Update: 6:35 am: Looking to see how widespread the frost may be around town the south Tempest says 34° also. Interior areas of town may have more protection, especially around trees that act as a blanket. Today was likely the last chance to tie the seasonal freeze data record of (183 days) for the station and fell short by (1.9°f).

5:20 am: (35°) currently in NE Valentine, with a calm wind. Air quality is looking good we went completely into the (Green) range around 6 pm last night. With the forest fires still ongoing in Canada, chances of smoke could redevelop later depending on the wind direction. The front range around Denver has the smoke this morning. The purple air monitor and map are linked under external links "Air Quality Valentine".

05/19/2023...11:45 am: The "Air Quality Alert" ends at noon. For the record this is what the smoke event looked like in Valentine. Image. Visibility at the airport reported (1/2 mile) at times, estimated (1/4 mile) at this location where the air monitor is located at times.

05/18/2023...Poor air quality all day due to smoke from wildfires mainly out of Canada.

05/17/2023...10:30 pm: Rainfall (.08") NE, (.07") NW Valentine reported today.

5:30 pm: Had a moderate rain shower, it was short-lived however only (.03') so far. No rain was reported at the airport or the south Tempest so it was rather spotty.

05/16/2023...Patchy fog this morning, the airport was reporting fog. 40° makes for a cool morning in the middle of May. We needed one more freeze to tie the station record of 183 seasonal freeze days, doesn't look like it's going to happen. The dual lens panoramic view camera is working out, yesterday was watching just how much sky it captures and it does really well including the clouds directly above the camera. How it's able to do this is the fisheye lens being used, this also makes it impossible to remove the front yard no matter how much the camera was raised it just distorts the image. So keeping the camera on a level plain is the only way to prevent the fishbowl look and mask areas you don't want in the image.

05/15/2023...5:50 am: Fog is beginning to develop. RH is up to 98-99% here in NE Valentine.

Updated video and report on the tornado intercept with storm chasers here in Nebraska. 20 years in the making to intercept a large wedge tornado (EF3) measured wind speeds 160 mph using a specially-made vehicle. Tornado part 2 . The pink-outlined area near Bartlett was where the tornado was located.

05/14/2023...7:50 pm: Total rainfall so far today (.18") NE Valentine. (manual gauge) NW Valentine location also reports (.18"). It came down light, off and on throughout mixed with mist. It may be over for us. Starting back on Thursday that brings the total here at this location (2.49"). It varies around town with the south side getting much less during our big thunderstorm dump on the 11th.

05/13/2023...Some may not have seen this yet, this was a large tornado on the ground yesterday here in Nebraska and it got wild. Including the Celebration. I guess for chasers this is like Christmas as a kid. Kind of like the 1996 classic movie "Twister" one of my favorites. Tornado

The 180-degree field-of-view camera came in and is now installed. Tried to aim the lens more upward to remove the front yard but the visual field is being bent badly (fishbowl effect) so left it on a level plain for now. I may end up experimenting with a different location later like mounting higher but not sure the yard will get removed anyway and then the neighbor's yards come into view. With the fishbowl effect the yard was still in the image just more sky. Do like the single camera and not having to stitch 3-cameras images together for a full view.

Update: 8:20 am: NW Valentine Catholic church area (.77") at 8:47 pm last night + (.37') this morning for a total (1.14"). This is a Cocorahs gauge. KVSH radio station reported (.95") since emptying the rain gauge yesterday morning. Not seeing any new rain on the radar yet.

We had a nice slow soaking 7 hour rainfall yesterday, rainfall rates stayed below the criteria of heavy rate 1/2" or more per hour except twice briefly rain rate image, (.99") fell during this period. The daily total was 1.06" with (.07") falling prior to emptying rain gauge at 7 am yesterday. Looking at the HRRR and RAP more rain could start around the 7-8 am hour today with another 1/2" potential by days end. The forecast supports this with a 70% chance. Today may be changing out the front 3-cameras to a single dual lens camera with a 180° field-of-view should the cameras go down for awhile.

05/12/2023...5:50 pm: Not exactly what was expected, this is a gentle rainfall. Thunderstorms bypassed us so far. It was almost like it purposely worked around Valentine saying you got enough yesterday. Currently (.16") of new rainfall. (.23") since midnight.

Update: The KVSH radio downtown reports (1.28") since yesterday morning. Another report on N. Wood St. (1.29") the street that runs north and south west of the radio station. The airport only recorded (.42").

05/11/2023...The manual rain gauge measurement from the big thunderstorm was (.95"). Rainfall rate reached (11" per hr.) at one time and you couldn't see across the street. The Cocorahs gauge down along the Mill pond just NW of here under a mile reported TS total (.91") and (.68") in NW Valentine. Miller Field looks like it only got (.19") out this thunderstorm so a great variance across town. Storm image here in NE Valentine.

5:27 pm: This is nuts sounds like hail too.

5:15 pm: Thunderstorm approaching Image.

...8:15 am: Manual check on rainfall so far today (.16") image. 8:30 am: Just got a report from the NW Valentine location (.18"). Currently rainfall has stopped.

5:20 am: The moisture from the south is just arriving. Starting to see a few rain drops in the yard camera.

Model runs overnight look like THIS . 1.5" on the low side to about 2.75" on the upper. This is a little less than what some were saying yesterday. The ECM however has stayed pretty consistent between (2.7 to 3.2") range for Valentine. I did get the lawn mowed yesterday figuring it was our last chance for several days.

05/10/2023... There is a plan to reduce the cameras to just a single front-view camera that has a dual lens with a panoramic 180° view. This will lessen the FTP usage instead of having 3 cameras constantly logging into the server and uploading images. More about that hopefully this Saturday when the new camera arrives.

05/09/2023 Updated at 8:20 am: Here in NE Valentine (.11 image) at 7 am. NW Valentine location reported (.12") in an official Cocorahs gauge. The downtown radio station KVSH was reporting (.10") in their rain gauge. FYI the rain gauge gets emptied daily at 7 am. This is the schedule COCORAHS wants followed. The website measures 24 hours from midnight to midnight so it can get confusing. All the website daily and NOAA reports totals are based on the midnight reset.

4:35 am: Starting to get some light rain early morning showing on the backyard (North view) camera. Did see a flash of lightning a few minutes ago about 11 miles north of town. Going to keep the GRlevel3 radar image on the main page during this upcoming wet period being more detailed but if the looping radar is preferred it's available under the Sat/Radar/Cams tab, right-click and open in a new tab. Same with any of the cameras they can be opened in their own tab and they will auto refresh if link is opened and not just image.

Added a Twitter profile for the website yesterday. Link found under External links.

05/08/2023 8:00 pm: Models are starting to put out some impressive amounts of moisture. Everything is over 1" now so that's a good sign.

05/07/2023 Did some camera rearrangement today, removed the east view, and added a west camera. This gives around a 160° field-of-view says google earth so should cover most thunderstorm directions. With the extra camera will only keep 1-radar image on the front page. The NWS looping radar is always available under the Sat/Radar/Cams tab.

Dense Fog this morning.

05/06/2023 Updated: Picked up (.03") in NE Valentine and (.05) on the NW side of town from the strong thunderstorm that passed south of town. Johnstown likely got hit by hail. Ainsworth is next but the hail ball is not quite as impressive. Looks like it wants to go down HW20. HW camera at Long Pine on the 511 link. Images Long Pine-1, Long Pine-2.

4:25 pm: Thunderstorms to the SW have strengthened considerably in the last few minutes. Tracking mostly south of town but we could get clipped.

Update: NW Valentine Cocorahs gauge Catholic church area (.67"). At the NE Valentine location image (.75") and image (.67") at downtown KVSH radio station both with the 8" SRG. Miller Field reported (.65"). We didn't get the 1"+ was hoping for but it does look promising this upcoming week with daily chances of 20-30% and then a likely soaker (1" plus) on Wednesday and Thursday.

10:25 am: The replacement Tempest Wx station from Weather Flow came in today and is now installed at the NE Valentine location. It should show up on the Tempest map under (External Links) soon. You may need to zoom the map in and out to find until fully populated. The wind exposure is less than the main NE station anemometer (26') vs (8 foot). But the station is still informative with solar, UV, and lightning detection including another temperature/hum/dewpoint for the location. The humidity sensor went bad on the previous unit is why the replacement was done. This replacement appears to read on the low side too but not near as bad. (dew point is about 1° low).

05/05/2023 Summary: Scattered thunderstorms developed in the early evening before the main complex of rain and thunderstorms moved through. It was a large impressive area of moisture with embedded TS extending from southern South Dakota into southern Nebraska. Storm Radar Image. Some areas got the one-two punch today with early-on thunderstorm activity then followed by the large complex.

Updated: Forecast changes since yesterday. Now it looks like our best chance is tonight around midnight as a line of thunderstorms roll through with an (updated) 90% chance for Valentine. Chances of moisture almost daily through the 7-day.

05/04/2023 7:00 pm: We picked up (.02") here on the NE side of Valentine. The heavier rain skirted around mainly on east and north sides of town. Movement east was either stalled or very slow at best.

4:50 pm: NWS statement, A strong thunderstorm 11 miles SW of Valentine. It does appear stationary currently. Lightning is 6-8 miles out.

am: Rain chances have increased to 80% Friday. Looking at some of the more popular models over the next 60 hours (2.5 days) RAP, HRRR, ECM, and NAM . The track meet in Valentine today should be okay if it's over by 5 pm. Only looking at (.02") with the ECM around 7-8 pm. Friday around noon is when most of the rain gets going (1st round) with more chances each day.

05/03/2023 Temperature difference across Valentine early this morning. It's been down to 34° in NE Valentine with dead still air while the south side has a slight breeze with 39° to 41°. Forecaster confidence continues with 1/2" to 1" of needed rainfall starting late Thursday into Friday spread over several days. Hoping for more like 1 to 2 inches.

The Tempest station here in NE Valentine humidity went bad. Weather Flow has shipped out a replacement unit.

05/02/2023 7:00 am: Final low temperatures this morning (26°) at Miller Field, (26.9°) here in NE Valentine and (27.5°) NW Valentine. This was potentially our last freeze of the spring season but won't be surprised if another one sneaks in later this month. Medium-range models are still advertising a wet period starting Friday. Forecasters are gaining confidence with dew points rising above 50°, current thoughts in the forecaster discussion is of 1/2 to 3/4" range. We could use a couple of inches but better than nothing.

05/01/2023 Models are already starting to back off on the upcoming wet period. ECM is now around (.35") total over the 10-day. Ugh! Forecasters are saying they have low confidence too, because models have recently been overdoing precip. It's still early in the week maybe it gets more promising as we approach Friday.

Final Low temps this morning (26°) NE Valentine and Miller Field. April ended well below normal on precip. (-1.55") with only (.93") in NE Valentine, the temperature was also below normal (-1.4°) making the first 4 months this year below historical average. Here are the monthly climate summaries.

04/29/2023 Updated: 12:50 pm: Just had a 49 mph wind gust, matches the thunderstorm we had on Thursday. About the same time 12:52 pm Miller Field reported a gust (49.5) mph.

04/28/2023 7 am: Updated: Total rainfall measured (.31") here in NE Valentine with the 8" dia. gauge. The peak gust overnight was 47 MPH. Looks like (.26") of precip at the airport on the ASOS weighing precip gauge.

There is a new COCORAHS-approved 4" diameter rain gauge called the Tropo Precipitation gauge with improvements, mainly a deeper collection area preventing splash out in heavy downpours over the current Stratus model. It was pre-ordered and got shipped out yesterday. I'll be doing a side-by-side comparison with the official 8" diameter (SRG) once it gets here.

04/27/2023 6:10 pm: (.20") here in NE Valentine both tipping bucket and 8" manual. Still light rain and possibly more coming.

5:30 pm: Thunderstorm, I'll get a manual 8" dia. rain gauge reading once it's over. We did get some small pea-size hail.

Expect showers and thunderstorm activity today with a 60% chance. Looking at the early morning hourly RAP, Valentine is in the (.30") range. Looks like a broad area of around a tenth so most should get something. NW Cherry will receive less and more toward the eastern and southern sides.

04/26/2023 Updated: Miller Field did dip below freezing this morning (29°), here at the NE Valentine location (31°), the NW Valentine location near Catholic Church reported (31.7°), the south Tempest airport side (30°).

6:20 am: Still looking good for rain showers and a possible thunderstorm tomorrow (Thursday). Between (.10 and .40") widespread with higher amounts if directly under a thunderstorm. We did make freezing this morning (30.7°) here in NE Valentine. If watching the freeze data page this season has a chance to set or tie the highest number of freeze days since the station started in 2014, the most occurred in 2019-2020 with (183) days. Currently, we sit at (180) freeze days. The freeze data page can be found HERE. Update: Not as confident now after seeing the warm stretch early May that a new record gets set.

Here's some info on Peter Sinks Utah, many may hear reported as being the cold spot in the Nation over and over. Not to worry nobody actually lives there it's a high-elevation mountain limestone sinkhole with no exit trapping and pooling cold air. It was discovered in 1983 by a college student. More on it here in Wikipedia and image HERE from the air. Here are the current conditions. People have been known to camp in the bowl so they can say they survived the extreme conditions. It freezes year-round and rarely goes more than a few days without freezing even in the summer.

04/21/2023 Very blustery day with a few snow showers. Last night a peak gust reached 54 mph in NE Valentine.

04/20/2023 Precip over the 7-day keeps backing off so not looking promising for a good spring soaker, unfortunately. This coolish below normal weather pattern doesn't bring in much moisture. We need a good warmup, the 7-day shows our high temps continue 40s and low 50s when it should be 60s. It's looking like April will finish well below normal on moisture. The next chance is Tuesday currently only a few hundredths and then again on 27th and 28th maybe 1/4".

04/19/2023 Rainfall amounts last night (.22") at both Miller Field and NE Valentine. (.21") reported downtown KVSH radio station. 31 miles south (.11") was reported. Looks like more below-normal temperatures ahead with chances of rainfall or snow mixed in. Nothing big until maybe around the 24-25th where several models indicate 1/2"-3/4" range.

04/18/2023 Total rainfall (.22") on the NE side of town using standard 8" dia. gauge.

11:30 pm: Thunderstorm, once it stops raining and lightning stops will get a manual rainfall reading.

12:20 pm: Last week it looked like a wet week ahead but now the forecast has our best chance tonight 60%. The ECM and GFS show about (.11 to .14") falling. Update: The RAP finally see's the moisture tonight on the last hourly run.

04/16/2023 5:10 am: Just below freezing currently, the wind is refusing to lay down on the NE side of Valentine this morning (15-22 mph). So running a couple of degrees above the south side but with a lower windchill (20°). It should get calmer around sunrise. Mid-50s today and back into the 70s Monday and Tuesday before another wet period starts Tuesday night.

04/15/2023 Been hearing turkeys gobble every morning lately. Deer and turkey come up from the Valentine City Park and Minnechaduza Creek area. The west-view cameras look across the open field feeding down into the park.

04/14/2023 11:59 pm: Picked up another (.14") just before midnight for a daily total (.27") here in NE Valentine. The rain has stopped. WSW camera went down, figure it out tomorrow.

6:00 am: Rainfall overnight (.13") 8" dia. manual. We have chances of snow back in the forecast, with little accumulation under (0.1"). The high temp for today has already occurred at midnight (51°).

04/13/2023 5:30 pm: It did start to rain, not just sprinkle and then stopped suddenly. Checking the lightning detectors on the two Tempest stations nothing detected yet. Our high temps today did almost reach the forecast of (78°) with both NE and Miller Field coming in at (77°). That cool air and north breeze had me wondering. 60 miles south today temps got near 90° so a big contrast across the area.

04/12/2023 6:30 pm: The airport set another record high today (89°). NE Valentine came in the same.

5:50 am: Another record high is expected today, the old record is (88°). Today may be warmer than yesterday with the forecast at (92°). S to SE wind speeds will be much lower. Was surprised to hear yesterday they had no local tanker air support for wildfires and considered calling Arizona for support at one point. Apparently, it got pretty serious when HW 20 was closed and Kilgore evacuated. Sounded like the fire may have started down along the Niobrara river and came up through one of the canyons. Local radio mentioned this but not sure that's a fact yet. Looks like good chances of rain Thursday night and Friday but with that comes lightning.

04/11/2023 6:15 pm: A new record high for the date was set at the airport reaching (91°). (90°) here in NE Valentine. Much less smoke south of Kilgore at this hour. Miller Field with the unobstructed south exposure was running in the upper 20s sustained wind this afternoon. Gusts reached into the low 40s. RH has been critically low 8-9% thus the high fire danger.

2:30 pm: You can see smoke toward the Kilgore area in the west cameras. It's showing up on radar too.

04/10/2023 Haven't mentioned record highs for ages but looks like tomorrow it's likely with the forecast near 90° expected. The old record is 87° so should be close.

04/07/2023 2:25 pm: Miller Field is back online with 5 minute updates. Linked under Menu Bar (external links). The south side Tempest station is also linked further below.

04/05/2023 A cold day ahead currently 17° with a WC near zero. Today may be our last sub-freezing high temperature for the season. Be careful outside, it's very icy. The cameras show the moonlight shining off the roads, that's ice.

Seeing the mid-70s forecast next week so taking the snow stake and camera down until next fall. The camera is currently offline. If we get a late-season big snow I may get it back on. Actually, it's not very accurate with high wind which is prevalent in these spring storms anyway.

04/04/2023 7:15 pm: The snow has all but stopped, snow and freezing drizzle manual gauge melt (.12").... (.06") fell as frz. drizzle (.06") as snow. Adjusted website and seasonal snow report page.

2:35 pm: Still getting freezing drizzle 23° and (.06") in ice. Warm water cleared the camera lenses. The only place you can safely walk is on grass even the dirt is slippery. Starting to snow on radar to the west, it may slowly work this direction.

9:38 am: Light freezing drizzle started and we do have a light coating of ice on exposed surfaces. Watch your step, the tipping bucket on the rain gauge just tipped. Something we don't see very often is freezing rain. Maybe all the closures wasn't a bad idea after all with the freezing drizzle.

5:40 am: The snowfall potential map has been updated, the likely amount is a couple of inches now, with possibly only 1" of snow. The high end amount with only a 10% chance is 8". The wind forecast has backed off a little also with NW gusts in the mid-40s starting tonight and tomorrow. Little or no ice accumulation is expected for Valentine. As of this hour the Blizzard Warning was still in place.

04/03/2023 Models have trended this upcoming major winter storm more to the NW giving Valentine some good news, now only around 5" expected. Blizzard Warning is still in effect because of the wind gusts up to 55 mph possible. The good thing about this time of year a foot of snow can melt in a couple of days.

04/02/2023 1:05 pm: Put up a snow fence to try and get a better snow stake and snowboard measurement with high winds. Snow fence image. The idea is to disrupt the wind preventing it from pushing the snow all the way to the fence located behind the instruments. If it works better will install at the start of next winter season. This upcoming blizzard is ideal for testing.

The snowfall potential map has been updated for the upcoming major storm. As mentioned before this may get adjusted as new model runs and information come in so check back occasionally.

Today will end consecutive freeze days at 94 both here in NE Valentine and the airport. It goes back to Dec. 28 2022 (33.9°) and (33°) airport. This is provided it doesn't freeze tonight before midnight. For more freeze data since this station started go HERE. This station was relocated from west side with heavy tree coverage in the area but was clear directly around instruments to this NE location in June 2019. Due to the trees surrounding the old location it was better for measuring snowfall in blizzard conditions with the trees acting like a giant Alter wind-screen. Blizzard snowfalls are hard to measure when falling horizontally and not staying on the ground until it finds a place to drift up against.

04/01/2023 8:45 am: This is why the snow stake wasn't accurate with the wind yesterday. You can see the area blown almost free of snow left-side (shadows) where the weather instruments, snow stake and cam are located and the deep drifting. Image . During the December blizzard, the drifting went up and over the 6-foot fence. The low this morning in NE Valentine dipped to (13.5°).

March summary we ended up well below temperature averages (-8.6°) and moisture also below (-.24"). You can look at departures: HERE. The morning low so far this April 1st (fools day) has been (16°) but with the clear sky and calm wind could drop more before sunrise. Looks like another storm is on the way starting Monday with a big dump of snow possible.

5:20 am: Yesterday's storm total melt (.26") (1.8") snowfall includes the (0.2") of graupel the night before. We have some new 2-foot-deep snow drifts. Had to make a correction on website the tipping bucket was (.01") short so the (.01") was added on April. (Can't go back) Will do a March summary later this morning. Updated the seasonal snowfall page.

03/31/2023 9:40 pm: Put the cameras into color mode, it doesn't pickup the snow as well but you can see.

7 pm: Heavy snow again. Blizzard conditions currently with gusts to 40 mph. Peak gust so far 48 mph last hour. Short video

5:35 pm: Did a snowmelt our daily liquid total this hour (.19") still snowing. Of that amount (.09") fell as snow (.10") fell as snow pellets overnight. Due to the wind estimated using 10:1 (1.1") total which includes (0.2") snow pellets from last night. Updated the seasonal snow report page. FYI the heated tipping bucket has been spot on with the manual melt this storm so far.

5:35 am: Heard the thunder rumbling last night it dumped graupel (snow pellets) which holds more moisture than snowflakes, the heated tipping bucket recorded (.10") matching the manual snowmelt also (.10") measuring (0.2") depth. The NWS has issued a "Winter Storm Warning". The forecaster discussion says "The main hazard with this system will be blowing snow and near zero visibility." Looking at models they vary with the ECM (European) being the heaviest around (.70"). The the GFS (.11") moisture which is wrong being we are already (.10"). The snowfall potential page has been updated.

03/30/2023 7:15 pm: Put the snow stake up on the front page for easy access. The "winter Storm Watch" was downgraded to an Advisory this afternoon. Here's the latest ECM at 7 pm. This model has been doing this now for 2 days. Brings the snow south on one run and takes it north on the next. It was a struggle but we did reach 53° today for a high temperature.

5:15 am: We should have a warm day today with the high mid 50s. Tomorrow for the "Winter Storm Watch" it looks like only a couple of inches is expected for Valentine but any wobble south could change that. Yesterday the ECM had us at 18" on one run so models are a little squirrely on the track so worth checking the potential map later as the morning and afternoon model runs come in. The snow measuring boards will get back down later today.

03/29/2023 6:15 pm: A "Winter Storm Watch" was issued by the NWS. Also the snowfall potential map (Linked) was updated. These potential maps may get adjusted as the winter storm approaches and the path becomes more certain so check again tomorrow for any changes. There is a link at the bottom of the page for the North Platte office showing more details.

5:20 am: We have a backdoor cold front this morning with a NE wind bringing in cold air. (16°) currently with the windchill at (6°). Models are still suggesting moisture chances mainly Friday with snow. Forecasters are waiting for another model run today for more confirmation before putting out advisories. The snowfall potential map has been updated.

03/28/2023 5:26 am: A pretty good model agreement for moisture this Friday. Mostly snow looking at the temperature profile. It's our last chance for March to reach the average moisture on the month. Temperature wise we are still running almost (-9°) below historical average. A clear sky and calm wind this morning currently (20°) on the northeast side (18°) at the airport. This is the second day reported of minor flooding on the Minnechaduza Creek. We still have large snowdrifts melting down daily.

03/27/2023 No precipitation is expected for Valentine today the "Winter Weather Advisory" is for Western Cherry county. Our next chance of snowfall comes late Thursday into Friday. The morning low 13° here at this location with the calm wind and clear sky.

03/26/2023 At the noon hour only 26° with the heavy overcast and NE breeze.

03/25/2023 5:55 pm: We have fog/mist developing. The air temperature is down to 30°.

7:45 am: 21° here and at the airport with heavy frost this morning. Noticed the RH hit 98% here, 100% at the airport.

5:50 am: Yesterday was a nice day despite the breeze at 55°. Chances of snow showers starting tonight through Monday night with below normal temps. The ground thawed enough so was able to pull the snow stake out and remove the collection board yesterday. We are getting into the warmer weather so can't leave the grass-covered all the time. The snow stake is still up without the flat board.

03/24/2023 6:15 am: A nice day with near normal high is expected at 52°, (54° normal) then a cool down again 30s and 40s with slight chances of snow Saturday night through Sunday night. Next week Thursday looks like our best chance of moisture. We've been running well below normal on temperature this month, currently (-8.9°) here in NE Valentine and with only 7 days to go not much chance of making it up. We're running behind on precip also but that can change.

03/23/2023 11:30 am: Snowfall measured 3 tenths of an inch. Snowmelt (.03") adjusted seasonal snowfall.

6:am: Looks like the snow stayed mainly south of Valentine. Looking at radar a little more is possible. The snow stake cam is found under the Sat/Cam/radar tab but only a dusting so far.

03/22/2023 5:05 pm: The afternoon forecast updated (1-2") with a 70% chance. Our high today was (34.5°) in northeast Valentine. High clouds blocked sunshine most of the day.

The NWS issued another "Winter Weather Advisory" for tonight starting at 8 pm through Thursday 10 am. Valentine could receive 1-3" of snowfall with an 80% chance tonight. The snowfall potential map has been updated.

Yesterday turned out pretty nice once the sun came out we warmed to 48° along with the snowfall melting. The airport also recorded (.19") moisture and (1.1") snowfall. Measured (1.0") here but the rain had started melting the snow when the measurement was done. It surprised me, really didn't think we would get much of anything because of what the ECM was saying (.01'). Not going to mention it today because it was so wrong yesterday. It may not have as good a handle on these less organized systems as some of the other models.

03/21/2023 2:15 pm: The sun is peeking out. Rain gauge total (.19") we picked up an inch of snow before the rain and graupel started. Adjusted website and updated the seasonal snow total.

1:15 pm: Heavy snow currently pushing an inch on the snow stake. 30° temp. (.09") so far on tipping bucket.

12:10:pm: The fog has lifted we did get snow pellets (Graupel) and sprinkles of freezing rain. Just enough to get the ground wet. The latest RAP and the latest ECM. They're still not on the same page. Only 29° currently, a little warmer than yesterday at this time.

6:45 am: We do have fog in the area water tank hill (.66 mile) is covered up.

Not much precip is expected today but could still coat surfaces with ice so the "Winter Weather Advisory". The official forecast has snow 1-3" tomorrow night possible. Here is the RAP bringing in 1-2" of snow. The ECM has less, models are not on the same page.

03/20/2023 4:40 pm: A "Winter Weather Advisory" goes into effect tomorrow from 4 am until 4 pm for a chance of freezing rain and light snow. So far today we've reached 37° which was cooler than expected.

12:20 pm: A deck of low clouds and some fog has been persistent the first half of today. Only 25° at the noon hour.

7:35 am: Looks like some fog is rolling in. Water tank hill disappeared. If you open front images you can see deer feeding next to the road. Looks like Thursday could be wet but not much model agreement in fact the ECM only has (.03") on Tuesday but nothing on Wed/Thursday. Done adjusting the front two cameras, almost a 180° view.

03/18/2023 Very cold this morning the WC was running (-9°) the air temp around (7.5°). Got a report from the NW Valentine location the low was (7.4°).... 7.3° was the low here in NE Valentine.

03/17/2023 1/2" of snow today with several heavy snow showers. (.03") moisture content. 32° was the high temp.

12:11: Just had a 51 mph gust along with another heavy snow shower on going. A couple trucks jackknifed on HW 83 north of town. Possibly the wind gusts.

5 am: We had a dusting of snow overnight you can see on the front lawn cameras. Not enough to record with the heated tipping bucket rain gauge. Continued chance of snow showers today (40%). The high-temperature today is expected near freezing and only 26° tomorrow as cold arctic air moves over the region before warming into the mid-40s Sunday.

03/16/2023 6:50 am: Correction on snowfall, (.12") manual snowmelt. (.03") fell as freezing rain prior so (.9") in snowfall using 10:1 ratio. Updated the seasonal snow report page, (62.9"). It's almost over just a few flakes, much of the snow blew off the snowstake and measurement board with the wind. The peak wind gust so far today was 46 mph. Before midnight 49 mph.

3 am: So far a little freezing rain overnight (.03") on the tipping bucket no manual measurement yet. The Tempest stations went nuts reporting (.22") and (.20") that's why you can't take rain gauges that use haptic rain sensors seriously.

03/15/2023 5:40 pm: The latest RAP looks like a couple inches of snow now. Short shirtsleeve weather today the high in northeast Valentine 73°, with Miller Field 74°.

The Warmest day of the year so far is likely today (66°) before a powerful cold storm arrives with wind gusts approaching 50 mph blowing snow around. For Valentine, it looks like (1.3") of snow is the likely amount with more possible. A "Winter Weather Advisory" has been issued starting 1:am Thursday. Yesterday was nice even with the breeze (65°) was able to run around without a jacket for the first time in months. Did notice the RAP model (09z) or (4am) run this morning is keeping the snow east of Valentine early this morning, a little unusual not to be onboard. Being it runs hourly it may adjust later today.

03/14/2023 A warm couple of days ahead 60s, this morning a south wind is blowing (20 mph with gusts to 30 mph) at the airport, this NE location is protected somewhat from that wind direction with trees as seen in the SW view camera. (Street runs south left side to north right side) Check the Miller Field link for unprotected south wind speed if interested. The south side Tempest station also has a good south wind exposure HERE, and it's in realtime with wind speed, just give it a few seconds to load. As of this morning doesn't look like much precipitation from a few hundreths to a tenth expected with the upcoming moisture starting Wednesday night through Thursday.

FYI the two biggest weaknesses of the Tempest weather stations linked above are the rainfall uses a haptic rain sensor so accuracy is questionable at times and the temperature uses a static non-aspirated radiation shield so can get several degrees warmer than actual on sunny low wind speed days.

03/13/2023 8:00 am: Overnight low looks like 12°, currently 13° with light flurries. We are running 10° below normal on the month of March, but the next two days Tuesday, Wed. 59-62° and then back into the cellar with highs in the 20s and 30s for the rest of the week. There is some sign we may pick up more snow Thursday with models . Still early on the snow forecast, however. Yesterday was downright cold with the low 20s, wind and snow flurries.

03/12/2023 11:05 am: Getting an isolated snow flurry. Very cold outside 18° and feels like 1-3° with the wind chill.

6:00 am: Currently 17° with the wind chill at zero. Cold today with a high temp in the upper 20s. Tuesday, Wed. a big warm-up in front of another cold snap with a chance of snow starting Wednesday night into Thursday. Doesn't look like much accumulation right now, less than an inch.

03/10/2023 Freezing rain and drizzle with a light glaze of ice possible tonight. Chilly day high 35° the low temperature this morning occurred around midnight 11°.

03/09/2023 1:40 pm: The sun is out and the snow stopped. The manual snowmelt (.07") and (.7") of new snow measured. The seasonal snow report page was updated, (62") total. On the backside of the snow stake, snow drifted that's why we measure officially off the flat snowboard. The heated tipping bucket only recorded (.02") so was (.05") short of actual collected. Normally for expected big snows I prep the heated tipping bucket with snow and ice repellent which helps melted snowfall bead away faster and not stay inside the heated cone filling the tippers quicker helps prevent as much evaporation. Didn't do it this time so saw the larger difference from the manual gauge.

7:45 am: We are getting some very light snow now. The RAP latest run has backed off to around 1" for Valentine. You can always check the RAP snowfall, linked. It runs hourly, what makes the RAP better than most it gets real-time feedback and adjust on the fly. Valentine is about 42.87 N, 100.54 W.

6:20 am: If waking up to a dusting and wondering about the snow the RAP still supports a couple of inches this morning. Roads are being reported as slick and covered. Just checked and yes it's very slippery even walking with the freezing mist.

03/08/2023 4:55 pm: Not much change in the afternoon forecast package. A "Winter Weather Advisory" starts tonight at midnight for 2-4" snow. Pretty nippy day our high temp was only 26° and overcast.

03/07/2023 5:05 pm: A "Winter Weather Advisory" was issued by the NWS starting tomorrow at 6 pm. Snow potential is 3-6". Fog is getting a little heavier at this hour, can't see the water tank hill. Noticed trees around town were coated white from the mist and ice fog. Currently 25°, our high today came in it at 26° here at the NE location.

5:40 am: The NWS updated the snowfall potential page. There's still uncertainty due to model differences. The wettest model is the GFS, some models are significantly drier which makes it difficult to pin down. The 48-hour 15z run of the RAP later today may shed more light.

03/06/2023 5:45 am: Patchy fog early this morning. Much colder with snow potential this week some uncertainty of amounts. The heaviest snow is expected in SD but any wiggle south would include Valentine. The GFS model has brought that heavier snow south occasionally on runs including Valentine but the ECM hasn't making for the uncertainty. The drier ECM is saying around (.13") moisture with the GFS around (.88"). Using the snow ratio 10:1 from (1.3" to 8.8") so a big difference in impact. It looks like Wednesday night into Thursday will be the main snow period if it does occur.

Here in NE Valentine the 52° yesterday put the snow ground coverage below 50%. Doesn't matter how deep the drifts (still have 3' drifts in areas) with less than 1/2 the ground covered it's measured as a trace on the COCORAHS report.

03/05/2023 A little disturbance moved through overnight cameras picked up light snow just before 2 am. Very warm morning 32° with the SE breeze 10-20 mph . High today upper 40s maybe even 51° says the HRRR with a 20% chance of a shower tonight.

The ECM made a big adjustment overnight other models will likely follow so now saying only 3" of snowfall and no below zero temps this coming week. Worth watching the forecast closely if any travel plans over the next couple of days sometimes models can overcorrect and comeback to a middle solution.

03/04/2023 Updated: This is what a couple of the more popular models are saying starting Tuesday night or Wednesday through Sunday. Can't say I've seen this much being projected even this far out. Here is the GFS 20+ inches . Here is the ECM not as wet but still high 12" . Also it looks very cold with the ECM dropping below zero. Stay turned to the forecast if any travel plains next week, it's still early and models generally do adjust from initial projections.

6:20 am: Snow has ended (1.2") measured. Manual snowmelt (.08") moisture, the heated tipping bucket was close (.07"). The evaporation rate seems to differ depending on how cold the air temp is. The colder it is the higher the evaporation rate. Updated website "Snow/Report" page. (61.3") for the season. Next week is looking like another dump (6"+) with models this morning. The ECM is at 9" and GFS 17" on latest runs. Just be aware if you have travel plans etc. it could get rough. Still, a little early, one thing all models agree with is a week of below-freezing high temperatures starting Monday.

03/03/2023 This is what the RAP is saying for snowfall tomorrow morning 6 am. Kind of came out of nowhere. According to the RAP it won't get going locally until after midnight so only about a 3-4-hour event. I'll clear the snow stake today.

Tonight and tomorrow we do have a 60% chance of snow, the snowfall potential map says 1.4" for Valentine linked on this site. Active winter weather next week starting Monday night with cold and snow. How much snow is still undecided with models spread out. The ECM next week shows temps stay below freezing.

03/02/2023 The calendar says this is March but it's looking like winter will continue. If the ECM holds true potentially another big snow, that's 1-inch of moisture and temperatures approaching zero again. So not a spring-like pattern, you can see several days ahead (6) below freezing starting Monday. The pattern this season has shown when the western states are active the Plains become active also. Even drags down arctic air behind systems.

03/01/2023 5:50 pm: Cold day our high temp came in at 1:43 am last night 33° with the temperature hovering in the mid 20s all day.

Here are the monthly summaries and departures. from normal for January and February at the NE Valentine location. Temperature departure was (-2.2°) for February and precip (+.09"). All but (.01") moisture came in the 8" snowfall so it was a dry month with the exception of the one snow.

02/28/2023 7:20 am: SW breeze kicked in so warmed up 34° and light snow, big flakes actually. Just starting to turn the pavement white.

Meteorological winter ends today. Chance of some snow showers this morning as shown on radar to our west. The Thedford radar is down so have Rapid City up, Valentine is on the outer edge of radar coverage.

02/27/2023 7:45 pm: Might get some snow tomorrow starting around the 7-8 am hour. Here's the latest RAP run. Did not clear the snow stake but the measuring board is clear. The forecast has 20% chance tonight 30% tomorrow.

6: pm: Good melting again today with the warm overnight low start, sunshine and wind it really cut into the snowpack with bare spots appearing especially around heat-retaining structures and south-facing slopes.

We made it to 50° yesterday here on the NE side of town. Drove up from North Platte yesterday afternoon the snowpack varied with the heaviest starting around the highway sign Valentine 16 miles. The melting continued with the snowpack reduced another 1.5".

02/26/2023 6:50 am: Mid to upper 40s today, tonight a wind with gusts to 45 mph, tomorrow, Monday a NW wind with gusts to 45 mph and cooler with a high in the upper 30s. Last night our overnight low temps 14° here and 12° at Miller Field. Currently 14° in NE Valentine if they change will update.

02/25/2023 4:45 pm: Love how fast fresh snow melts with 40° plus temps. Melted off 3 inches so far. This snow didn't get a chance to compact and ice over so melting fast. The old snow will still be stubborn to melt.

Updated: Morning visitors. Yesterday we got to 13° for a high temperature, today will be much warmer low 40s. Low temps came in early last night before the south wind kicked in. (12°) at midnight and (9°) at Miller Field. Already in the mid-20s here in NE Valentine, almost like a heat wave compared to the last few days. All this snow and cold will be just a memory in a few months. At (60 inches) it's the most snow recorded since the station started in 2014. The previous high was 2018-2019 at (55"). That was the year we had a blizzard in March and April. The thing about those snows it melted in a few days so not that memorable. Everyone will remember 2022-2023 for a long time because of the time of year the heavy snow came starting mid Dec. through Feb. The way this season has gone 80" is within reach. To set a all-time record it would need to exceed around 92" so another 33".

Northern Arizona where I moved from has had a wet season also. Similar to what occurred back in the 70s and 80s. Flagstaff is already 108" and it snows until almost June due to the elevation 7,000 feet. Flagstaff population 80k+ averages around 94" so it could be worse. The difference is it melts fast. Valentine gets much hotter at times summer months and has much colder winters with the continental climate and arctic air tap at times. Here's the place in Northern Arizona where I hung out occasionally grabbing a burger, snacks and gas while chasing monster mulies during August and September bow hunt on the North Kaibab, called Jacob Lake. Also high elevation 8,000 feet.

02/24/2023 5:20 am: As forecast clouds moved in overnight. The low temperatures so far (-12°) NE location, and (-14°) at Miller Field. Also (-12°) on the NE Tempest station. Currently, we have warmed to (-5°) at the northeast station. Looking at the satellite a slight chance of clearing off before sunrise. Will update later if low temps do change.

Something worth sharing and why I mention before a snow storm best to wait for a manual snowmelt due to the heated tipping bucket evaporation issue. On this last storm here is the difference. Both are 8" diameter gauges the tipping bucket recorded moisture total (.49") while the manual standard rain gauge (SRG) recorded (.69") so a 40% error between the actual and the heated tipping bucket. The model being used is Texas Electronics TR-525USW with the heater option. It was a very cold storm hanging around zero throughout.

02/23/2023 The high temperature stayed just below zero at (-0.1°) today. The forecast has clouds moving in tonight preventing temps from reaching negative 20s.

Winter view of NE Valentine weather station Image

Final low northeast Valentine (-11.5°) Wind Chill (-35°) @ 5:50 am. Storm total new snow (8.3") with (.69") moisture. Sitting at 60" of snowfall this season. Update: The low reported at the NW Valentine location was also (-11.5°). (Miller Field (-11.2°). The Tempest stations reported (-11.2°) NE and (-10.8°) Southside.

Picked up another .04" in the 8" dia. gauge overnight (.69") storm moisture total. The Seasonal Snow Report page has been updated. Amazing how close some models were on moisture, several models were right around (.7") moisture early on even. The snowfall ratio was the unanswered question, we came in at (12:1) storm average here.

02/22/2023 11:50 pm: Final daily snowmelt measurement (.60") + (.05") yesterday. Storm total so far (.65") moisture and (7.9") of new snow. It's still snowing lightly.

4 am: Just finished doing a snow melt primarily to see how the tipping bucket was doing and came up with (.13") vs (.10") on the tipping bucket. Adjusted the website. Accumulation on the snow measuring board is under an inch so doesn't reflect what the melt is. The NE wind is apparently blowing the fine snow off the flat snowboard surface. May end up measuring directly off the ground if the snow measuring board won't hold the fresh snow. Never really had a cold storm like this with fine powder and 3° air temperature.

02/21/2023 7:pm The colder air is about 2 hours ahead of the RAP, HRRR schedule. 23° at 7:pm and should be 30° so don't know if that pushes everything ahead or not.

5: pm: Latest RAP using kuchera ratio 11-12" . Same as the snowfall potential map. Saw a bunch of snowplows getting ready this afternoon.

02/20/2023 3:20 pm: The NWS has issued a "...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM CST /5 PM MST/ TUESDAY TO 6 AM CST /5 AM MST/ THURSDAY...". For the rest of today radar is showing shower activity to the west so have a 20% chance of some light rain/snow moving through.

6:00 am: The NWS has updated the Snowfall potential page: LINK High temps reaching mid to upper 40s today and tomorrow. Tomorrow night is when it gets going 70% chance and then 90 to 100% Wednesday through early Thursday. This may be 12:1, 14:1 or higher water ratio due to the arctic air mixing in while it snows so a fluffy snow which blows around easily. Also means the automatic heated tipping bucket rain gauge will struggle (not keep up) with evaporation so best to wait for a manual snowmelt measurement and website adjustment.

02/19/20232:15 pm: Getting some large snowflakes but melting at 36°. The NWS issued a "Winter Storm Watch" for all of Cherry and surrounding counties for the midweek snowstorm. 6-12" of snowfall is possible and accompanied by the arctic air. This will be a fast hitter and not linger like the last arctic air bouncing back by the weekend. The snowfall will take longer to melt but we are gaining 2:45 of light every day with a higher sun angle.

02/18/2023 7:10 am: Our low temperature so far this morning has been 15° both here and at Miller Field. I'll update later if they change. Yesterday's high temps were 43° here and 40° at Miller Field.

At midnight models look about the same between .6 and .9 tenths of moisture mid-week for Valentine. Using the 10:1 ratio, ( 6-9" ) of snow but it could be higher with the arctic air. Enjoy these next few days because it could get nasty again. Models are still saying around (-20°) is possible so just as cold as the December storm. How cold it gets depends on whether it clears off or not. Less likely to see -20° if it stays cloudy.

02/17/2023 The North Platte NWS office put out the 2023 winter edition of The High Plains Drifter. I find it a good read course it's right up my alley.

Something that could help promote tourism would be a live web camera to show off the new downtown area. I know people watch webcams and feel like they become part of the community and will eventually visit the area. Also would be added security for the city Police plus help out the NWS and road departments, live streams are better than still images. Jackson Wyoming Town Square is probably the most famous, used to have it up in the control room watching on graveyard shifts going back to around 2010. They have 3 streaming webcams now, here is another. The city of Valentine already has a website that could host the camera. But a better option would be one of the professional live webcam companies like On Sight a local Mitchell SD company. They do the installation and monitor the camera for issues and it doesn't sound that expensive between 1.4K and 4k for their best camera and system installed. If you watch Keloland when they do the weather segment many of the On Sight cameras are shown including Winner SD.

12:15 pm: Final lows this morning (7°) NE and (7°) at Miller Field. The Weather Flow Tempest station also NE Valentine reached 6° . You can see it in the SW camera near the fence and street. Not a great location but wanted the NW wind exposure. Looks like highs mainly 40s over the next 4 days in front of a vigorous and large winter storm. Temperatures are looking to get very cold with good snow chances. Amounts are still undetermined with SD likely receiving the highest snow totals but Valentine isn't out of the woods yet. Last night the ECM spread out and included Valentine in the 8" range but that could change again.

02/16/2023 12:45 pm: Updated Final Lows this morning (7°) here in NE Valentine, and (5°) at Miller Field. Noticed this morning while doing the COCORAHS snowpack measurement we have little specks of dirt in the snow which will help the melting process. That dirt blew in with our Valentine's Day windstorm.

02/15/2023 This is interesting, next week 10" of snow and about (-15°) below zero. This is the ECM so not the run of the mill model. Something to watch as we get closer, the models will adjust for sure. No matter how much snow it looks like quite the blast of arctic cold next week. The winter that keeps on giving.

The peak wind gusts yesterday 52 mph NW at 11:47 pm and today 48 mph NW at 12:27 am. The temperature this early morning is 14° and spitting light snowflakes with no accumulation. A cold day ahead with our high near 21° then a warmup starting Friday with mid-40s and over the weekend. Next week looks like another cold storm with snow chances brewing.

Here is some good news the NWS radar GIF loop is back with city locations. Not sure when locations were added back on, just noticed this morning. I may leave the GRLevel 3 radar still image up also because of its zoom ability for local communities so you don't have to guess. The last image on GIF loop when it stops is the current GR3 radar still image.

02/13/2023 3:pm: 8° warmer on the northeast side of town vs the airport side. The south Tempest station near the airport is running much cooler too currently 43° while 51° on the northeast side Tempest. The snowpack is the only thing different so likely the main influence. The northwest side including the radio station thermometer downtown are similar to the northeast side while a mile further south it runs several degrees cooler. Seems there is a SW wind much of the time when most noticeable.

02/12/2023 February so far has been dry, another chance of moisture Tuesday night and Wednesday but not expecting much again. Today Super Bowl Sunday mid-40s and Monday low 50s so should reduce the snowpack for sure. If fresh snow it would melt fast but being compacted and freezes over nightly the melting progress is slowed. Here is the front yard today. As the sun angle gets higher it's more intense so hopefully we see more melting soon.

Yesterday was a nice day for the Bull Bash.

02/10/2023 12:05 pm: The low this morning (9°) here in NE Valentine, NW Valentine reported (10°), and the cold spot (1°) at Miller Field. Gordon was (-1°) for the state low.

02/09/2023 Snowmelt in the 8" dia. rain gauge (.01") today. Updated seasonal snow report page. We did have a couple flurries enough to make the streets white and melted off.

9:15 am: Light snow, occasionally heavier still not showing on radar, the streets are white. Still not enough to tip the rain gauge tipper (.01").

We have a chance of snow showers today with gusty winds, nothing heavy is expected with accumulations of less than 1/2". Back into the 40s starting Saturday for Bull Bash and near 50° on Monday before another cooldown Wednesday with snow shower chances once again. Rather tranquil actually for this time of year and we still haven't received any moisture this February. Today may end that if we do pick up some light snow. Don't think the snowpack will blow around being iced over but any fresh snow could.

02/07/2023 Final highs yesterday (41°) -NE, (40°)-Miller Field. The snowpack is slow to melt, it didn't really move at all yesterday even with the 40° high temperature, early morning still measuring 8-9" here in northeast Valentine. The snow being no longer fresh has completely settled and compacted, then ice's over at night which seems to have slowed the melting progress. It may take temperatures warmer than 40° for an hour in the afternoon to melt what's remaining. I'll clear the snow stake before Thursday. Models are hinting at something bigger on the 15th and 16th.

02/06/2023 A beautiful winter day yesterday our high temperatures 43° here and 42° at Miller Field. The forecast says snow shower chances on Thursday. We have a very warm morning start, (29°) currently our average low this time of year is around 12°. Heard on the radio the other day someone saying the frost level wasn't very deep in areas with the heavy snowpack acting like a blanket giving the vegetation including lawns a good jump start this spring. Makes sense, last winter was so dry we had areas where lawns actually burned and died. BTW started seeing geese again yesterday so they are back.

02/04/2023 5:15 pm: We reached 43° both here and at Miller Field today. This upcoming week looks like changes starting Thursday with chances of snow showers in the forecast.

02/03/2023 5:20 pm: Northeast Valentine High (41°) Low (3°), Miller Field High (39°) Low (-1°). Felt good with the sunshine today. Main roads around town are mostly clear with the less traveled side roads mostly covered but a couple more 40° days should change that especially if it doesn't start out near zero the melting process will start much earlier in the day.

It got down to (0°) at the airport, (0.5°) here in northeast Valentine before midnight yesterday. A warm front pushes through today with upper 30s expected. It could be much warmer without the snowpack. Upper 30s and lower 40s over the 7-day forecast with no precip mention yet. This will clear roads and rooftops of snow while reducing the total snowpack.

02/02/2023 4:00 pm: A cold 9-10° in Valentine. The website went down this afternoon, was getting a server-side error 503 so-called GoDaddy tech support and after about 25 minutes of not finding any issues they finally rebooted the server the website was on and it's working again. Some kind of server issue hopefully it doesn't become a problem. They also scanned for viruses and said the website was clean with nothing malicious running.

9:35 am: Seeing a few snow flakes, there is an area of green radar returns in South Dakota. It looks like most will slide east of Valentine. I can put the radar in motion but can't put the motion on the website unfortunately. The interactive radar does show motion under external links. The temperature is currently down to 14°.

Had a couple of requests to continue the event diary/blog. Something worth adding was the NWS Summary where this January stood historically for Valentine: The summary is HERE. For Valentine, it was not only the wettest January but also the snowiest on record. All time it comes in as the 6th snowiest month so it's been worse, or better if you enjoy snow. Arctic air arrives today but it's short-lived recovering to the upper 30s tomorrow and a few low 40s in the extended so should get decent melting over the coming week. If it starts melting too fast with the frozen ground it could cause low spots to start pooling so not seeing 50s right away may be good.

02/01/2023 5:30 am: It's been down to 0° at the airport. So far 4° here at the northeast location. Will update the final low temps later if they change. The Miller Field final low doesn't get reported until noon much of the time due to the fact it occurs around sunrise many times. FYI the NWS reports highs and lows every 6 hours so if it occurs after 6 am the next update is noon.

A slight change in the forecast with this backdoor cold front expected Thursday now a chance of snow showers. The upper 30s to 40° are still expected over the weekend and even beyond with a warmish zonal flow. The deep snow will temper the daytime highs until it melts down further. TV forecasters mentioned yesterday, Rapid City had missed out on much of the snow so their highs were expected to reach 50° Friday and Saturday.

The climate summary for northeast Valentine and the month of January HERE . It may not have been as cold as expected (-1.7°), with the daytime average high just below freezing but nighttime lows were a little above normal in NE Valentine primarily because of all the cloud cover and snow events. Something different this winter not seeing geese flying around like previous so take it they decided to winter further south. Did see a flock of robins just a couple of days ago while it was snowing maybe 50 or more in a cedar tree.

01/31/2023 The forecast high is 32° tomorrow. Thursday another backdoor short lived shot of arctic air with only 23° but Friday and the weekend are still looking good around 40° so we should see some melting at least on the roads. We are gaining about 2 minutes of sunshine each day and the sun angle is getting higher which also helps with melting the snow and ice. The high temp was 19.5° here in NE Valentine and it looks like about 17.6° at Miller Field.

9:30 am: A large temperature difference across town currently (-7°) at the south Tempest (-1°) here in NE Valentine. Miller Field (-8°). Been noticing this often with the deep snowpack. The South Tempest was (-14°) for a low this morning , Miller Field also (-14°), and (-9°) here in NE Valentine. I guess this is the banana belt above the canyons.

01/30/2023 (-16.1°) for the Miller Field low. (-12°) here in NE Valentine and the same at the NW Valentine location near the Catholic church. Good news no precip for the rest of the week and warming to about 39° starting Friday and over the weekend.

01/29/2023 Our high today was only 4° with a morning low of -4° here in northeast Valentine. Miller Field's... High 4°, Low -3°. Whats saving our bacon tonight will be cloud cover.

7:40 am: It warmed up a little since last night. The storm total 5.2" snow (.38") moisture. Cleared the snow measuring board. Currently -1°. The snow started out wet 10:1 and changed to about 20:1 plus. I had to add (.05") to website to adjust to the 8-inch official size rain gauge. When it's this cold and the snow this dry the tipping bucket doesn't perform very well. Much of the moisture will evaporate before it gets measured. Just the nature of the beast. We are at 2.40" moisture on the month which is a staggering number all falling in the form of snow, (27.8") at this location. I don't know where all this moisture is going with the ground frozen. Be careful walking around the black ice can sure fool you.

01/28/2023 Update plus 1.7 from 7:am so 5.0 inches total 11:45 pm. The temperature is below zero (-3) currently. Updated the seasonal total.

6 am: With the arctic air moving in temperatures will fall steadily throughout the rest of the day approaching near zero around midnight and continuing below into Sunday morning. Last check 2 am, we had (3.2") of new snow measured on the snow measuring board. It has started snowing again. I'll be doing another snow measurement around 7 am for Cocorahs and update Snow Report page . At that time the measuring board gets cleared for a fresh start.

01/27/2023 6:30 pm: Light snow has started. Looking at the hourly RAP it's giving us about (4.5") if (10:1 ratio) tomorrow at 2 pm. Linked HERE . It updates hourly, use the drop-down menu for the latest run.

This morning eastern Cherry County has a WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM CST /5 PM MST/ THIS EVENING TO 6 PM CST /5 PM MST/ SATURDAY... Looking at the RAP this morning, Valentine is on the edge around 2", but any wobble could change to more or less. Not all models are in agreement some still around 5-7" like the GFS. This is just my thought, leaning toward the RAP solution so will watch how it evolves today. Since midnight we picked up (.01"). It may have been in the form of rain looking at the upper 30s and wind last night, even melted the snow stake down. It was at 1" around 9 pm last night now just a trace.

01/26/2023 6:15 pm: Snow squall picked up (0.6") of an inch.

WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM FRIDAY EVENING THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON for eastern Cherry county. The snowfall potential map linked has also been updated. (4.6") likely Valentine and as much as (8"). At the bottom of page is a link directly to North Platte FCO with more options to look at. Update: Snowmelt (.05") and measured (Cocorahs) 1-inch of light fluffy snow so a (20:1) ratio. Updated the seasonal snowfall page for this location. 22" for January and 45.8" for the season and we haven't got into our highest snowfall months yet.

01/25/2023 8:45 pm: Picked up new snow. I'll leave the snow stake camera up tonight.

10:20:am: Getting some light snow falling on the northeast side. Visibility has dropped, nothing on radar right now but getting blue sky occasionally with flurries. Cracks are filling in.

01/24/2023 4:00 pm: Our afternoon high has been 35.6° so far. Miller Field reached a low of (11°) this morning and only (18°) here in northeast Valentine where the wind was keeping a mix going.

01/23/2023 6:am: Dipped down to 9° before clouds and wind rolled in overnight. The temp is shooting up now 31° with the wind mixing the cold air out. The high temp today will be near freezing. Looks like we will end January with a shot of arctic cold making sure our deep snowpack doesn't melt anytime soon. We may even pick up several more inches before the month is over. What a winter we are having and it came on the heels of a severe drought. The deep persistent snowpack will continue to influence temperatures.

01/22/2023 Miller Field's overnight low reached below zero (-2°), here at the northeast station location (3°), NW Valentine location near Catholic Church (4°). Afternoon models show more are getting onboard for next weekend snow potential with arctic air, always fun.

6:45 am: Single digit morning with (5°) here and close to (1°) out at Miller Field. I'll update the final lows later which could occur closer to sunrise. The models are back onto chances of snow this upcoming weekend in the 1-5" range with arctic air. But nothing for certain with the exception of arctic air arrival.

01/21/2023 Highs and lows today, Airport... H-33, L-18° ditto NE Valentine... H-33°, L-18°. That's 2-days in a row. The low temp could change if we get below 18° before midnight. Models in the afternoon backed off on the snow next weekend but it's still early.

01/20/2023 Final numbers today Airport... H-31, L-7° ditto NE Valentine... H-31°, L-7°. For the record what it looked like over at Miller field today IMAGE

Single digit lows this morning with a light wind and a clear sky. Looking at the 7-day high temps at or below freezing with low temps in the teens and single digits. A slight chance of precip Monday, the ECM is saying something is in the making Thursday and beyond. IMAGE ... BTW the Mapclick forecast is hanging up this morning slowing website down. Currently completely down nationwide.

01/18/2023 9:00 pm: Update picked up another 1.5" since 5:15 pm, the daily total is now at (7") of new snowfall. The snow stake has had some settling and just shy of 7" currently and why the measuring board was cleared at 5:15 pm, settling just naturally occurs after 12 hours.

The airport set a record in precip (.54") but is only reporting (3") of snowfall, maybe not the final report however. Currently still snowing we can expect another 2-4" per the forecast.

7:20 am: Here we go again. The snowfall potential map was updated overnight. The website precip (heated tipping bucket) with snowfall isn't always accurate so best to wait for a manual snowmelt measurement. The colder it is the more the tipping bucket evaporates. It's most accurate with warmer temperatures and today's not one of them 22°. I'll update the website to match and mention when done in the weather diary here.

01/17/2023 5:10 pm: The NWS updated the snowfall potential map, Valentine (8.4"). The Winter Storm Warning was expanded to cover all of Cherry county now.

The eastern side of Cherry county is under a "Winter Storm Warning" primarily to cover the SE section which could see heavy snow. The snowfall potential map shows the divider line. Valentine is in that cutoff area from heavy snow to the south and no snow going north landing around 4.8". Models this morning are in pretty good agreement with the ECM and GFS around 4" and the highest amount German Icon at 6". So the (4-6") range for Valentine. Keeping fingers crossed for a wobble south myself, I know this has burdened many especially the elderly seeking snow removal and city crews. Interior roads are just now getting better. FYI removed the airport conditions icon this morning it wasn't loading and slowing website down. Try it again later today.

01/16/2023 3:30 pm: Getting some light snow.

1:05 pm: The NWS has issued a winter storm watch for the area " TUESDAY EVENING THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING". Cleared the snow stake board so good for new snowfall only. It wasn't accurate anyway with the sun heating the metal stake.

12:25 pm: The snowfall potential map has been updated by the NWS. Here are the latest model runs at the noon hour, Euro ECM , Canadian GEM and finally American GFS keeping Valentine mostly dry. The German Icon no image is similar to the ECM (7-8") for Valentine. Fingers crossed the GFS wins.

Overnight (.01") was picked up in rainfall NE Valentine. (.02) at Miller Field was reported. FYI several models are bringing the midweek snowstorm north into our area. Models . As you can see the GFS is the outlier. Right now the forecast is uncertain with a 60% chance. Normally these southern Rocky storms track more to our south is the issue. But this hasn't been a normal year and with several main models bringing it north leaves uncertainty.

01/15/2023 12:50 pm: The ECM is now bringing the powerful southern Rockies storm north through Nebraska. IMAGE Not as far north as the GEM Image but with each run it's getting closer. The GFS still tracks the storm south through Kansas so models are in disagreement.

Linked one of the webcams to Windy.com so added to External link Menu-Bar. It's a fast easy way to view numerous webcams and easy to maneuver. If missing any cameras try to zoom in with mouse scroll button for more cameras.

6:00 am: Turned on the snow stake light this morning. We are down to about 4" on the snowpack level not counting the 4-5 foot deep abundance of drifts here on the northeast side of Valentine. The neighbor's lab can just hop over the 6' fence if wanted to. The 52° yesterday heated the metal stake up melting around it. We do have a 70% chance of precip mix tonight possibly rain changing over to snow with a potential inch or less. The bigger vigorous storm moving through the southern Rockies has shown a more northerly track but should still stay mainly south of the area. However, there are a couple models this morning bringing it into the area GEM and even Icon. That may change later however it's still a little early.

Added a link to the local AM radio station under (External Links) menu bar (KVSH) radio since they use and mention the website and have for several years.

01/14/2023 Highs today 51.5° northeast Valentine, Miller Field reached 48° today. With the snowpack, we are getting larger temperature differentials across town recently, today almost 4°.

6:50 am: Warm start for mid-January, only 34° currently. Our high temperature is forecast at 44° so more melting for sure today. Our forecast has a 50% chance of snow Monday. The snowfall potential map has been updated (0.6") for Valentine likely with 1" potential. The big vigorous storm later in the week is expected to pass mainly south of Interstate 80 but things could change as it gets closer.

01/13/2023 10:30 am: Final lows were 5° northeast Valentine, Miller Field also was 5° @6:55 am, not official yet, NW Valentine near Catholic church reported 6°. Other thermometers around Valentine Tempest southside 4° and the Tempest NE Valentine 5°.

5:45 am: Dense ice fog started late yesterday afternoon and ended about 1:am this morning. Single digits currently 7° NE Valentine and Miller Field this morning. A couple models ECM (.16") and German Icon (.28") are saying 1-3 inches of snow could fall this Monday. Other models are not onboard yet. The big storm expected later next week should pass mainly south through Kansas where they need the moisture. Fingers crossed we need a break our interior city streets and many parking lots are still mostly covered.

01/12/2023 5:30 pm: The NWS issued a dense fog advisory for tonight starting at midnight. It's very dense currently under 1/10 of a mile. The cameras really clean the fog. They do the same with snowfall unfortunately. Temps today H-27°, L-21°. Miller Field H-28°, L-21°. Final lows likely to change prior to midnight.

10:25 am: Trees are covered in hoarfrost this morning. Can still see a little fog on the hills at this hour.

01/11/2023 Miller Field low was 14°, 18° here in NE Valentine. Our high today will be near the freezing mark.

01/10/2023 4:40 pm: Our slight chance of snow showers tomorrow was removed but a potent cold front does move through best chances of snow west and SW. The weekend looks uneventful but a mention once again Sunday night and Monday for snow showers.

01/09/2023 Highs and lows today.. Miller Field H-41°, L-23°, NE Valentine H-41°, L-26°. We melted about 2" of snow today.

01/08/2023 5:25 pm: The final highs and lows this Sunday with light wind and a sunny sky, northeast Valentine 34°-4°, Miller Field 31°-7°.

01/07/2023 6:30 am: Starting out cloudy and well above normal this morning with no wind. The high-temperature today is forecast at 33°. Our daily low temp may occur later tonight toward midnight. With a mild zonal west-to-east flow the only thing preventing high temps from reaching the 40s this week is the snowpack. Our snowpack depth is around 9" in northeast Valentine this morning. This doesn't count the numerous blizzard drifts from December. You could add another inch or two for the deep drifts if spread out.

01/06/2023 11:25 pm: Highs today Miller Field 21°, NE Valentine 22°. Clouds are thicker tonight with fog development possible.

Final lows Miller Field 0°, northeast Valentine 2°, NW Valentine 4°. At 11 am it's still 10° at the airport.

Good morning, It's hanging around 0 to 3° early morning with no wind and a mostly clear sky without any arctic air but the deep snowpack is still dominant and in place with little melting yesterday, so the forecast high 24° same as yesterday.

01/05/2023 Update almost reached 0° at the airport ( 1°) was the official low around 23:20 pm. (3.8°) here in NE Valentine around the same time. Clouds have thickened and may prevent further cooling tonight.

10 pm: Down to 5° northeast Valentine, 7° at the airport. It's been down to 5° at the airport also. We do have some high clouds but not very thick.

6:25 pm: Update: The airport may reach zero before clouds move in after all. It's already down to 7° at 6:25 pm. I've seen this happen before with deep snow it can get really cold fast at the airport location.

Highs today didn't reach what was expected due to the deep snowpack. Only 24° at the airport and 28° here while NW Valentine only reached 25°. What's going to keep temps from reaching zero tonight are high clouds expected to move in after sunset. The snow depth didn't decrease much today either. Most of the natural post storm settling has occurred so it needs to melt down now.

10:40 am: The airport has a cold air inversion going on. Only 10° so a pocket of cold air is trapped near the surface. It should mix out soon.

It's beautiful with the deep snowpack, here is a photo someone posted on FB from Valentine. Image

8:55 am: Final lows across town this morning, 5° at the airport, 9° here in NE Valentine, 8° at the NW Valentine location. The snowpack is around 10" at this location. The airport low is not official yet.

5:00 am: We still have a wind blowing in NE Valentine west at 13 with gusts reaching the low 20 mph range preventing the thermometer from bottoming currently 16°. The snowpack will hold temps in low 30s for highs today which is 5-8° cooler than without snow. One of the cameras stopped working overnight it may start later today as it warms, it's the first and oldest camera looking west.

01/04/2023 7:20 am: You can see a little patchy fog developing, not everywhere just pockets. If one of the cameras or radar isn't showing on the front page all are available on the 3rd tab down left side. Also available under the "external links" if you prefer radar loops try the "Interactive Radar" tab. Enable mouse so you can move around. Here's a image of front side of house today. We've already lost several inches from settling. The snow stake will melt fast around it because it's made of metal and painted black. FYI the website aspirated air temperature and automatic tipping bucket rain gauge are located above the snow stake cam and out of the way of the sprinkler system during the summer months.

01/03/2023 The storm snow total for this location was (13.0"). You can also visit the Snow Report page linked on the left side it has been updated. (36.8") so far this winter. Having big snows in December and January are unusual but not unheard of. Normally the bigger snows hit during the spring months only sticking around a few days.

My neighbor (south) clearing the front drive. Thanks so much, Ryan. We're running out of places to put the snow. The blizzard we had in December blew the back side where the weather instruments are located down to 2" deep creating 6-foot snow drifts this storm had much less wind and a more level snowfall.

8:15 am: KVSH radio just announced the Department of Transportation closed all Cherry County roads due to difficulty keeping open. The wind has picked up today blowing snow around.

7:55 am: Since the snow continues put the snow stake cam back on front page. There has been at least 1" of settling so add a minimum of 1-inch, possibly 2" to the stake total if interested in how much snow has fallen. Moderate snow this morning, if the water tanks on the WNW camera aren't visible on the hill we are under 1/2 mile visibility.

6:25 am: As of 6 am measured snowfall from this storm (11.6"), Moisture content (1.05"). The snow stake represents storm total after settling here in NE Valentine.

01/02/2023 9:45 pm: Did the last snowboard measurement today, (10.8"), and still snowing. We could get another 5-8" before it's over Tuesday sometime. Didn't do the snowmelt but will in the morning and adjust the website. As it gets colder the heated tipping bucket gets behind and we are down to 25° currently. Turned off the snow stake spotlight you can't see the snow falling but the IR is much clearer for reading the snow stake. Click the image twice for full size.

4:10 pm: We are getting very light freezing mist now at 28°, snow is currently very light so went out to sweep off the measuring board when the mist was noticed. The measuring board gets cleared every 12 hours because of settling.

3:20 pm: Snowboard measurement 5.5" snowmelt (.52"). The snow stake is close to actual.

5 am: A Major Winter Storm snow event is just getting started. The heaviest snow will occur tonight on top of what we get today. Looked at different models this morning the largest amount I could find called "The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model" shows Valentine at around 20", here's the Link. Increased the upload time to 60 seconds (night only) on the snow stake cam due to falling snow streaks blocking lens at times. Refresh manually for a new image. The Snowfall potential page was updated. For more info at the bottom of the page is a link to the North Platte Forecast office winter weather page. The automatic rain gauge and heated tipping bucket looks like it may be keeping up this morning but as temperatures drop it will fall behind. For accurate moisture, best to wait for manual snowmelt checks.

01/01/2023 Final northeast Valentine numbers including departures for 2022 can be viewed here.

12/31/2022 4:20 pm: Looks like the airport ASOS hasn't reported since this morning, the website condition icon comes off the ASOS so turned it off for now.

The heated tipping bucket gauge for snow isn't that accurate, wait for a manual snowmelt and adjustment. The heated gauge works for heavy wet snows but once the temperature drops below about 25° it falls behind and the colder it gets the worse.

Last day of 2022. The big weather story was the severe drought followed by the December blizzard. For this upcoming winter storm the NWS snowfall potential for Valentine, Likely amount - 7", High end - 13", and Low end - 4". Sounds about right maybe a little low on likely but considering some precip could fall as a mix lowers the total. The GFS still has a more northerly track which would favor the 4" low-end amount. The ECM run this morning has us at 14" which would be on the high end. Here is a look at total moisture this morning as you can see the ECMWF (European) is really wet (1.4"). The GEM (Canadian) is over an inch too. Total moisture .

12/30/2022 The NWS issued a Winter Storm Watch for a large portion of western Nebraska. Watch for updates over the weekend as this major winter storm evolves.

1:15 pm: Here is a look at the latest medium range model runs the ECM adjusted further north and now the same as several others. Subject to change but what it looks like Friday afternoon. Lots of model consistency (deep snow) at least for this area. There is another model German Icon also saying around 12", Pivotal doesn't carry that model so don't have an image. Unusual to get 2-big snow dumps so close together, even in the same winter season. Makes watching the weather interesting for sure. ECMWF (European), (Canadian), (UK), GFS (American).

We picked up two-tenths of an inch of snow yesterday measured on the snowboard with snowmelt (.02"). The Seasonal snow report page was also adjusted. (20.3") snowfall for December.

A look at models this morning for the upcoming storm still no consensus but the ECM is starting to move north slightly. Valentine looks to be in the 7-12" snowfall range for most with the least amount the GFS 3.6" but it's an outlier taking the stormtrack further north. Here is what the NWS put out for the area most likely. Image

12/29/2022 4:25 pm: Getting snow in northeast Valentine.

2:45 pm: Made a short video on the way home typical of what most interior roads around Valentine look like 8 days after the blizzard. Video

We didn't freeze yesterday, this zonal warm flow is responsible. Yesterday the high temp came in at 47° both here and airport. This upcoming storm Jan 1-3, is another big one and like the last expected to tap into Gulf moisture. Pinning down location for heaviest snow is the issue this far out. Several models have a similar track of the last one. No arctic air on the heels this time so shouldn't have another 3-day plus blizzard. That last storm will be remembered for a long time. (The perfect winter storm)

12/28/2022 7 am: Today temperatures not expected to move much. Final high temps yesterday 47° Miller Field, 49° northeast Valentine. There is a slight chance of snow tonight then the focus turns on the New Year with several inches of snow possible. Models still differ where the heaviest snowfall occurs with the ECM taking a southerly track hitting most of Nebraska and the GFS and Canadian more northerly. Streets around town turned to slush with the warm temperatures, and some of the more traveled got partially cleared off yesterday.

12/26/2022 Low this morning (-2°), the wind chill reached -20° last night. This arctic air will move out tonight warming on a southerly wind, tomorrow's high will reach around 46°.

12/25/2022 12:13 pm: Getting some light sprinkles, 38°. NW wind 17, gusts to 27 mph. Many I'm sure remember the thunderstorm we had several years back (2016) on Christmas day, it was very loud with cracks of lightning and a downpour (.54") of rain.

Merry Christmas everyone, Santa had no problems last night. High clouds once again overnight with lows this morning staying above zero, 4°. It's gonna feel like a heat wave today with around 41° expected. We have a fast-moving clipper moving through tonight so winds pick back up this afternoon out of the NW 15-25 mph gusting to 35. Drove around last night looking at Christmas lights, very beautiful with the deep snow. The street here with the cameras is one of the few, not 100% snow covered due to the wind swept location.

12/24/2022 The wind did get light overnight but it clouded up preventing any good radiational cooling. The overnight low was (-9°), (-11°) at Miller Field. Looks like with the exception of Monday next week temps will be warmer than normal low to mid 40s° through Wednesday. We do have a deep snowpack impacting how much warming will occur until it gets melted down. The 4-6 foot snowdrifts will stay around until spring with areas where wind-prevented buildup melting off much sooner.

12/23/2022 5:30 pm: The afternoon high with sunny conditions only managed (-0.2°) here in northeast Valentine. The wind chill did manage to reach into the -17 range for about an hour this afternoon before dropping back below -20°. The wind should get light after midnight so will be interesting what the thermometer does.

Looks like the lowest max record for December 22nd was set yesterday (airport) with (-9°). The info I have says the old low/max was (-6°) in 1983. Here is the the 3-previous low maximums for Dec. 22nd. For today we won't set any record but may come in 2nd or 3rd coldest.

5:35 am: The stars are out this morning and -7.6° currently, also at Miller Field. The wind is 26 mph, gusts to 37 but not seeing the blowing snow with all the fresh powder being displaced somewhere else.

Looking at this station's mean temperatures going back to station start 2014, this Dec. will rank as the 2nd or 3rd coldest month running around -10° below average. Here is what all months look like Image. Also linked under the Summary tab. For more on departure from normal (average) look at the NOAA Reports page. At midnight we were (-9.5°) behind on the month of December. This is northeast Valentine compared to the historical average not the airport.

12/22/2022 8:10 am: The wind is still howling with 31 mph sustained, gusts low 40s, and the WC -38°. What's odd the airport has much less wind, was even down in the teens for a while.

1:35 pm: Conditions have deteriorated with visibility well under 1/4 mile. -12° with a (-41°) wind chill.

11:45 am: Snow plows have been pulled off Cherry County roads due to low visibility. The house across the field (.14) mile (WNW camera) is not easy to see. The snow that fell yesterday was like powder so moves easily. (.08") moisture in 2" of snow.

6:40 am: We've warmed up from our overnight low of (-19.5°) currently (-17.6°). Miller Field got down to (-18.9°). The Lowest wind chills have been (-50°) NE and (-51°) airport. The forecast high -12° today, low -21° tonight, -6° high tomorrow, low -20°. Any wind will lower feels like temps drastically.

The wind chill has been down to (-50°) so far and is a station record. The Trends/Records page shows this. Currently, at 2:35 am it's (-19.3°) with a WC of (-48°) in northeast Valentine. Looks like Miller Field WC has been been down to -51° so far.

12/21/2022 7:30 pm: Final snow melt check and daily total (.08"). The Snow has almost stopped completely. Measured Less than (.01") since 6 pm. (1.8") of new snow on measuring board, (2.3") on the snow stake. HW 20 west and HW 83 south and north bound out of Valentine are closed for travel currently. The wind chill is -40° in northeast Valentine currently (-12°) air temp forecast to reach (-25°) by morning so the wind chill can get much lower.

4:55 pm: New Video snowflakes are larger, approaching two inches of new snow on the snow stake. The board was cleared off prior. The tipping bucket won't work correctly at these temperatures so I'll manually adjust the website to match snow catch.

4:15: NWS issued a "Snow Squall Warning". No travel advisories are also out for all roads leading in and out of Valentine. HW 20 is closed. Blizzard conditions are likely until mid-evening tonight when it clears out.

2:50 pm: Getting pretty heavy snow currently. The heated tipping bucket won't work with these cold temps so a manual measurement will be needed and website adjusted.

12:30 pm: Starting to see light snow and some reduced visibility. The two blue water tanks on the hill (WNW camera) are (.65) of a mile. Image . The house across the way is (.14) mile Image

10:20 am: It's here, NW wind and a drop of 5° in about a minute. Seeing blowing snow too. Oh and today is the official first day of winter based on the winter solstice the day when the sun at solar noon is the lowest in the sky, and the time from sunrise to sunset is the shortest of the year.. Meteorological winter started Dec 1st.

- Headline from NWS: "Dangerous winter weather is begins to arrive into the area today as an Arctic airmass brings a stretch of cold temperatures rivaling records from the 1980s." Recommend reading the Forecaster discussion for details.

The RAP model last night had zeroed in on Valentine again at about 8 pm but has backed off so less than an inch now of fluff is expected. (.05") in moisture could measure an inch of snow. The extreme cold wind chills are still expected. * "WHAT...For the Wind Chill Warning, dangerously cold wind chills. Wind chills falling to 45 to 55 below zero Thursday morning and 35 to 45 below zero Friday morning" *

Looking at models for high temps on Thursday the ECMWF (European) is saying -17° with the warmest GFS -9°. Image. Highways leading out of Valentine look like they are open again according to 511. Still fully covered in the Valentine area as are all the city streets. Trash pickup is also scheduled for today after missing last week. Alleys have been plowed.

12/20/2022 Updated final lows: No changes in the dangerously cold wind chill but models did back off on snowfall. We'll likely see some with a 70% chance of an inch or less. The snowfall potential map says (0.8") likely for Valentine. Christmas day actually looks nice with a slight chance of snow and 32° which will feel like a heat wave. Funny how we adapt to the cold, just the other day 20° and sunny felt pretty good.

Lows this morning,(-12°) here in northeast Valentine, the airport (-14°), the south side Tempest (-14°), and finally NW Valentine (-12°). If it wasn't for the thin layer of clouds this morning it would have got much colder. The wind was perfect almost calm for good radiational cooling but the clouds held the temps up. As cold as this upcoming Siberian air intrusion is, there is no mention of good radiational cooling opportunities so we may avoid negative -30s or even -40°. Wind chill is a different story with -50° possible.

12/19/2022 Here is the current Snow depth map.

From NWS forecast discussion:" -The harshest winter weather since 1983 appears to be heading toward Nebraska. Dangerous wind chill readings of -30F to -50F, strong winds, snow and blowing snow are likely this week." Our high now for Thursday is forecast at around -16°. If we do get snow Wednesday and it's looking likely now it will be the dry fluffy variety which likes to pile higher than wet snow.

12/18/2022 2:08 pm: Looks like some colder air just moved in from the NE with a (5°) drop in 5 minutes. We had reached 15° at the northeast location.

Low temps this morning (-4°) Miller Field and (-5°) here in northeast Valentine. NW Valentine location reported (-2°). This location is using the same type of air sensor Sensirion as NE main station in a good radiation shield.

Potential record cold windchill is still on schedule. Dangerously Cold (-50°) Thursday looks like the coldest day with the high near (-10°) and we may end up with a few more inches of snow starting Wednesday night into Thursday. Image. Should it snow with the cold air we are likely looking at a high inch-to-moisture ratio which could pile up with little moisture content. Just checked the snowpack all measurements are the same so most settling had finished the previous day and no melting occurred yesterday.

12/17/2022 Updated again: The best I can come up with due to the blizzard, snowfall totals look like this: 13th- 10.2", 14th-0.1", 15th-0.5", 16th-1.0" = 11.6" storm total. We already had 2" on the ground when this started. We've had a couple of inches of settling since yesterday so estimate around 12" currently rounded off to the nearest 1/2". Going forward it's a lot of estimation due to the deep snowdrifts. I should add the east side where snow stake, camera and weather instruments are located has little snow compared to the west side where it's measured in feet. The 12" snowpack is being conservative.

Our next snowfall looks like it will arrive Wednesday, hopefully only the 1-2" variety. I'll have the snow stake camera positioned back on the snow stake later today. A huge thank you goes out to everyone that has been working day and night dealing with the relentless wind and snow. This goes out to neighbors helping neighbors too. We still have days of digging out ahead, even getting alleyways open for trash pickup is going to take time. Up next is arctic cold something Valentine has dealt with many times but what's unusual this time will be the extended length of time and possible record cold.

Just a few images for the weather diary here in northeast Valentine Image.

This is what the back deck looks like Image.

12/16/2022 1:45 pm: Update: The Blizzard Warning was extended to 6 pm central. Almost another whiteout currently and the wind picked up with a 50 mph gust. The wind had calmed substantially 25 - 36 mph but it didn't last.

7:15 am: Getting new snow right now. Not just blowing snow. Low visibility, you can't see the blue water tank hill. (.66 of a mile) Image

The ground blizzard continues with a 52 mph peak gust overnight so far, with Miller Field coming in at 61 mph.

The blizzard warning has been extended by the NWS into late Friday afternoon Expires: Fri, 12/16 3:00pm. Arctic air is poised to move into the area early next week.

12/15/2022 1:35 pm: Getting reduced visibility just had a 64 mph gust of wind here. Miller field had a 63 mph gust and reports heavy snow. It's blowing snow with the sun peeking through.

6:30 am: Blizzard continues this morning, still getting 40-48 mph gusts this morning in northeast Valentine. Current WC -7° and 14° air temperature. The front door is pretty much socked in too so the garage will be the main entry and exit until this wind slows.

12/14/2022 9:30 am: Needed to go pick up packages I forgot to get at the cluster box yesterday. Don't even think of going on the roads without a 4x4 due to drifts that have already filled back in since the city plowed last night. You may need a little run to make it through some drifts.

6 am: Well the nice flat snowfall is no more, drifts everywhere. Looks like (.01") since midnight, haven't done any snowmelt today. The peak wind gust so far 52 mph the air temperature 21.5° currently. The snow stake is no longer accurate. Still available under Satellite/Cams tab... We had around 10.3" new snow yesterday total depth 12" before the wind rearranged. Visibility near zero at times reported by KVSH radio this morning. All highways are closed currently around Valentine this includes most businesses. It will also affect mail and package delivery. Highway Snow plows will start working after daylight. Looks like city plows were out last night with plow drifts on this street. Thank you. The difference between this blizzard and a March or April blizzard this snow isn't going anywhere fast. This is very unusual for December. We could get another 1 to 3 inches before it's over. I know ranchers that were praying for moisture, it got answered.

12/13/2022 2:15 pm: Updated snowfall 10" total, moisture so far today is 1.26" which included rain through about 3 am, 1.38" storm total includes yesterday. Heavy snow around 9:1 ratio, no blowing snow yet the wind still hasn't picked up. Cleared the snow measuring board so ready for round 2. Still light snow currently even though the radar shows nothing.

12:35 pm: Snowboard measurement is 9" of new snow, still heavy snow. Snowstake is just over 11" subtract 1.7" that was already there. Little wind so it's accurate. Plus the snow is heavier 9:1 making it harder to blow around. That 9:1 will change as this storm gets colder. Could eventually be 14:1 by Thursday.

11:25 am: Listening to the local radio KVSH also available online for those outside of Valentine, many businesses have closed or will soon. Haven't heard of any grocery store closures yet. Last I heard city crews stopped plowing. HW crews stopped some time ago. The airport ASOS is having issues with the heavy snow reporting ice fog much of the time, kind of understandable if you weren't here to see the heavy snow.

10:52 am: Very close to a Whiteout right now. It's heavy snow the wind is under 10 mph average. Appropriate song "If We Make It Through December" Merle Haggard

9:25 am: Just did a snowboard measurement. 3" of new snow total today. Looks like about (9:1) ratio right now. This may change as it gets colder today. Don't seen a ratio below 10:1 very often. So it takes .11" to make an inch of snow. Just means it's wetter and heavier taking more wind to drift which is good plus won't pile as high. The snow stake is close to actual, reads 3 tenths below what is actually on the ground.

7:15 am: FYI the snow stake started just shy of 2" this morning most leftover from the previous snow. The snow stake made of metal heated up melting the snow directly around it. So that area had to fill back in with new snow and now is level again. Today's forecast for Valentine is 4 to 8" , tonight 2-4", Wed. 1-3" and no stated amount for Thursday yet. This won't end until Thursday, per several models 15-18" is very possible for Valentine. So far wind is light only 5-15 mph.

6:10 am: Made a website correction to match the 8" SRG 2-day total (.42") at 6am. Tipping bucket must be out of calibration slightly. This is the second time it was lagging a few hundredths behind. We received .3 in new snow overnight. Cleared the snow measuring board.

5:00 am: Light snow early this morning. We reached freezing around 2 am. Lastest RAP and ECM look almost identical where the heaviest snowfall occurs. 18" for Valentine with the bullseye just to the north. Checking what fell overnight looks like mainly rain with about .3" of new snow/ice mix crusted over everything.

12/12/2022 4:40 pm: We may end up in a snow emergency the latest RAP which projected the 7" last storm accurately now says 22" for Valentine. HERE. Valentine is now located very close to the bullseye.

3:30 pm: The Blizzard Warning has been updated combining Arthur - Deuel - Eastern Cherry - Garden - Grant - Hooker - Sheridan - Western Cherry and now includes Springview and Ainsworth. The forecast is tracking the low further east was why the expansion of counties was made. 10-20" of snowfall now for all counties under the Blizzard Warning. Latest model updates you can see the eastward track of the low has also increased snowfall for Valentine ECM 15" and GFS 17". Fog and mist currently with a temperature of 35°.

11:20 am: The RAP is finally within range through Wednesday at noon so the storm isn't quite over at this point. Currently at 15" for Valentine. HERE This is the model that projected the last storms 7" and was right on. This model also is focusing the heaviest amount just northwest of Valentine 25". I'm more confident now of receiving a foot of snow with this model onboard. I'll add a link on the menu bar. Like the HRRR the RAP disseminates hourly but only does the longer 51 hour run every 6 hours so may have to wait if not within range of event.

6:am The snowfall potential map was updated, Likely looks like 11" this morning. Go to link bottom of page is direct link to NWS for more info. The range is 8-12" for Valentine high end potential 18". How much of the approximate 1.5" of moisture falls as snow all depends on changeover from rain.

The Blizzard Warning was expanded to Eastern Cherry including Valentine. Overcast this morning patchy fog is possible. Blizzard statement: -Dangerous blizzard conditions are expected for much of the Panhandle, western Sandhills, and portions of northern Nebraska. -Potentially life threatening travel conditions are expected to develop Monday night into Thursday, especially in the Blizzard Warning area.

5:50 am: Website issues with GoDaddy this morning should it go down WU has the same real-time information minus the cameras. Also has nice graphs. Link: :Bookmark link for backup for any future issues. Currently it's back up.

12/11/2022 These 2-graphs are interesting the first is precipitation (not inches of snowfall) expected by various models HERE and then how cold it may get in front of Christmas HERE. Well below zero and single-digit highs.

2:45 pm: Changes in the Winter Storm: "Blizzard Warning" for western Cherry. For the east side including Valentine: Winter Storm Watch.

The final low here in NE Valentine was 11° at the airport only saw 15° unofficially. You don't see this often where it's colder on the northeast side.

12/10/2022 City crews spent most of the day plowing streets yesterday, we still have around 5" of snow this morning at the northeast Valentine location. FYI there is an update on the "Winter Storm Watch" * WHAT...Heavy snow with some mixed precipitation possible. Total snow accumulations of 12 inches or greater and ice accumulations of one tenth of an inch possible. The highest snowfall will likely occur near the Pine Ridge. Winds could gust as high as 50mph.* WHERE...Sheridan and Cherry Counties.

12/09/2022 2:30 pm: The NWS already issued a 'Winter Storm Watch", showing how impactful this upcoming storm could become with (10 to 19") of snowfall forecast along with 55 mph wind gusts. Expect major snow drifts so be prepared with necessary supplies should the roads become impassible.

7:50 am: It's deep, here is the street out front Image. It's also cold low (4°), and (3°) at the airport.

Single digits (4°) here this morning under the blanket of heavy snow. Highs will be warmer than what we've been seeing 37° today and 47° on Sunday in front of the next major storm. This is what the RAP said yesterday (pink 7") for anyone that missed the previous post. The NWS did adjust the snow forecast around 10 am when I noticed up to (3 - 7") for Valentine. This website gets the updated forecast adjustments automatically unlike some other sources including phone apps.

Statement from the NWS: "The 7" of snow at Valentine yesterday set a new daily record for Dec. 8. It also ranks 9th for highest one-day totals for December (since 1889)"

12/08/2022 10:20: Snow has almost stopped just a few flakes occasionally so think it's over. It's deep (6.5") measured on the snowboard. Moisture content 8" SRG (.61"). Updated the seasonal snow report page, we stand at 10" on the season here in northeast Valentine. Nice gentle snowfall with light wind makes measuring easy. This next storm won't be as easy it's reportedly going to be packing a lot of wind. The airport may have gotten another inch looking at the precip reported (.71").

5:00 pm: Snowboard measurement 1.9". Little wind so no drifting but it's heavy the visibility being low under 1/4 mile is all snow. The website precip amount may or may not be right I'll do a manual snowmelt later and adjust. Looks close though.

2:45 pm: Light snow started.

8:20 am: Worth a mention the RAP has decided a heavy band of snow 6-7" would fall over Valentine. Something to keep in mind today. This heavy band was in SD previously but has moved south. You may ask what is the RAP? The Rapid Refresh is a high-frequency weather forecast (numerical weather prediction) that runs hourly and sees changes so adjusts rapidly. The HRRR is currently making the same adjustment. RAP doesn't have the precip start locally until the 3-4pm hour.

The NWS issued a "Winter Weather Advisory" today for a mix of freezing rain mainly east and south of Valentine and snow up to 2" eastern Cherry. Freezing rain isn't ruled out for Valentine we are on the edge however. Models are kind of all over the place from barely an inch up to 4" (.44") on the GFS. The ECM has Valentine getting (.19") so a couple of inches in snow if it falls as 10:1. The snowfall potential map has been updated. (1.7") likely with 3" potential. Precip won't get started until after the noon hour.

I'll start posting a daily ECM update of next week's major storm, with expected Snow Totals through Thursday 6 pm: The first update on 12-8: HERE The storm is expected to stall out bringing several days of moisture then move SE, possible starting out as rain turning over to snow throughout the rest of the week ending by late Thursday. Valentine is the red dot. I can't express enough how unusual this is, especially for December. That's why I'm having a hard time believing it and keep waiting for a model adjustment.

12/07/2022 Here's the latest NAM and the wettest model so far HERE The latest ECM HERE. Looking toward the end of the ECMWF run starting Monday into the middle of next week still a very wet and snowy period. Some areas nearby (20"), but before the party starts it's still out several days so things can and usually do change. Haven't seen the models advertising this much winter moisture (in our area) for a long time so almost hard to believe. HERE ...Clouds are refusing to burn off today. We are still sitting around 17° @1:45 pm. The flakes did stop. There is one change the wind shifted from NE to south so warmer air could arrive.

10:25 am: Still light snow falling, flakes are a little bigger now. Also just had a decent 8-point whitetail walk by Image.

5:20 am: We have some mist/fog developing this morning with the arctic air in place. You can't see the lights (0.66 mile) at times on the water tank hill, WNW camera. Looks like we are going to get snow tomorrow. 70% chance. Waiting on the next ECM run in about an hour. All eyes are focused on the storm next week but still some uncertainty of the storm track and types of precip rain/frz.rain/snow.

12/06/2022 This is what I was talking about with the models going bonkers on moisture starting next Monday even the ECM +1"... HERE, so not the sub-zero arctic cold but very snowy. Still way early, we can still hope for even half of it.

12/05/2022 Removed next week's cold arctic outbreak info some models have already changed. It looks cold but not as with the ECM now advertising over 1" in moisture so will wait until there is more model stability, lots of sign of active winter weather ahead but 8 days out is just too far.

A cold front moved through overnight, our high temp occurred right at the midnight hour 40°. Expected daytime high only around 30° today with a slight chance (10%) of snow showers between 3am and 4am tonight. The latest ECM has moisture back on the 8th Thursday.

12/04/2022 3 pm: A peek at the week ahead with models, HERE The GEM is advertising sub-zero toward the end. Something to watch on later runs. The ECM dropped the moisture on Thursday.

Was a little surprised it got down to 6° here in northeast Valentine. Checked the other thermometers they were the same or close 6.8° on Tempest measured at 8' off the ground. Visible in the SW camera near the end of the fence.

12/03/2022 Calm conditions early morning northeast Valentine. It's been down to (-4°) at the northeast location, and (-5°) southside Miller Field, NW Valentine location low was (-1°). Nice warmup low 40s today. Looking at the forecast a roller coaster ride with short lived arctic air intrusions followed by warmups.

12/02/2022 12:25 pm: Another snow flurry, 20° here in northeast Valentine, brisk outside the WC is 4°. Radar doesn't show it will continue for long.

Update: 8:04 am: The Cold Front arrived 15 mph NW wind. I think the front is ahead of schedule slightly so temps will fall soon. 36° currently.

A strong arctic front is approaching with SW winds this morning at 5-10 mph switching to the NW 20-30 with gusts to 45 mph. Flurries are possible between 4-5 pm 40% chance. It's not going to warm up much only about 33° early on and down into the low 20s for the rest of the day. The overnight low is forecast at 5° but bounces back to 41° tomorrow so a roller coaster.

12/01/2022 This was our second coldest November since the station started back in 2014. The mean temp was 30.1° which is 6.1° below the average (36.2°). Last November 2021 was our warmest (41.8°). So we are now (-0.5) behind average on the year. So it comes down to December how we end 2022 on temperature. The Mean temperature is the sum of the monthly highs and lows divided by two.

With the sprinklers off for the season moved the rain gauge closer to the snow measuring board, red flag. The house roof is 14' high at the outside gutter, the rain gauge is 56' away so 4 times the height. The gauge is out this far to avoid blowing snow off the roof. Trees would make it difficult to meet the gauge placement guideline. Look at the neighbors cedar tree it shows how the snowfall was blocked where the ground is free of snow. 14 trees got removed primarily cedar, cottonwoods and Chinese elms, 4 were very large trees. It's so much easier to maintain and have a nice lawn without trees almost cheating compaired to what it was with areas over shaded and dealing with branches and leaves.

11/30/2022 We did get down to (-3°) here in northeast Valentine. Nothing like the south Valentine stations (-9 and -7°). Image of the front yard this morning and for the record, the sidewalk did fill back in yesterday so needed shoveled twice due to the wind.

06:30 am: The airport is -9° currently. The Tempest south side near the airport is -7°. With the ongoing breeze here in NE Valentine only 1° above zero but the feel factor is -12 here.

11/29/2022 11:50: pm: Miller Field reached zero at 10:52 pm. We still have a moderate breeze 13 mph getting gusts to 21 mph here in northeast Valentine. The wind chill is -8°. Not sure if it will calm down tonight or not.

10 am: Getting some blowing snow now with gusts to 31 mph. So that sidewalk may fill back in. WC is currently 0°.

Snowfall total (3.2") on the snow measuring board, snowmelt (.19"). Looking at the snow stake it's between the 3 and 4" mark. Image This is a fluffy light snow as you can see with the moisture content about 17:1 ratio. Current temperature (17°) with the high temp today expected to reach mid-20s. Tonight could get close to zero depending on wind and how much it clears off. The forecast is 2°, the fresh snow breathes cold nighttime air. Side note the snow fell steadily in Valentine from 6 pm to 2 am, about 8 hours, the wind stayed rather light throughout so very little drifting. Visibility of 3/4 mile was the lowest.

11/28/2022 11:55 pm: (2.9") of new snow measured on snowboard.

9:40: Measurement 1.2" new snow. Coming down pretty good right now around 1/2" an hour maybe more right now. AP visibility is showing 3/4-mile currently.

9:00 pm: Snow depth measurement 0.9" and coming down pretty steady still. Almost couldn't find the snow measuring board, have it marked now. Looks like the snow stake is close, maybe a tenth low.

8:00 pm: Snow stake cam is under Satellite/Cams Tab. The snow is piling on the back side so need to reposition the stake and camera for it to work correctly. I was afraid it might do that with the north wind. Once it goes over the first inch it may not matter however. The snowboard is out for manual measurements. I'll get a measurement at about 9 pm. The manual Snowmelt I probably won't get until tomorrow morning. The heated tipping bucket isn't always correct due to evaporation in fact generally falls behind actual so don't depend on the website until an actually manual snowmelt measurement is done. If it doesn't get too cold it may keep up, however the colder it gets the less accurate the tipping bucket gets.

5:35 pm: Light snow started.

2:35 pm: Looks like we are finally gonna get moisture. The latest ECM supports a couple of inches for Valentine once again HERE. The RAP model is on the same page with about 3". Timing both ECM and RAP shows start about 6 pm tonight so this will be the last model update before it starts.

We are under a "Winter Weather Advisory with a 70% chance for 1 to 3 inches of snowfall for Valentine possible starting about 9 pm. The snowfall potential map has been updated by the NWS. (2.4") for Valentine. With Valentine on the northern edge of precip you may want to check the map after the afternoon forecast package should there be any changes.

The overnight ECM run brought moisture back north Image of estimated 10:1 snowfall totals. Back where we started at (.20") in moisture for Valentine. Yesterday put the snow stake up again, found under Satellite/Cams tab.

11/27/2022 4:20 pm: The latest ECM has just a few hundredths (.05") now. Image of snowfall. Models are moving the moisture south. Movement could still occur but not looking promising because the trend has been south. This was the 12z, 6 am central run.

11/26/2022 5:30 am: Moisture chance continues late Monday into Tuesday. The ECM has (0.21") for Valentine. Image .

11/25/2022 5 pm: Starting to look a lot more like Christmas starting Monday night. Around (0.2") in moisture in the form of snow. Hard to get real excited it's been so dry so long but most models are in agreement as are the forecasters right now. Accompanying the snow will be arctic air. Stay tuned it's still early. Our high today was 64° here in northeast Valentine.

11/24/2022 Happy Thanksgiving. Something of interest we haven't froze yet, 34° currently (6:30am) on the northeast side of Valentine with a stiff NW breeze 15 with gusts to 25 mph. Hope everyone has enjoyed this week of warm temperatures after the brutally cold period prior. Yesterday we reached 64°, both at Miller Field and here in NE Valentine. Next week as we get closer to December chances of snow.

11/21/2022 A decent week ahead, with Wednesday a little gusty 30s mph and Turkey Day our coolest with a high of 43°, then 57° on Friday. Lows this morning (11°) at Miller Field, (13°) here.

11/20/2022 7 am: Currently (13°) at the airport light wind, (21°) NE side with a 12 mph wind gusting to 25 mph this Sunday morning. Lows so far 12° Airport, 15° northeast Valentine.

11/19/2022 6:00 pm: Our low temp today looks like it will come in just before midnight. Happens a lot this time of year with systems moving through. Already 20° at 6 pm and looking like good radiational cooling tonight (clear and calm) unless the wind picks up. Warmer air is scheduled to move in tomorrow so maybe that will slow the cooling tonight. 27° was our high today was hoping for a little more.

Flurries with the passing cold front. The WC is 4° currently. A big warm-up ahead starting tomorrow with mid to upper 40s. No complaints here. We really do need moisture to break the dry pattern. Though the 18th we are way behind on temps for November (-6.5°) HERE and also way behind on precip for the year (-7.28") HERE . This is the northeast Valentine location the airport ASOS almost 2-miles south is even drier.

11/18/2022 7:40 am: Looking at the satellite loop now it's gonna clear after sunrise so no negative temps.

11/17/2022 10:40 pm: The lowest windchill today has been -9° so far. Currently 9° with the WC at -7°. Turning the front camera lights off so the stars can be seen at night if they come out. Still spitting flakes at this hour. The snow stake camera is still available with light. Trends/Records tab has windchill and wind data. Today's peak gust was 50 mph.

4:12 pm: Front yard here in NE Valentine. It's been a brutal day with the wind. Image. If it clears off at all and the wind calms it will drop below zero tonight with the fresh snow coverage.

3:19 pm: Snow squall, gusts to 42 mph

12:19 pm: Currently a whiteout. Down to 18° with WC at 0°.

11:26 am: We've had at least one heavy snow squall with low visibility this morning. Currently, the wind is 25 gusting to 41 mph with air temp at 21° making the WC (4°). Starting to see breaks in the clouds.

7:18: Snowmelt (.03"), 3 tenths of an inch. 10:1 ratio. We've reached our high temp today, steady or declining the rest of the day with snow showers possible.

11/16/2022 Bitter cold this morning with the windchill reaching -9°, the wind was around 10 mph with gusts to 18 mph in northeast Valentine. Miller Field with less wind and mixing dipped to (0°). Southside Tempest also dropped to (1°). Here in northeast Valentine looks like the warm spot with more mixing the low was (5°). It has something to do with nighttime cold air drainage because once the sunrises it calms way down. Tonight a 30% chance of snow (.03") in moisture using the ECM model, equivalent to around 1/2" of snow (Kuchera scale) with our cold temperatures. This snow chance late tonight is preceding the coldest air moving in. Update: Looking at the HRRR it also supports a snow chance tonight with around (.06") so we'll see how it evolves. Already seeing snowflakes this morning with the few clouds we have so whatever moisture is out there is getting squeezed out.

11/15/2022 1:15 pm: We've been having light flurries now for several hours with a light dusting.

A dusting of snow overnight. Sounding like a broken record very cold all week with Saturday added to the blustery and cold list with a high of 28°. Possibly starting Sunday our high temp may reach 40° which is still 10 degrees below normal.

11/14/2022 Continued cold throughout the week. It's looking like possibly Sunday back near 40° which is still about 10 degrees below our norms. Thursday and Friday will be our coldest days, highs low 20s. Flurries are possible a few times but no accumulation is mentioned. Lows this morning 7° at Miller Field and 12° here in northeast Valentine where more mixing (wind) was occurring.

11/13/2022 Overnight lows (5°) at Miller Field, (7°) here in northeast Valentine. Not much change in the forecast with the exception of flurries mentioned and some uncertainty on the upcoming weekend cold with model differences.

11/12/2022 Below zero lows (-7°) Miller Field, (-6°) south side Tempest and (-4.4°) here in northeast Valentine. NW side of Valentine near Catholic church reported (-3.4°)...The record low at Miller Field -12°F (1986) so no record. It would be a different story with snow cover. Another shot of Canadian air Monday but even colder air this upcoming Friday with the high temperature currently forecast at 19°. Some models only mid teens for the high on Friday. No snow mention in the forecast as of yet so continued dry and very cold for mid-November.

11/11/2022 8:20 am: This morning the wind refused to lay down in NE Valentine with a low of (8.5°) the airport had a little less wind (7°) low. Negative windchill's down to (-7°).

The cold will continue through the 7-day and even possibly double down toward the end. The one silver lining it could be another 10° colder with snow cover. One of the cameras stopped working last night, I think it's just the cold. No mention of snow chances until possibly next Thursday. This November is acting more like December so will be interesting what winter brings once La Nina establishes.

11/10/2022 8:30 am: Did a melt of the freezing rain from yesterday and last night using the 8" SRG ,(.03") came in the same as what the heated tipping bucket recorded. Looks like (.04") at Miller Field was reported.

Be careful going outside this morning, everything exposed is covered with ice. Avoid stairs if possible and walk like a penguin or hold on to something. The street (asphalt) is also slick just not as bad as sidewalks and decks.

11/09/2022 3:35 pm: The NWS expected ice accumulation tonight. Ice MAP HERE. No snow is expected just freezing drizzle/rain. We've had freezing mist all day, the visibility is about 1/2 mile now.

4:15 am: Getting some freezing mist maybe even light freezing drizzle with the back deck slick. Nothing recorded yet with heated tipping bucket or showing on radar. Camera lenses are freezing over.

11/08/2022 4 pm: The linked snowfall potential map from the North Platte NWS has been updated.

This will be our last warm day (60s) for some time. Make sure everything is winterized with temps getting near zero so the ground will freeze. I'll put a snowboard down under the snow stake later today should we get snow. The snow stake can be viewed under Satellite/cams tab. The ECM model shows less than an inch for Valentine so not expecting much but things can change.

11/07/2022 Windy today with 45 mph gusts but the main headline is winter returns later this week with chances of snow and cold starting Wednesday night. High temps low 20s Friday with near 0° lows for a couple of days.

11/06/2022 More mixing this morning on the NE side of Valentine keeping it warmer. Over on the south side of town the airport has dipped down to 21°. The low on the northeast side may not come in until just before midnight tonight, it's that time of year when this does occur.

11/05/2022 It got down to 15° in Valentine overnight. Warming to 62° today enjoy. Single digits next week with below freezing high temp on Thursday.

11/04/2022 8:24 am: It's been down to (17°) at Miller Field and (18°) at the nearby Tempest station. (21°) here in NE Valentine. The south side Tempest is linked under external links.

Once again the ECM (EURO) proved the superior model in forecasting snowfall saying (.03") in moisture. We did manage to pick up (.01") in the tipping bucket with a trace in accumulation. Here is what the ECM was showing early on yesterday for moisture.

As far as our next chance goes, this is from the forecast discussion: "-The next impactful weather system arrives into midweek, with increasing precipitation chances Wednesday evening into Thursday." This is what it looks like this far out HERE .

11/03/2022 8:35 pm: Light snow started. The snow stake cam is turned on under Satellite/Cams tab.

We had a 16° jump in temperature along with a wind switch out of the north as a front moved through. Finally we may get some moisture in a wintry mix 70% chance, with 1/4" of moisture on the latest HRRR run.

11/02/2022 The high temp yesterday was 78° and expected again today before a front moves through with 60% chance of rain and snow Thursday night.

10/31/2022 Lows this morning 22° Miller Field also 22° here in northeast Valentine. Nice day ahead near 70° for the high temperature.

10/30/2022 Another great day, sunny with high temps 65° here and 66° Miller Field. Lows this morning (23°) at Miller Field, (25.5°) here in NE valentine. High temperatures over the next 3 days 70s before a storm system moves in Thursday. It's starting to look a little wetter with at least snow showers and possible snow.

Climatologists expect colder pacific water "La Nina" which isn't favorable for moisture but may bring colder than normal temps for northern Nebraska. Last winter 2021-2022 was also a La Nina year. It's done this before multiple years in a row so not unprecedented. It sets up a blocking high pressure off the west coast forcing the storm track into Canada. For Valentine, it can go either direction 2021-2022 was our driest only 21.8" snowfall but 2017-18 also a La Nina year brought (53.3") of snow and very cold (-20° Dec), (-26° Jan), (-17° Feb). Occasionally especially early winter the high will break down and allow pacific storms through but tends to strengthen later on and sometimes brings that -30° air down if the polar vortex wobbles enough causing chunks to break off and drive south. Last winter it had very little wobble so it ended up not only dry but wasn't that cold either.

10/29/2022 It was one of those days when the low temp came in just before midnight. (30.0°) Miller Field, (31.2°) @ 11:55pm here in northeast Valentine. Sunny with a light WNW wind throughout with the highs, 66° here and 67° at Miller Field.

10/28/2022 Final lows 24° northeast side, 21° at the airport. Yesterday highs 58° NE side, 60° airport. The forecast says 66° today and sunny with light wind.

10/27/2022 Final lows this morning with fog 28° northeast Valentine, 25° at the Miller Field ASOS.

7:30 am: We have a little fog developing, Currently 30° so this will be ice fog.

7:am: Even with the high wispy clouds, we reached freezing this morning. No wind currently, looks like Miller Field has dipped to 28° and 31° here in northeast Valentine. After the 55° forecast high today almost Chamber of Commerce weather with highs in the 60s over the 7-day. We are dipping to near-freezing most nights which is normal. We do need moisture and none in sight right now. The airport reported a trace yesterday, I missed it if it did occur here.

10/26/2022 Final high today 57°, Low 23°. Miller Field H-59°, L-21°. Lots of virga but nothing reached the ground so far today. Still a 50% chance tonight.

10/25/2022 The wind was finally calm across Valentine this morning. Lows 23.5° northeast Valentine and 22° Miller Field. The forecast today is sunny and breezy with gusts to 30 mph this afternoon. Cool today upper 50s for high temps. Normals are H-61°, L-31°.

10/24/2022 10:25 am: It did freeze this morning, 30° Miller Field, 32° here in NE Valentine. The wind never did lay down on the northeast side currently 14 mph with gusts to 24 mph.

6:35 am: Only a trace yesterday. The wind is blowing here in northeast Valentine (12-17) mph and 37° currently. Miller Field is much calmer and 34° currently.

10/23/2022 7:35 pm: We've had a few sprinkles so far. Unwrapped and turned the snowstake camera on for a little better nighttime view. Linked under Satellite/Cams tab.

The afternoon forecast has bumped precip chance up to 50% tonight. Only a few hundredths expected however. Our barometric pressure reached the lowest point it's been all year at 29.15".

Another warm one today, (79°) expected in front of the cold front arriving this evening. The moisture forecast for Valentine has a 30% chance tonight, and 20% Monday. I wouldn't be surprised to see around (.10") in moisture looking at several different models some are dry but others are not. We are due for sure, 16 days since the last moisture. The atmospheric pressure is really low (29.27") and falling. When it gets this low something will happen, wind, rain, or both.

10/22/2022 We only made 80° in northeast Valentine today so well shy of the record. The airport reported 83°.

The airport record high is in danger today. 87°F (2003), enjoy.

10/21/2022 Air quality isn't great this afternoon, looks like smoke with the AQI 10-minute average at 100. 72° for a high so far 73° at Miller Field.

Large temp difference across town again pre-sunrise. Here in northeast Valentine, it was running + 9° at times vs Miller Field and other parts of town. The final low was 39° NE side and 34° at Miller Field.

10/20/2022 6:00 am: 46° on the northeast side this morning with a breeze blowing even an occasional gust to 17 mph while other parts of Valentine are 3-4° cooler with less wind. Fingers crossed for moisture starting early next week. The ECM is the most bullish but other models show little so no consensus yet.

10/19/2022 Lows reported this morning (20.5°) here in northeast Valentine, (19.9°) at Miller Field. A big warmup ahead as warm western air moves into the region starting today into Sunday.

10/18/2022 Final Low temps: Miller Field (16°), here in NE Valentine (18.6°). Our forecast high today is 50° for Valentine. Yesterday both NE and Miller Field came in the same at H-49°, L-24°. The old record low for Oct. 18th was 13°. October 1917 was cold, record lows occurred 4-times. FYI, if the airport low occurs after 7 am it doesn't post until about 12:52 pm. Sometimes the final number doesn't show in the 5-minute ASOS updates. The daily low or high temperature can occur anytime all the way up to midnight.

10/17/2022 7:00 am: Final low temps (24°) NE Valentine and (24°) at Miller Field, clouds have moved in preventing further drop prior to sunrise. Looking at the Tempest station located northeast side of Valentine was also 23.9° . Tomorrow morning the forecast is upper teens. We may have gotten there this morning had it not been for the clouds. The high temperature today is forecast to reach the upper 40s.

10/16/2022 6:50 am: Canadian air is filtering in this morning currently 44°. Our daily low-temperature will occur tonight just prior to midnight. The hard freeze low 20s is still on for tonight and Monday night with the morning forecast adding Tuesday into the mix with mid-20s. So 3-days of hard freezes upcoming.

10/15/2022 5:55 pm: Peak wind gusts today (40 mph) here, (42 mph) at Miller Field, both locations froze last night, high temps 65° NE and 66° airport. Still on schedule for the hard freeze low 20s Sunday and Monday nights.

Looks like a (Hard) killing freeze Sunday night and Monday night with low 20s.

It did freeze here in NE Valentine last night (30.8°) at 1:45 am. Since then a breeze has picked up (13-21 mph) with clouds warming into the (50s).

10/14/2022 1:00 pm: Getting sprinkles again, checked the rain gauge still shy of (.01") so only a trace so far. The peak wind gust so far 37 mph. So not in the same ballpark as yesterday.

10/13/2022 5:00 pm: Miller Field peak gust today was (58 mph.) Here in NE Valentine (55 mph). Winds have decreased some at 5 pm and are expected to decrease into the 10 to 15 mph range after midnight and then increase again after sunrise tomorrow. The current forecast has gusts only near 40 mph Friday. Fingers crossed. Just noticed the dew point is only 5°, also at Miller Field. If the wind stops the temperature will plummet.

10/12/2022 06:30 pm: Today's peak wind gusts (49 mph) here in NE Valentine, (48 mph) recorded at the South Tempest station, and (52 mph) reported at Miller Field. We haven't had one of these all-day wind events for some time. 2 more days of wind expected maybe not quite as high decreasing about 5 mph each day so only 40 mph Friday. The wind at night should keep us from freezing unless it decides to go calm around sunrise.

9:12 am: Wind gusts already this morning (43 mph) here in NE Valentine, (45 mph) at Miller Field. We didn't freeze in NE Valentine (34°), Miller Field did at (30°).

6:30 am: (34°) has been the low so far this morning, if the wind goes down it could freeze around sunrise here in NE Valentine. The wind is the main thing later today with gusts reaching 50 mph in the forecast. Still no mention of moisture in the 7-day forecast. Looking at other temperatures currently (30.0°) at the Miller Field ASOS and (31.6°) at the South Tempest station a couple of blocks west of airport in the industrial area. Linked near the bottom of "External Links". The south side of Valentine is away from the rivers and hills so tends to have still air more often in the mornings which leads to lower temperatures. Along the canyons and hills, it tends to have more air movement due to thermals.

10/11/2022 6 am: Another day with different conditions across town. South side of town the wind is almost calm (1-3 mph) and 51° at the south Tempest station while here in NE Valentine 11-17 mph and a warmer 54°. Miller Field shows 52°. This actually is a common occurrence fall and winter with different morning conditions across town caused by the wind on the NE side of town. Was a little surprised at the reported 84° high yesterday at the Miller Field ASOS with it only reaching 81° here in NE Valentine. The south side Tempest came in at 83° so only -1° different from the ASOS.

10/10/2022 Updated lows: Starting off at (30.3°) NE Valentine, (30.0°) at the Airport. The 2-Tempest Stations South Valentine (29.8°), here in NE Valentine (30.0°). Last night was the perfect night for radiational cooling, dead still under a clear sky. 2 mph has been the peak gust since midnight. "Indian Summer" today with a high temperature near 81° expected.

10/09/2022 6:35 am: Another freeze this morning at some locations. NE Valentine so far (31.5°), Miller Field (31°). Some areas may have not froze this morning depending on the location. Yesterday most areas did reach freezing.

10/08/2022 Our first area-wide freeze: NE Valentine (29.6°), Miller Field (27.0°), Tempest South Valentine (27.5°), Tempest NE Valentine (29.1°)

5:30 am: 34° currently here in NE Valentine. The steady light WSW breeze has prevented a freeze so far. The frost on exposed surface areas is present rooftops are white even though the air temperature hasn't reached freezing yet. With a couple of hours left before sunrise, it'll likely freeze at the thermometer level. Miller Field has been down to 30° in the last 1/2 hour.

10/07/2022 It's not in any hurry to freeze, at 9 pm we have a light SW wind and 43° with a clear sky. Here is what other years have looked like dating back to 2014. Freeze Data ....The station was relocated starting (2019 / 2020) from west Valentine to NE Valentine.

Updated airport low report shows (35°). This happens when the low occurs after 7 am it doesn't report until 12:50 pm. Final lows this morning (33.9°) NE, The ASOS at Miller Field reported 35°. More likely it freezes tomorrow morning with our forecast overnight low saying 30°, this morning the cloud cover was just too much acting as a blanket does.

4:25 am: The overcast sky this morning has prevented much temperature movement overnight. Currently 37°, the Goes Satellite loop shows the low-level and upper-cloud cover nicely. If the cloud cover thins out our temps will drop toward sunrise.

The (.01") precip occurred before midnight but the tipping bucket didn't tip the manual rain gauge confirmed the (.01) fell.

10/06/2022 The NWS afternoon forecast package has included Valentine into a "Freeze Warning" with the forecast low now set at 31°. The heavy overcast has lightened with some sun slipping through occasionally. Our high temp so far 55° here in NE Valentine.

10:00 am: Seeing reduced visibility with heavier mist developing along the hills now. Cooler air has moved in, down to 45° currently. Airport visibility is down to 2.5 to 3 miles. Also running same temperature 45°. With this heavy overcast and cooler air we may have already reached our daily high (52°) early this morning.

Our forecast has areas of frost on both Friday and Saturday mornings with a forecast low 32° for Valentine. We do have a slight chance 30% of showers tonight but no mention of frozen precip in the morning forecast. Not sure if the green tomatoes need to be picked we've already reached 32° earlier at Miller Field but only 32.9° here in NE Valentine. Lawn sprinklers should be okay, especially those with self-draining heads. Too early to stop watering anyway. Learned my lesson last winter with dead areas of grass so the hoses will be coming out more often this winter if it stays dry.

10/05/2022 5:30 am: A lot more wind in NE Valentine (11-17 mph) than Miller Field this morning thus the temperature difference. Temps will come closer together if the wind calms towards sunrise.

Some change in the Frost and Freeze map with more clouds expected, it's not as widespread HERE . Colors this fall are just brilliant around Valentine. The Borman Bridge area is really nice.

10/04/2022 3:45 pm: (.06") fell in a heavy couple minute downpour in NE Valentine. (.02") NW Valentine, (.03") at Miller Field.

Our first widespread frost and freeze is expected later this week. The airport ASOS has already reached 32° but fell short 32.9° here in NE Valentine on Sept. 26. Historically Sept. 30 is the average first freeze for Miller Field.

10/03/2022 09:00 am: Updated rainfall here in NE Valentine (.22"), (.20") downtown at the KVSH radio station, (.18") official size 4" diameter COCO gauge on Elenora Dr. but that report came earlier so likely more now.

7:40am: Storm total as of now (.09") here in NE Valentine. The tipping bucket gauge also recorded (.09"). We are getting more rain currently.

10/02/2022 11:55 pm: Just before midnight (.03") daily total. Radar shows possibly more could fall. Disappointing was hoping for more activity. With the mention of snow showers possible later in the week turned on the snowstake camera for night time activity and better visibility. The snow stake isn't out yet. Linked under sat/cams tab.

7:25 pm: ESE of Thedford near Halsey, showing on radar is likely smoke from the forest fire. Keeps developing in the same area. Rainfall has refused to move east of HW 83 so far with only a sprinkle here in Valentine, just WNW of Valentine did receive a heavy shower early on according to radar and cameras.

10/01/2022 Finally seeing a decent chance of precip Sunday night into Monday, currently models are saying around (.10 to .20") . September continued with the theme above normal (+2.3°) and dry (-.92"). Summary with departure from normal in NE Valentine HERE , scroll down.

09/30/2022 12:44 pm: The website went offline for a while, it was a GoDaddy server issue, starting at 12:05 pm ending at 12:36 pm. If weather information is needed and server is down you can link directly to the Weather Underground feed : HERE . It's also close to real-time.

09/26/2022 Miller Field and NE Valentine have reached 81-80° from an overnight low of 32-33°. (49°) swing at MF. Gordon Airport and Alliance also reached 32°. The Alliance swing was even more 52°. This doesn't happen at many places in the USA.

The final low was 32.0° at Miller Field, and here at the NE Valentine station 32.9°. I didn't see any ice formation on the wet lawn.

Good radiational cooling this morning our low temps so far 33° NE Valentine, 32° at Miller Field. Almost no wind here in NE Valentine the peak gust has only been 5 mph since midnight. We could drop another degree or so just before sunrise. Reminder it's colder at the ground level when it's this calm outside.

09/25/2022 8:00 pm: With the 31-32° dew point temp it could get rather chilly tomorrow morning unless something interrupts the radiational cooling. (wind, clouds, or warmer air mass). Wind shifts to the West, SW after midnight.

South Valentine including Miller Field and the south Tempest station got down to 41° this morning, here in NE Valentine with more mixing only 45°. High temps yesterday 78° NE and 81° at Miller Field so cooler at night south side but warmer in the day has been the fall trend lately with the mean temps about the same. We are losing about 3 minutes of daylight each day.

09/24/2022 7:55 am: Miller Field is running cooler (45°) also 44° at the south side Tempest station while (48°) here at the NE location. Yesterday's final low temps didn't come in until just before midnight last night. 49° NE Valentine, 47° at Miller Field. Highs yesterday, 76° NE Valentine, 78° at Miller Field. The forecast has low 80s today then back into the 70s for a couple with no mention of moisture in the 7-day.

09/22/2022 4:45 pm: The airport did report a sprinkle so appears to be working. Also has been seeing the cloud cover since early afternoon. North Platte FCO said the airport ceilometer is only capable of determining cloud cover below 12,000 feet above ground level so anything higher reports it as clear skies. Our rain chance isn't looking great according to radar, 30% chance tonight and dry in the extended so tonight may be the last chance for a while.

Added a satellite loop to the front page because the airport ASOS METAR says clear even with clouds since 10 pm last night and we've had some pretty thick cloud cover overnight.

09/21/2022 10:00 am: Just a trace here in NE Valentine. Pavement did get wet but less than .01" fell.

09/20/2022 After today's mid-80s a nice cooldown with a chance of showers Wednesday and Thursday. Models right now aren't showing much with only a tenth of an inch in precipitation. Today if heading south the cooler air doesn't reach down as far so record high temps are possible this afternoon. Much drier air this morning with the dew point temp in the mid 40s. its been down to 51° here and 50° at the airport.

09/19/2022 1:pm: Conditions icon coming off the airport ASOS METAR is running again.

8:05 am: Fog now, under 1/2 mile visibility, you can't see the blue water tanks. If wondering why the conditions icon is off, it comes off the airport ASOS and isn't working right now.

09/18/2022 Final rainfall (.22"). Puts us at (.80") for the middle of September. All but (.06") fell Friday evening and today.

6:40 am: Total rainfall currently at .13" . More showers likely before it stops.

5:40 am: Another round of showers is moving through. Looks like more is likely later. Currently (.06") overnight. Still, a long line of showers extended below Hyannis heading this direction so expect shower chances for a couple more hours. Hearing an occasional distant rumble this morning with 50 strikes recorded in the last 3 hours.

4:08 am: Thunder, getting a little downpour currently. This looks short-lived but more to the SW heading this general direction. Lots of areas needing rain are getting it south of Valentine this morning. Got a report from one of the dry areas off Goose Creek Rd. (1.2") fell Friday night. Kind of an unexpected bonus rain this morning.

09/17/2022 Have another Cocorahs rain gauge located off Lake Shore Dr. along the Mill Pond, it recorded .59" yesterday. If looking for an accurate rain gauge these are officially recognized by the NWS. They have done side-by-side testing. The gauge can be purchased HERE . Also available on Amazon called Stratus Precision Rain Gauge. Stay away from the look-alike, this gauge was tested and failed. It's marketed with different names and comes in different colors red, black trim etc. A warning was put out by Cocorahs not to use. The only other gauge allowed is the official size 8" diameter metal (SRG) which is quite pricey.

09/16/2022 Rainfall total (.52") here in NE Valentine. The rainfall rate reached 5.2" per hr. at its peak. The highest wind gust was 47 mph at this location. Due to the lightning threat, the prep football game started at 8:41 pm and ended around 11:15 or so.

7:00 pm: Heavy rain the airport ASOS is still broke reporting haze/mist and no rain.

6:30 pm: Looks like storms are running a couple hours ahead of schedule. Hear thunder and see lightning already,

11:20 am: Updated images from latest HRRR run, A good chance of rain showers and thunderstorms rolling in around 8-9 pm. The timing per several models is bad tonight for prep football. Here is the latest HRRR 11 am: 7 pm , 8 pm , 9 pm . And other models some as early as 8 pm (European) rain totals HERE . Not all in 100% agreement but several are with the NWS forecast at 60% chance tonight. There is mention of supercell potential in the forecast discussion. You can check lightning strikes how many and distance using the Tempest station South Valentine linked under "External Links".

Being the airport ASOS doesn't recognize fog it probably won't recognize rainfall tonight either. This started around the questionable record high of (106°). On our last rainfall, it recorded nothing, reporting it as mist. That side of town received more than the NE side (.06") and it doesn't look like anything has been fixed. Maybe they took my sarcasm as actual when I said somehow the rain missed the airport. We'll find out for sure tonight. Why they won't fix it, no idea... There is an airport there, somebody has the responsibility making sure the equipment works.

5:40 am: Looks like a little fog has developed here in NE Valentine looking at the WNW camera. Not heavy currently, the 511 cameras at the Y show heavier fog. "Links" tab has the road cameras and 511 link.

09/13/2022 12:40: AQI is getting better now 121.

11:30: The AQI is hanging around 157 (Red ) .

Haze from smoke expected today with a high near 90°.

09/12/2022 Final lows this morning here in NE Valentine and the two Tempest (S and NE) stations (38°) the Miller Field ASOS reported +1° (39°).

06:40: Another cool morning it's been down to 39° so far in NE Valentine. Miller Field is the same, Linked under external links. Was checking out the remote Tempest stations down on Goose Creek Road 32° so a few areas with possible frost at ground level. That same area last winter reached -19° when we were -14° in early January so it may be down in a low spot where cold air pools under certain conditions. The forecast has Valentine back at 90° today.

09/11/2022 06:20: Chilly morning the low so far 36°. This is our first time this season reaching down into the 30s. The Tempest station here in NE Valentine says 35.4° currently with the main station aspirated sensor 35.6°. Both stations use the Sensirion SHT-31 sensor for temperature. (+/-) 0.3f accuracy

09/09/2022 15:00: Here in NE Valentine (.06") has fallen as of this afternoon. I see nothing being reported at the airport as usual. I'm sure even though the heavier showers on radar were on the southside of Valentine the airport managed to get missed entirely again. It did report mist but that's it. 0.00" in rainfall.

09/08/2022 18:05: I guess they are going with the airport ASOS high of (106°), also sets an all-time September record high. IMO very questionable but I'm a skeptic after seeing 6-years of questionable data as did many others living here. This isn't just my opinion.

15:20: Temperatures peaked at (102°) here in NE Valentine, the same (102°) reported at the KVSH radio station downtown. (103.6°) at the south Valentine Tempest station. I'll need to wait for the airport's final numbers once published due to C to F conversion. It doesn't look right going from 102° to 106° in 10-minutes. Image . It didn't get this hot anywhere else or have a jump like this. I pulled up all the other station graphs and this didn't happen, there was no (4°) 10-minute jump. The largest temperature increase I can find for any 10-minute period was (1.7°). I did find a (2°) decrease in temperature. The ASOS only sends out whole C° numbers on the 5-minute update not broken down in tenths. One thing is for sure the daily high record was broken. We are on a decline now, currently (95°).

10:38: The latest HRRR model now has our high temp in line with the forecast 100-101° between the 12 pm and 2 pm hours then trailing off slightly below the century mark the rest of the afternoon as cooler air works in.

A week into September, we are running +11° above the mean here in NE Valentine. Today the old Valentine record is 101° so could fall with the forecast 100°.

09/07/2022 Updated: With a hazy sky, we reached 98° here in NE Valentine, the downtown radio station was reporting 98° also. The South side Tempest reached 99° and the airport reportedly tied the record high of 100°. Tomorrow the forecast high has been raised to 104°. Models are anywhere from 95 to 107° so all over the place. We do have a major cooldown starting Friday with several 50% chances of rainfall starting Thursday night in the forecast. Looking at model rainfall amounts doesn't look like anything above maybe a couple of tenths at best to a few hundredths so no drought buster for sure. It may start more fires with dry lightning than do good.

09/06/2022 The smoke haze is here, it started this morning and may get thicker tomorrow per the forecast. Currently running 90-100 on the AQI (Air Quality Index) monitor linked under external links "Air Quality Valentine". This sensor is located here at the NE Valentine location.

07:20: Low Temps so far this morning (55°) both Miller Field and NE Valentine. Final highs yesterday (101°) NE Valentine and (102°) at Miller Field. Today the HRRR/RAP model which is usually the most accurate for high temps surprisingly is the cooler model coming in at (95.4°) for Valentine. Other models are the upper 90s to 101°. I'll be rooting for the coolest model being it's September. As always you can look at the Miller Field conditions updated every 5-minutes linked under external links.

09/05/2022 17:25: A little surprised we reached (100.4°) so far. I thought we would fall short of the forecast 97°. The Tempest station here in NE Valentine is currently (100.8°). South Valentine Tempest currently (100.9°). Both those stations are linked under external links.

06:50: So far only 58° NE Valentine and Miller Field, normal low 54°. Expect the upper 90s peaking at 101° Thursday then a nice cooldown Friday and over the weekend. Normal highs this time of year (85°). As always you can look at the Miller Field conditions updated every 5-minutes linked under external links.

09/04/2022 Cool morning, it was (49°) on the NE side. Be prepared for a hot week ahead approaching 100° a couple of times then a cool down by the upcoming weekend. Today is our 12th consecutive day without any moisture. Fire danger has to be very high.

09/03/2022 Low temperatures this morning 46° everywhere, NE Valentine, airport and Tempest stations. The airport ASOS cloud ceiling height & sky conditions has stopped working so turned off on the website.

09/02/2022 The high temp was (91.5°) NE Valentine also (91.4°) on Tempest station same location. The airport ASOS reported (94°) while the nearby Tempest station only had (91°). The airport was above everyone including the downtown radio station surrounded by concrete and buildings.

06:45: Coolish 57° at Miller Field currently. 63° here but has been down to 60°. The 3 pm prep football game temperature at Cairo around (95°), Ouch!. Drink milk it's better than sports drinks.

Looking at models there is a huge difference as much as 20° temperature spread over the 10-day. Here is the GFS vs the ECM Image.

09/01/2022 High temperatures came in (96°) here in NE Valentine, Tempest station same location also recorded (96°). Miller Field ASOS (98°) and the nearby Tempest station (97°). Looking at the 7-day it doesn't look much different. This might be a first for September. Correction 2015 started out hot with a 101° on the 2nd with 90s occurring the first 5-days and later on in the middle of the month 100° again. Nov., Dec., and Jan. were slightly below station averages following our warmest September. So fall months aren't necessarily a indicator of how cold winter will be.

How hot was this summer? Historically for Valentine it ranked #10, and for North Platte #2 Image . The difference between Meteorological and Astronomical seasons HERE. Courtesy of North Platte NWS forecast office.

Low temps this morning Miller Field 55° and 56° here in NE Valentine. Meteorological spring starts today but it won't feel like it with the high temperature approaching 100° (97° forecast). Yesterday topped out at 93° here and 94° at Miller Field.

Was looking at the afternoon varsity football game temperature down at Cairo Friday. (94°)

08/31/2022 High temps yesterday came in 92° here and 93° at Miller Field. So didn't see the big spread with the S-SE breeze as we did with the north on the previous day. Hopefully, the 90s end soon, still more in the 7-day with no mention of moisture. Not counting today NE Valentine is (+1.6°) above normal for August and (+.33") moisture. You can always check the link NOAA reports and click on the year brings up where we stand with departures from normal. These departures are based on historical Valentine numbers.

08/30/2022 Cool morning! We've been down to 46° here and 45° at Miller Field. Gonna heat up today with 91° the forecast high.

Decided to leave the snow stake cam online with 5-minute image updates, works well for nighttime conditions and the connection seems solid using wireless. That's why previous camera was taken down during grass mowing season it needed a cable for POE connection. But with the wireless working so well can now leave online. This camera has a spotlight that comes on with motion detection so during events of precip may actually go into color mode. Model number is Reolink RLC-511WA, 5 MP with dual-band WiFi using the 5 Ghz. For anyone interested in camera setup I'm using software called Blue Iris to upload images at scheduled times like (5-minutes) instead of camera software designed to upload motion detection only. Blue Iris is much more versatile but requires a PC running. Click image to open and for full resolution click again. This camera is (2560 x 1929) while the other two cameras WSW (2560 x 1440) and the highest resolution camera cabled POE WNW (3840 x 2160).

08/29/2022 18:05 Measured 85° near Miller Field, the ASOS shows 86° so to close to say it's messed up again for sure.

Here we go again Miller Field +4 over NE Valentine +3 over the Tempest near Miller Field. Not jumping to conclusions but doesn't look right. Maybe I'll take a ride and see if that side of town is really that warm.

Testing the snow stake cam for wireless connection. Think I finally figured out the wireless connection issue. Turns out once I selected the proper camera the connection is solid. Knock on wood.

08/28/2022 A cool front pushed through with NW winds around 20 mph gusts to 33 mph earlier, the high temperature 86° in NE Valentine. A couple models are hinting at possible moisture late night ECM (euro) and NAM, likely just sprinkles if anything.

08/26/2022 The high today did reach 90° in NE Valentine. The HS football game kickoff temperature was 89° and 78° at the games end.

13:05: A warm front is expected to push to the SD/Ne border this afternoon. We do have a south wind currently but still only 81° both Miller field and NE Valentine. With any luck, it won't push as far north as expected keeping our high temperature below 90° with tonight being the first home football game. Ainsworth is already 86° so the warmer air boundry is close.

08/25/2022 07:30: Fog now with around 1/8 mile visibility.

07:10: Updated fog, Morning visitors Image . We get deer all the time just not always on camera. A little bit of mist/fog visible on the hills to the west the cameras don't pick up well. The 2-blue water tanks (.6 miles) disappeared now.

08/24/2022 12:15: METAR report showing ceiling cloud cover is running again. Turned on for website.

08/23/2022 The airport picked up (.09"), just (.01") in NE Valentine. Highs and lows Miller Field H-98°, L-63° : NE Valentine H-97°, L-65°.

17:00: Parts of Valentine getting rain, getting big drops but no downpour yet. (.08") reported at KVSH radio.

Was hoping we wouldn't see the upper 90's again but today looks like 96-97°. The chance of a T-storm is 20%. Not much cool down overnight currently 69-70° as usual toward sunrise may peel a few more off. FYI the airport sky conditions are missing so have it turned off on website. METAR link Look at ceiling and clouds.

08/22/2022 Warm one today final highs and lows Miller Field 95-62°, NE Valentine 94-63°. Tomorrow identical but with a 30% chance of a T-storm.

05:50: Low temperatures so far 64° airport, 65° NE side. The two Tempest stations show. Image . We may drop another degree or so by sunrise. Every day we are losing around 2:40 and growing of sunlight so about 20 minutes each week. Normal temperatures this time of year are H-88°, L-58°.

08/21/2022 06:25: Dead still this morning, cooler here on the NE side of town for a change vs the airport. 55° vs 57° currently. The two Valentine Tempest stations confirm the difference Image

08/17/2022 Here in NE Valentine rainfall for the month of August (2.36") is running above the airport historical average by (+.32") with almost half the month left. We are still running (-4.75") behind on the year. August is our first month to reach or exceed the historical average this year. The airport 2-miles away is running (1.69") for August.

08/16/2022 06:15: The heavy mist/drizzle has currently stopped. We recieved just under .05" so (.04") overnight in NE Valentine. Image . KVSH radio is reporting (.05") in their rain gauge downtown.

Very heavy mist early morning hours. Just dipped the rain gauge (.03") currently not sure if it was all mist or rain mixed in overnight. Not seeing anything on radar. 4:am: (Update) Tipping bucket just tipped again at 4 am so it's the heavy mist/drizzle accumulating.

08/15/2022 11:25: Airport METAR sky conditions is turned back on for website sky conditions icon.

Totals at 7:am, NE (.48"), East-side (.43"), KVSH radio station 2-day total is reporting (1.10"). Some question whether the gauge got dumped on the 6th. If not the total around (.50"). I say around because of the heat last week it's hard to tell how much evaporation occurred.

04:55: Light rain currently the manual 8" SRG total (.46"), tipping bucket website (.45") so was running (.01") behind actual. Looks like rain chances wind down around 8 am and may pick up later in the day. I'll report East-side and downtown KVSH totals once they come in so check back. I don't include the Saint Francis amount because it's coming off a haptic rain sensor and they are very inaccurate reporting 3X sometimes 4X actual. I see the same thing on my Weather Flow stations using the haptic sensor.

08/14/2022 Today's high temp topped out 80° both NE Valentine and Miller Field so all models had a bad day +8-14° high. The 67-69° dew point has the atmosphere juiced for tonight's storm activity, where ever the most instability 1-2" rainfalls may occur.

Updated: Final rainfall numbers overnight here in NE Valentine (.23"), East-side (.19"), Miller Field looks like (.18") being reported. FYI the HRRR (latest run) has our high today near (88°) and it's been pretty good all summer with the high temperature for Valentine so won't be surprised if we fall short of the forecast by a few. Tonight the forecast has a 80% chance of rainfall. This is monsoonal moisture wraparound originating out of the southwest. They are finally getting a active monsoon this year. Doppler Radar is back up. Should it go down again use the interactive radar under external links. It patches surrounding radars together.

03:40: Rain started and did get heavy for a period and continued light until around 5:am.

03:15: Hearing thunder and seeing lightning in camera looking SW. The Thedford Doppler radar went down before midnight use the interactive radar under external links.

08/13/2022 18:20: A nice coolish overcast day until about an hour ago when it started to clear off. High temp 84° both at Miller Field and here in NE Valentine. 40% chance of showers tonight. Better chance tomorrow night and Monday.

13:25: Right now the HRRR model looks brilliant with a forecast high of 84° today. We'll see what happens later this afternoon. Really nice outside with the cloud cover.

The high temperature in Valentine yesterday was 97° at Miller Field and here at the NE Valentine location. Today has a wide temperature variation across the models probably due to cloud cover differences with the outlier HRRR only 84° and the warmest model GFS 93°. The NWS forecast has Valentine at 94°, I'll be rooting for the HRRR along with all the Cherry County Fair goers. For some reason the ASOS metar doesn't include sky conditions so have it off this morning.

08/12/2022 15:15: We won't reach 100° but the heat index is up to 98-99° here in NE Valentine. That NW wind has brought some lower level moisture in with our dew point now 63-64°. We started out at 50° this morning.

Another hot one today with the forecast at 102° for Valentine. Our dew point temp is starting out 49-50° so the feels like should run slightly lower than actual air temp like yesterday. HRRR is showing a slightly lower high temperature coming in at 99° with a north wind direction starting about noon. Hopefully this is the last of the 100° temps. Starting Saturday night it's looking like monsoonal moisture from the southwest makes its way into the area, so something to look forward to. Oh yeah this is the last supermoon this year and it's about to sit, 7:09 am.

08/11/2022 19:35: High temps today came in at 100° NE Valentine, 101° Miller Field. Max Feels-like (heat index) came in a couple degrees cooler.

Today the forecast high is 101° for Valentine the good thing is our humidity is starting out lower with the dew point temperature down 10° (51°) vs yesterday at this same time. So the feels-like will run below the actual air temperature today if it stays this dry. Starting out warm, here in NE Valentine 73° currently. It's been down to 71° here and 65° at Miller Field so much cooler. Reminder you can always look at Miller Field under External links. (It's accurate now.) With 5-minute updates, the only issue is updates run about 10 minutes behind.

08/10/2022 It came in a little cooler than expected today, 96° NE Valentine, 97° Miller Field. Feels-like once again is running close to the actual temperature.

Highs yesterday 100° at Miller Field ASOS and 99.4° here in NE Valentine. It was kind of miserable too with the feels-like running the same.

08/08/2022 06:45: Cool morning, checking the Tempest weather station (linked external links) near the airport 50° also Miller Field ASOS and NE Valentine while 49° at the East-side station. High temps yesterday 72° East-side, 73° NE, and 74° Miller Field the warm spot. Another hot week ahead possibly reaching 100° again on Friday. Normal temperatures are 90° and 61° this time of year. Something just noticed Miller Field picked up (.02") in rain yesterday morning around 7 am. Nothing was recorded in NE Valentine yesterday.

08/07/2022 A little website change bringing looping radar to the front page. I realized after talking with folks not everyone was familiar with website navigation so making it easier. This will allow the more detailed radar image free to focus on areas of interest and still have the full radar loop available. The loop is 9 still images stacked. These images are available to the public but not near as detailed or clean as the GR3 Doppler feed being provided. To make the loop image larger just hold down Ctrl+scroll up with the mouse wheel. Most browsers will save the enlargement for the next visit so only needed once. You can do the same with any website for better viewing adjusted to monitor or that 65" HDTV screen many now use along with a wireless mouse and keyboard.

08/06/2022 Storm total (.62") in NE Valentine. (.62") also reported at KVSH radio downtown, (.33") East-side station.

01:50: Picked up another .07", manual 8" gauge. You can really feel the humidity and high dew point temp 70° (very sticky) so don't think it's over yet.

00:40: NE Valentine picked up (.55") this included some small hail, a few marble size. Dumped the manual gauge after measurement thinking it was over. But looking at radar we may pick up more before it's over with lots of activity to the west and SW moving in this general direction. The area 30-40 miles south and east-side of HW 83 looks to be missing out again unfortunately.

00:17: Getting some small hail mixed in with the heavy rain. (.29") so far. (4" per hr. rate) Image Main cell is directly over NE Valentine.

08/05/2022 23:55: Light rain just starting in NE Valentine. Pick up blog after midnight.

Here is the storm cell X8 Image attributes for the weather diary. Quite the light show in the cameras.

23:04: Gust of wind from the NW 46 mph. You can hear distant thunder now in Valentine.

17:40: Looking at one of the models projecting rainfall tonight, if we get anything tonight it looks like a late event. The heat index has peaked at 108°. It feels like it too, it's miserable outside. The afternoon forecast bumped up the chance of precip to 60% tonight.

13:20: Just got back from the airport, was picking up the rain gauge. Some may find this interesting, usually the airport is warmer with a strong south wind like today but after our rainfall yesterday and the wet ground it was actually slightly cooler than NE Valentine. So it looks like the extra heat is linked to the amount of ground moisture or lack of. NE Valentine everyone waters their lawns while at the airport the ground is usually dry. I suspected something like this was going on and today shows it. Now as the airport dries out again it will crank up the extra heat again. It's really blowing so may not take long. (96.8° airport - 97.5° NE valentine) Currently.

"Excessive Heat Warning" today starting at 1 pm. The heat index Feels-Like could reach 107° so take precautions if working outside. The chance of precip tonight was lowered to 50% but we still get in the likely range tomorrow, Saturday night at 70%.

I'm going to remove the Cocorahs gauge near the airport today mainly due to the cost of gas driving checking and dumping.

08/04/2022 Here in NE Valentine (.96"), West 3rd St. (.94"), downtown radio station (.87"), East-side station COCO gauge(.87"), airport nearby COCO gauge(.80"), Miller Field (.71"). Something I should mention we had several (5) grass fires due to lightning and all were put out by the heavy rain.

21:00: This rain is incredible very unexpected and still pouring heavy.

20:55: 4.7" per hr. rate already (.49").

Today here in NE Valentine 97° was the high temp. East-side running warmer +2 at 99°. Tomorrow a heat advisory has been issued by the NWS with another 100° plus day. I'm sure liking the 70% chance of rain Friday night and again Saturday. That's the best chances I've seen all summer being forecast, 2-days in a row 70%.

08/02/2022 Updated: Today was the hottest temperature here in NE Valentine this year (106.4°). The East-side station off HW 12 leaving town (108.5°) and also recorded a 54 mph gust with the north wind shift at 6:29 pm. Miller Field set a record daily high (109°) rounded was reporting 108.4° on 5-min updates. FYI the two Tempest stations one near the airport recorded a high of 107.6° (-1.4) vs the ASOS and the one located in NE Valentine 106° (-0.4) vs the NE station. The tempest near the airport is about 1/4 mile distance vs just feet in NE Valentine.

Today will be our hottest day this week the record is 108° at Miller Field. The forecast is 105°. We also have a decent shot of a T-Storm 40% tonight.

08/01/2022 Highs today 100° NE Valentine, 101° Miller Field, 102° East-side. Today was only the 2nd time in August a 100° day was recorded at this station going back to 2014, the other occurred on Aug. 25th, 2020. Potentially 3 more this week with the forecast. All the station daily records are available HERE

NE Valentine picked up (.03"). East-side (.06"), Miller Field (.05") and nearby Cocorahs gauge (.06") in a light T/storm.

Hot week ahead just hope models are overplaying it. Noticed the HRRR has Valentine at 103° that's up +3 over what it was predicting yesterday so heading the wrong way. UGH!. The forecast this early morning has a more conservative 100° for today. Tomorrow will be the hottest day (104°) followed by (102°) on Friday. So all week the heat is on.

07/31/2022 High temps today with a north breeze (95°) Miller Field and NE Valentine, (94°) at the East-side station.

05:55: Looking at models (HRRR, ECM) this morning won't be surprised if Valentine doesn't warm as much as previously forecast. Looks like the low to mid-90s are more likely today.

07/30/2022 21:50: Highs today came in normal 91° here in NE Valentine and 92° at Miller Field. The forecast is unchanged starting tomorrow HOT near 99° with Tuesday the hottest day around 105° and the rest of the week staying near the century mark with next Saturday finally getting closer to normal back down into the low to mid-90s. Dog days of summer is upon us.

07:00 am: Lows reported 63° Miller Field, 64° here in NE Valentine. Today the forecast high 93° is slightly above the (Normal 91°) with the upcoming week getting "HOT", Tuesday at 106° and near 99° for the rest of the week through Friday. We do have a slight chance of precip 20% tonight. Highs yesterday 87° here in NE Valentine, 88° at Miller Field and the East-side station.

It's getting near that time of year the low temps will start coming in after 6:52 am with the later sunrise. It only affects the NWS posted low temps they won't show until the 12:52 midday update. Today is a good example, Miller Field at 7 am: was (17c), 62.6° but the low could actually be 62° because the ASOS only puts out whole numbers in Celsius. So 16.5, 16.6 16.7, etc. are the possible lows instead of 17°. Why it doesn't report in tenths no idea.

07/29/2022 Today (Friday) is our last below-normal day for a while, with the forecast high of 89° for Valentine. Starting Sunday 99° with Tuesday our hottest day at 104°. Yesterday's high temps 81° here and 82° at Miller Field. Lows this morning both locations 55°, East-side 54°.

07/28/2022 Below normal 84° expected today so enjoy, but WOW, next week looks ugly. Not reflected quite this bad in the forecast but some models are showing as high as 112° Tuesday. All are onboard for 100+ which is rare for this station in August occurring only once since 2014.

07/27/2022 17:35: Miller Field was the winner, playing catch-up with (.15") Image in Cocorahs gauge nearby. Other totals, (.05") here in NE Valentine, (.06") at the East-side station and (.04") KVSH Radio station downtown. High temps today 90° NE, East side and Miller Field.

16:40: Getting rain in NE Valentine.

Coolish morning, under a clear sky it's been down to 54° East-side, 55° both Miller Field and here in NE Valentine. We have a 30% chance of precip late today and tonight with temperatures staying below normal until the weekend. High pressure builds back in next week bringing hot weather again. Hopefully, it's short-lived.

07/26/2022 The nearby airport Cocorahs gauge recorded (.36") Image .

09:15: Got a couple healthy rain reports from one of the areas that had been really hurting, 40 miles south. (1.08") in Cocorahs gauge and 1.2" about a mile away. Heading out to the airport to check the Cocorahs gauge, suspect it will read the same as ASOS did yesterday.

(.16") fell here in NE Valentine, confirmed against SRG. The airport was heavier (.36"). Only (.11") at the East-side station. The radio station KVSH downtown reports (.36"). This was a little unexpected bonus rainfall.

04:50: Heavy rain.

07/25/2022 11:40: (.24") Image fell near the airport. This was the same amount the ASOS reported. Unfortunately, some areas that have been worse off only received a few hundredths. (.25") fell at the East-side station and here in NE Valentine (.16").

(.14) 2:40 am overnight the ECM was wrong forecasters were more right with Miller Field (.22") I like being wrong. High temps this week below normal,

07/24/2022 Not overly confident we will get rain tonight or tomorrow. NAM and GFS say yes but my favorite model says no. (ECM). A day ago was saying yes so fingers crossed. WE need it, it's not as dry in NE Valentine as the airport but some outlying areas are.

Warm morning with the south wind blowing in front of an approaching cool front. The high-temperature forecast has been lowered to 94° with the cooler air expected to arrive prior to peak heating. Highs yesterday, NE Valentine 97°, East side 98°, Miller Field 99°. There is a slight chance of a shower this morning. Our best chance will be Monday, it's looking good with several models.

07/22/2022 After yesterday's thunderstorm coming down from the north and completely missed by the west view camera decided to set up another camera that's been sitting around to cover that direction. Will leave this camera pointed low enough the street conditions are shown during rain and snowfalls. Eventually may turn the west view camera more toward the SW direction. If using a PC mouse you can click to enlarge and click again for full size.

Lows this morning 61° at Miller Field, 63° here in NE Valentine. Yesterday's High temps 95° NE, 96° East-side, and 97° Miller Field. The high heat index yesterday was only 92°. (.01") fell at the East-side station last night. Trace here in NE Valentine. The forecast hasn't changed much exception removed TS chances tomorrow, sunny and hot (100°) today with chances of thunderstorms starting Sunday throughout (7-day) with near normal temperatures. (Normal 91-62°)

07/21/2022 Got the ground wet but just shy of .01" so a Trace. (.01") did fall at the East-side station.

The thunderstorm is big but has a smallish rain shaft. It started a couple of grass fires the fire department responded to.

Big thunderhead to our NW at 9:22 pm. 1.25" hail reported.

17:40: Active weather with thunderstorms SW of Valentine, even with hail returns (white, pink). Reading a previous forecast discussion these are high based thunderstorms so the amount of moisture reaching the ground could be less than indicated due to the dry surface air. At this time it looks like everything is staying south of Valentine. The afternoon forecast has lowered the expected high temperature below 100° now (99°) for tomorrow. Thunderstorm chances every day with the exception of tomorrow throughout the 7-day.

Update the NE Valentine low, dipped to 56° after 7am. Happens a lot during the winter months and summer occasionally... Low temps this morning (55°) at Miller Field, (56°) here in NE Valentine. The forecast has today at 98° and hotter tomorrow at 102°. Heat indices are expected to stay in the mid 90s so not real humid. We do have a slight chance of a TS 20% tonight. Starting Sunday more normal temps and into the 80s next week with chances of thunderstorms every day.

North Platte Doppler radar KLNX is running again. Not sure when it became available, checked this morning and it's up. My understanding is they replaced the pedestal it sits on. When you drive south it's located on the west side of the highway near the Thedford airport. It's hard to see from the highway.

07/20/2022 High temps took their sweet time coming around the 6 pm hour, (98°) here in NE Valentine, (99°) East-side station, and (100°) at Miller Field. The Heat index peak wasn't too bad (94°) with a 40° dew point temperature so it's felt hotter many times this summer. Update: (3 am) dew point has risen into the mid-50s.

Yesterday was a nice example of how good the drier air feels. Even at 94° had to do a double take on the air temperature. The heat index high was only 89°. Looks like 3 more near 100° days followed by more normal temps going ahead even down into the 80s possible next week according to several models. The ECM thinks we may get rain Thursday night with a 30% chance showing on the forecast. This morning Miller Field dipped to 57°, here at the NE location 59° with the 52° dew point temp.

07/18/2022 19:00: Final highs here in NE Valentine 105°, East-side 106° and Miller Field 108° which was a record. Heat index peak was between 105 and 106°.

Focus today is on the heat and lots of it. Currently, the forecast has 108° for Valentine the record is (105°). Here on the north side of town, it'll run a couple of degrees cooler than the airport. Over at the East-side location, it can get just as hot as the airport with the openness of no trees and just prairie grass under these conditions along with those areas toward the south side of Valentine. One size just doesn't fit all here in Valentine with the geographical feature differences with part of town next to tree-covered hills and river below and you head south two miles it's wide open prairie at the airport. This difference has really shown itself with rainfall this year and not just the temperatures. Here is the real-time East-Side station LINK, also under external links if you want to follow the heat today or anytime.

07/17/2022 Dense fog this morning visibility 1/4 mile or less our high temp expected around 96° today and (108°) tomorrow, ouch! This is not a typo.

07/16/2022 15:35: Sudden downpour with large raindrops we picked up (.10"), measuring stick The thunderstorm has moved east of town. Bumps total to (.36") here in NE Valentine. A whopping (.27") fell at the East Side station. (.52") total including last night. And as usual Miller Field only received (.01"). Almost unbelievable it's staying that dry on the south side of HW20. (16:25) Update the COCO gauge near airport was just shy of (.02") so (.01") the same as ASOS.

Here is a radar that seems to work even with North Platte down. It's linked on the links page HERE. Bookmark for future reference. It's interactive so you can move around, just enable mouse wheel toward the bottom. You can drag image also with left mouse button held down.. Found under the links tab labeled "Interactive Radar".

A couple more rain reports on LakeShore Drive just under 1/2" one report was using a Cocorahs gauge.

Overnight rainfall (.26") NE Valentine, (.25") at the East Side station, and (.16") was reported off the Miller Field ASOS. The Cocorahs gauge near the airport ASOS was (.18"), the radio station downtown reported (.30"). What a nice little break today during the middle of a heat wave with 1/4 inch of rainfall and highs in the upper 80s. Just don't look at that 107° forecast high on Monday as a reminder it isn't over yet. We still have a 30% chance later today and 20% chance tonight of more moisture.

07/15/2022 Getting a nice little rain with thunder just before midnight. (.14")

The high temperature yesterday was 102° here inside town. 104° at the airport. Chance of thunderstorms tonight and Saturday, 40% tonight 30% tomorrow. Our dew point temp is running +5° (65°) this morning vs yesterday, so it's more humid this morning. The Heat Index yesterday reached 102.3 °F at 2:45pm. Heat indices above 100° is when heat advisories can get issued like yesterday. This info is available under the Trends/Records tab.

07/14/2022 Starting to sound like a broken record, another hot one. The heat index is expected to reach above 100° so a "Heat Advisory" has been issued by the NWS starting at noon. 103° is the forecast high. In the station's short history since (2014), this is our second hottest July (so far) with 2017 the hottest when 9 days reached 100°+. Extended hot spells are rare but looks like this is going to be one of them. Friday night is still looking like our best shot of rainfall depending on the model with the GFS dry but others like the European bring moisture in both Friday night and Saturday. We do have a slight chance tonight (20%).

07/13/2022 Friday night and Saturday are looking rather active for precip.

Mid 90s today with our best chance of precip Friday night at 40%, Thursday night also has a 30% chance. High-temperature Thursday is currently forecast at 103° and continued hot through the 7-day.

07/12/2022 A cool 52° this morning, 51° at Miller field and 51° East-side. High temps yesterday 83° Miller Field, 82° here and East-side. Looks like another extended period of hot weather through the 7-day with only a couple slight mentions of moisture. The ECM is showing (.14") on the 16th. Radar out of North Platte never did go down yesterday as announced. Some kind of delay apparently so have it back for now. Ctrl +F5 will clear cache if old images get stuck on some browsers.

07/11/2022 Radar will be down for 2 weeks, meanwhile I'll connect to Rapid City. Valentine is on the outer edge for coverage.

Updated: Rainfall totals (.11") here in NE Valentine, KVSH radio station downtown (.15"), the Miller Field ASOS only reports (.04") however the Cocorahs gauge a little over a stone's throw away recorded (.08") so double the "Climate Station". The East-side station is reporting (.10"). Another Cocorahs gauge SW side of Valentine near Sunshine Greenhouse (.75 mi) west of airport reported (.10").

06:00: Thunderstorm currently, mainly south side of town.

03:40: Radar shows a large swath of heavy rain south of Valentine. (.05") so far here in NE Valentine, with only a trace amount reported at Miller Field coming off the "Climate Station". Going back and looking at the radar loop the rain moved in earlier than expected around 2:30am.

07/10/2022 18:50: High temps reached 93° at both NE and East-side with a light breeze (Valentine standard) out of the NW today. Still on the humid side but the clouds held the temps down. Forecast has chances of thunderstorms after 4 am tonight was lowered to 30% now. Just a couple days ago the forecast was 103° for Sunday shows how fast things change and sometimes for the better. The ECM was right about today so hopefully with the upcoming week too because it's not as hot as some models keeping temps below 100°.

Another hot one with 97° the forecast high, if heading south 107° for North Platte...ouch! The Heat Advisory continues starting at noon. (updated) 50% chance of precip late tonight, all models have the activity early Monday morning hours around (3am) and nothing before midnight. Some models (ecm) even take it into the 7 am hour Monday.

07/09/2022 21:20: We reached (96.4°) here in NE Valentine, East-side (98.6°) and the airport reported (100°). The Heat Index was high here in NE Valentine at a 103.5° peak. Today was one of those south wind days where it just doesn't get as hot on the northeast side of town due primarily to the vegetation cooling effect by the time it reaches this location. Both East-side and the airport have a similar station siting with wide-open prairie grass and no trees or watered lawns.

Forecast highs this morning 99° on both Saturday and Sunday. Humidity will be high with a "Heat Advisory" in place starting at noon. The Heat Index could reach 104°. The forecast bumped up the chance of thunderstorms to 50% Sunday night. Lows this morning are starting out at 65° here, 64° at the East-side station and airport.

07/08/2022 15:15: The fog cleared out before 10 am. The weekend is still looking hot with 101° on Sunday in the forecast. Also Sunday night looks like our best shot of moisture at 40% currently.

05:25: Dense fog this morning under 1/4 mile visibility.

07/07/2022 Updated: Here in NE Valentine (.31") in the 8" diameter rain gauge. The further south the less rain (.12") at KVSH radio downtown also using the 8" dia. rain gauge, the nearby airport Cocorahs 4" dia. gauge (.03") IMAGE . Circled the ASOS showing distance. The ASOS at Miller Field only reported (.01"). Update: Just received call the Cocorahs gauge East-side (.20") so spot-on with the tipping bucket gauge. BTW a new camera was ordered for the east side location.

Looks like the heavy rain stayed on the north side of town again. We exceeded the 2" per hr. rate here in NE Valentine. What I saw occur was the cell stalled and started falling apart as I've seen before as it approached. The NE side of town still received heavy rain at the end of Green St. near Chapel of the Pines (.45") but didn't advance much further and eventually dissipated. Reports west of town received nothing and near the SD border around 1.5" fell. So when the cell stalled it just dumped on those areas. It's become apparent the south side of town is drier than on the NE side where ponderosa pines naturally grow we average (26.76") years 2015-2021 vs (24.79") airport so around (+2") on the year based on a small sample size since 2015.

14:40: A thunderstorm is pointed our direction moving SE out of SD. Lightning 7-9 miles out.

Someone got rain yesterday. HERE is the doppler radar estimate (last 72 hours) for those living in St. Francis. (.56"). Gonna get hot again (99°) forecast this weekend both Saturday and Sunday.

07/06/2022 10:20: Models have updated the ECM no longer brings rain in while the HRRR now is starting too. It's a late afternoon early evening start if it does happen. These types of popup thunderstorms are random and hard to predict exactly where. The forecast currently has a 40% chance today. Areas south of Valentine got some nice rainfall according to 12-hour doppler estimates, while Valentine was one of the few areas left out. Mother nature usually has a way of remedying this.

07/05/2022 17:20: The cooler air from the thunderstorms outflow across SD has squashed thunderstorm development in this area for now. A lot will depend on temperature recovery when they can develop again. We are only back to 80° currently, the quicker it heats up the better for TS development. The good thing is it feels nice outside but we need more moisture.

12:38: Getting outflow wind gusts (49 mph) here and 52 mph from the East side station from the thunderstorms to our north that are rapidly developing. We went from 97° to low 70s.

13:26: 96° and clouding up so this should slow further heating. Our-Feels like currently 100-102° we did set a yearly high heat index at 103.9 °F. Still currently running +9° air temperature vs yesterday. Thunderstorm Warning Box just went up for Valentine.

Decaying thunderstorm around midnight we picked up (.01") here in NE Valentine. The Miller Field ASOS says 0.00" so only a trace. The Cocorahs rain gauge which is now setup near the ASOS recorded just a trace also. The best chances of rain are tonight through Wednesday 50%.

07/04/2022 19:25: The high temperature reached (97°) here in NE Valentine while the East-side station was a degree cooler at (96°). The airport somehow managed 100°. Our high heat index was 103° in NE Valentine with the high humidity. It was rather stifling staying 100°- 103° most of the afternoon. Currently have a dew point of 71°.

Happy Independence Day. Hot one today (99°) specifically for Valentine. Our dew point temp has dropped a little this morning down to 64° from around 68-70° yesterday but the heat index is still expected to reach the low 100s so a Heat Advisory starts at 1 pm. High heat index yesterday NE Valentine was 98.8 °F at 5:16pm. Looking at the upcoming week we have several rain chances which is always welcome. High temps yesterday 93° everywhere Miller Field, East-side Station and NE Valentine. Usually NE side drags up the rear with a SE wind but not yesterday. The wind didn't get real strong.

07/03/2022 22:45: Doesn't look like anything locally tonight unless real late, several areas spread out with activity some even with Tornado Warnings like Bennett County SD. The severe stuff is north of Martin.

10:25: The HRRR is saying thunderstorm chances tonight look good. The ECM isn't as much in agreement however. Here is the latest The HRRR at 5 pm has our dew point temp at (48°) with a air temperature of (107°) making the heat Index (104°). So between about 3 pm and 7 pm we are going to be in that 102-104° range maybe higher toward the north side where the dew point can run higher with the abundance of vegetation releasing moisture. Something I've noticed as Miller Field heats up the humidity really drops. Here at the NE station, the humidity drop isn't as much. This has to be the vegetation influence or lack of at the airport. It was right the other night (.64") but the ECM was onboard too. The NWS forecast has a 40% chance. Once again this is a late night occurrence arriving about 11 pm if it does occur.

07/02/2022 Total rainfall amounts yesterday, NE (.64"), KVSH downtown (.55") both using 8" dia SRG. East-Side (.55") Coco gauge, Miller Field once again way behind (.37"). Got a report from the north side of Goose Creek Rd. 8 miles in. (.55") and was really needed that area was missing out on much of the rain we were getting.

07/01/2022 21:00: A cluster of cells to our west are rapidly moving eastward toward the Valentine area, movement has slowed to around 30 mph from 50 mph earlier.

18:30: SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH through 11 PM, HRRR has changed it's storm track locations substantially. It does this often as events approach. LATEST

Looks like we have a pretty good chance of thunderstorms tonight in Valentine specifically (50%) and NW Nebraska with the severe threat elevated. We don't see this elevated risk level-2 frequently so worth taking notice.

06/30/2022 Some big wind gusts last night 68 mph at the airport and 60 mph at the East-side station. 51 mph here in NE Valentine.

06/29/2022 Picked up a 51 mph gust on the backside of the thunderstorm after it went through. Only a trace amount of rain.

17:55: Highs temps today. Miller Field (104°), Tempest south side (103.8°), East-side (103.6°), (103.2°) here in NE Valentine. It has clouded up with thunderstorms in the area. Our high heat index was (99.6 °F) at 3:56pm. This still did not surpass (100.3 °F) on 13-Jun-2022. You may remember it was our steady 70° dew point day with a high of 94°.

Conditions across town were totally different early on with almost a 10° difference. The wind was calm 0-3 mph on the north side of town while south Valentine was running 10-23 mph. Eventually, the wind will pick up across all of Valentine with the forecast high today at 104°. The hot south wind just doesn't have the same influence on the north side so won't be surprised if the high temperature lags a couple of degrees behind the south side of town. 100° days are rare with the exception 2017 when 9 occurred in July. Average since 2014 is 1-2 days all summer, today will likely be one of them exceeding the 99.3 °F back on 19-Jun-2022.

06/28/2022 Highs today (90.4°) NE Valentine, (90.5°) East-side, (91.9°) reported at Miller field. IDK...light north wind today and there was never a 5-minute update that warm. High heat index (87°) here in NE Valentine.

Morning lows got down to 55° here in NE Valentine, and 52° at Miller Field this morning. Forecast highs, today 92° and a hot one tomorrow at 103°. Looking at models they show the dew point temp from mid-30s to mid-40s during the peak heating period depending on the model used. The feels-like will run 97 to 99° if it reaches 103° so still plenty hot.

06/27/2022 20:00: You can sure feel the dry air with the dew point under 50° the feels like has only reached 85°. It's very comfortable in the shade even coolish with the breeze. We landed right on the forecast high of 88° here in NE Valentine, 89° at the East-side station, 89° Miller Field.

17:00: Updated "About" page with a new IMAGE of the weather station here in NE Valentine. Forecast has 104° for Wednesday, the good thing it's only for 1-day.

06/26/2022 19:00: Lows this morning were a cool (42°) at Miller Field & (44°) here in NE Valentine. Highs today with light wind, (79°) Miller Field, (78°) NE Valentine, (77°) East side. It really was the perfect day.

06/25/2022 19:40: It's gonna be chilly in the morning the 39° dew point says so if the wind subsides. Afternoon highs (75°) Miller Field, (74°) NE Valentine, (73°) East-side.

06:15: Rainfall totals from yesterday NE Valentine (.41"), Downtown 8" gauge radio station (.40"), East-side (.33"), Miller Field (.19"). High temps reached 96° everywhere except 97° at Miller Field. Windy this morning with NW wind gusts into the 40s. High temps forecast in the 70s today and Sunday. Next rainfall chance looks like Wednesday night.

06/24/2022 21:20: Finally got more rain and it did get heavy (2" per hr. rate) with the radar in red. So far today (.40").

20:30: Whitetail deer feeding across the street, eating the yucca plant flowers and acting like nothing is going on. They don't even startle with the thunder/lightning cracks. This cell has all but stalled, it's barely moving. Seen that before something about Valentine's location. I've been told it's not immune from baseball-size hail however by my insurance agent and others.

20:00: Second round on the way. Looks to have slowed. Big hail though 2.5", 45,000' top. Severe Thunderstorm Warning box just went up covering Valentine.

19:30: Well, the cell just did clip mainly the far north side of town, the rainfall didn't get real heavy, never exceeded 3/4" per hr. rate. We may get more activity tonight. Manual check (.16") Update: Miller Field only reported (.02"). Got a report someone living just inside South Dakota north of town (.80"). This next large cell looks to be heading directly at Valentine. Already hearing the rumblings.

05:00: Starting to see a little mist east side camera as the temperature drops closer to dew point. Juicy atmosphere this morning with the dew point temperature at 67°. Our low temperature is on the warm side because of the moisture. Chance of thunderstorms today 30% and this evening 60%. Our last rainfall occurred 12 days ago on 12-Jun-2022. We've had several thunderstorms march toward Valentine only to fizzle on our doorstep, maybe tonight one will hold together and bring needed moisture.

06/23/2022 18:26: High temps today were on the toasty side NE Valentine 97°, East-side also 97° and Miller Field reports 98°.

Peter Sinks Utah gets reported as the national low temperature much of the time. It's a big sinkhole high in the mountains where the Utah State University set up a monitoring station. It's so cold at night down in the sinkhole year-round no trees just sagebrush grow. Thought everyone should know nobody actually lives there. There is a link to Peter Sinks monitoring station on link page. I've followed the temps since the mid-80s when it reached -69°f. Here is an image from the early years and audio clip HERE. Nowadays they have solar-powered fan aspirated radiation shield using Apogee instruments. 4 different sensors 2-prt type, 2-thermistors and 2 shields.

Hot summer day ahead with the forecast high of 97° for Valentine. The best chance of moisture looks like Friday night at 50% before the nice cool down over the coming weekend with highs in the 70s.

06/22/2022 19:00: Warm one today with the south wind. Miller Field high-92°, East-side-91° also no in-town influence (lawns, trees, etc.), and 90° here in NE Valentine. Warmer even hot tomorrow with 95° in the forecast. Still looking at slight chances tomorrow and a better chance Friday night currently 40% of a thunderstorm. Really our last best chance for a while with nothing forecast precip-wise through Wednesday.

Nice cool morning low temps 47-48°. High temperature expected to reach near 90° today. Yesterday the high was 82° here, 83° at Miller Field. Only 81° at the East-side station.

06/21/2022 On 6-19-2022 set not just June but an all-time station record high minimum temperature (77.6°). Station records started June 1, 2014. The airport looks normal this morning so what happened yesterday may have been an anomaly. Still a nice cool down for the weekend ahead with rainfall chances Thursday, Friday, and Saturday but nothing substantial.

06/20/2022 20:10: The high temperature for Valentine was 90° everywhere except the airport ASOS somehow managed 93°. Not a good sign, hope it's not starting this again. No reason for it either the wind was even out of the NW at the time. We ended up with a trace from the thunderstorm that fizzled as it approached.

13:40: Severe Thunderstorm Watch issued by NWS until 20:00 tonight. The wind has already switched to the NW. I don't know where this 93° at the airport came from. Nothing else was close at the time.

Another hot day forecast with the south wind not as bad and the high temps near 95° today, a cool front pushes through later triggering chances of thunderstorms 30% this afternoon and 40% tonight. The wind will switch around to the NW tonight as the front moves through gusts to 30 mph. A nice cool down after a hot week of 90s for the upcoming weekend with all models onboard now with high temps dropping into the 70s. The GEM (Canadian) has the high temp down into the 60s Saturday. Besides tonight's 40% chance this upcoming weekend looks like the next best chance of precip on Friday night into Saturday. This morning the dew point is starting out at 61° so do have decent moisture at the surface. It will likely peel off into the mid 50s during our peak heating period leaving our feels-like slightly below the actual temperature.

06/19/2022 19:00: High temperatures today: Miller Field 102°, East side 101°, Tempest south-101°, NE Valentine-99°. High wind gusts-51 mph at the East-side station, Miller Field-48 mph. High heat index here NE Valentine was 98.0 °F at 2:35pm.

The "Heat Advisory" continues through 8 pm tonight with another hot one expected today along with the south wind continuing. Here in NE Valentine, it fell just short of the century mark at (99°) yesterday. Looking ahead next weekend the ECM has a nice cool down, hope it's right. Forecast discussion says it may bring our best chance of precip too. We do have a few chances prior 20% today and a better 30% tomorrow. A little more moisture today so may feel stickier than yesterday with slightly less wind expected. Our dew point is starting out at 61° early morning. If the wind is going to be less it sure isn't showing, early on already 43 mph gusts on the east side. .

06/18/2022 Final high temperatures today (101°) Miller Field, (100°) East side, (99°) NE Valentine. The heat index here in NE Valentine topped out at (96.8°F) at 4:45pm. So today didn't beat the high index of 100° back on the 13th of June. That was our 69-70° dew point temperature day. Wind gusts looked like this: Miller Field (51 mph), East-side (52 mph), NE Valentine only (41 mph) and was protected by the city of Valentine itself. The Tempest station south Valentine near the airport recorded a high temp of 99.9° and had a wind gust of 49.5 mph.

The heat advisory starts today at 12 noon. Breezy this morning the dew point has fallen from 70° to 64° and is expected to reach the 50s this afternoon. The Heat Index will still be pushing 100° later in the afternoon. As far as reaching 100° today it's unusual for this station with only 3 occurrences since 2014 for all months of June, but can't be ruled out. The airport and south side of HW20 have a better shot where it runs slightly warmer than inside town with the stiff south wind gusting to 40 mph. The record high today is (101°). Our forecast highs have been coming up short lately mainly (IMO) because the humidity has been running higher than anticipated. Looks like next weekend may be a repeat so more hot weather, how fun. Hopefully, we can squeeze some moisture out before it dries out too much. The best chance looks like Sunday night at 40%.

I had a long-time resident tell me they thought the summer humidity here in Valentine had increased over the years. The rainfall average has gone from (18.5") 07/01/1889 to 06/10/2016 now (20.9") NCDC 1991-2020. This station average since 2014 has been (25.75"). But we had a couple really wet years unprecedented (roads flooded) that skew that average.

06/17/2022 Final highs with the stiff south breeze both thermometers south side of HW20 Miller Field and South Tempest 90°, NE and East-side station 89°.

16:25: The peak wind gusts today so far is 40 mph at both north side weather stations and 43 mph at the airport. The airport is running warmer up to (1.6°) at times but it's the real deal nothing is wrong with the thermometer. I've measured the air temp many times at the airport under these conditions with the strong south wind, it's about the location. Even the east side station will get in on the act occasionally and read warmer vs inside town. The afternoon forecast still says 100° tomorrow so could tie or break the old record of 101°. Forecast wind gusts near 40 mph again tomorrow means it's possible at the airport.

13:30: We did get a light shower here in NE Valentine.

12:45: Just had a couple of lightning strikes and hearing the thunder. Smelling rain too. Check out the Tempest South station shows the lightning and how far out. Notice folks the dew point temperature (63°), it's really moistened up. I wonder about the century mark tomorrow with a dew point like that. Plan on taking advantage of the clouds and 80°, mowing as soon as the lightning threat is gone. Twice a week don't bag, mulch so have to look for opportunities between heat waves and rainfall.

NWS statement "EXCESSIVE HEAT WATCH CANCELLED FOR FRIDAY BUT REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH MONDAY EVENING". Noticed a little change in the forecast now 100° for Saturday vs 103° while Sunday is 102° as of the early morning forecast Friday. Still hot just not quite as. Looking at models 4 pm Saturday the HRRR has us at 102° but very dry with the dew point of only 44°, while the ECM (European) has us at 97° and more humid with a dew point of 51°. More humidity slows the rise in air temperatures and also slows the descent so won't cool off as much at night. It's more humid early this morning (52 dp) vs yesterday (43 dp) at the same time of day. Low temps this morning so far 55° at Miller Field, 56° East-side station, also 55° here in NE Valentine. Highs yesterday, Miller Field came in at 86° plus 1° over the other stations all at 85°.

06/16/2022 Clear and calm this morning the air temperature is trying to reach the dew point temp of (43°) with the dry air and great radiational cooling conditions. Lows so far 44° airport, 45° East-side, and the warm spot 46° here in NE Valentine. The forecast says Hot Hot Hot coming up. Of course, Hot weather is relative to what we are used to. Same with cold depends on where you live and what you are used to. Valentine is unique it gets very hot and very cold.

06/15/2022 20:15: Comfortable day with the breeze, 83° was the high temperature from airport to the north side of town, and dry, saw our RH dip into the teens at times. Not good for the hay fields and wildfires, however. The forecast still has 103° for both Saturday and Sunday with 94-96° on the corners Friday and Monday. The 90s continue through the 7-day.

05:40: Radar is showing some returns but doubtful much is reaching the ground. (sprinkle currently) A cool front moves in today with a westerly wind with gusts to 35 mph. A good day to do outside chores before the heat arrives this weekend starting Friday 96°, Saturday 104°, and Sunday 102°. Something interesting this station has recorded only (3) 100°+ days in June total, ever. So having 2-100° days in a row is unusual for sure. Hasn't happened yet so we'll see. I won't be shocked if it doesn't happen something like humidity will move in and temper the high temperature like the other day. This dates back to June 2014 when the station went in service.

06/14/2022 Looking at the weekend forecast of 103° Saturday and Sunday you may wonder how humid will it be? Well, the dew point temp forecast is around 56° so could be worse, this will make the forecast high 103° heat index actually lower by 1° so 102° feels like. What can change this should our dew point be lower or higher than 56°. Don't have to go far east to get into the 60° dew point range HERE . That 70° stuff in Omaha is what we experienced yesterday, they can keep it.

12:30: There has been a revision to the forecast now with a 20% chance of showers. Light showers currently showing out west.

Wind gusts overnight have reached 48 mph, airport 49 mph. The atmosphere has really dried out compared to yesterday with our dew point back down in the low 50s. The forecast is still looking at 100s for the weekend starting with mid 90s Friday. Little chance of rain in the forecast until next Sunday night where a slight chance is mentioned. This isn't good to go for days during June during our peak solar period with no moisture, it'll really start to dry out everything again increasing our wildfire danger. Only (.05") in the last 4-days and now another long period moisture free ahead.

06/13/2022 Here in NE Valentine it reached 94° our heat-index reached 100°. You can look at details HERE under Records and Stats. East-side was slightly cooler by a few tenths at 93° rounded. Looks like Miller Field came in the same 93°. Valentine doesn't get that many days where the dew point hangs around 70° but this was one of them. Several records down south where the air was dry and temps shot way up.

15:00: Currently 91° heat index 97°. Our forecast high temperature for the day has been revised down slightly with the afternoon forecast package, now (96°) by the NWS. The high humidity has slowed the ambient temperature rise somewhat. Dry air both increases and decreases temperature faster vs moist air.

Was looking at the "Heat Advisory", Valentine is not included however Springview, Thedford, and Ainsworth are. I would still take precautions later today as the clouds burn off.

06:50: The forecast high today is 98°. My concern is our dew point temp is 70° this morning. If it stays in this range today our heat index will be around 105° later this afternoon. Maybe the dew point will lower some as the heat builds. Our forecast low tomorrow morning is 61° so the dew point will lower but that's tomorrow. That thunderstorm last night is still puzzling how with our atmosphere being so juiced it didn't produce much rainfall (.05"). It hung over us long enough to produce a 1/4".

06/12/2022 Update: 23:08: The manual gauge agrees (.05") still some sprinkles however. Same at the East-side.

22:55: Sure not getting much rainfall for how the radar looks and the noise it's making. We've had heavier showers than this with a lot less showing on the radar.

21:50: Looking at the storm attributes one of the cells furthest north is a supercell (Mesocyclone) tops just over 42,000 feet. Not seeing any indication of large hail as of yet. Radar will show larger hail with white and pink returns. Further north near Murdo SD there are some monster storms. 56,000 feet and large hail with a Tornado Warning the red box.

A 50% chance of thunderstorms tonight fueled by our daytime temperatures around 91° and surface dew point temps near 60°. Some could be strong with large hail. Monday high temps will warm up even more near (100°) in front of a strong cold front moving through Wyoming. Some of the higher elevation towns in Wyoming mention a snow mix like Jackson and Big Piney.

06/11/2022 The NWS afternoon forecast bumped up chances of precip slightly 30% tonight and 40% tomorrow night. Still near that 99-100° mark for Monday. High temps today across town with full sunshine 1042 W/m2 peak solar and light wind 87°.

Cooler at Miller Field this morning at 59° while only 61° on the NE side of town. The way it should be occasionally. Today's forecast high temp backed away from the low 90's now at 88° with a 20% chance of thunderstorms tonight. The forecast high for Monday is now 100°. North Platte's forecast high Monday is 105° which will break the record. Sunday night looks like a decent chance of rain per (ECM) model with 30% on the forecast.

06/10/2022 5:30 pm: Replaced the NE station temp/humidity sensor with a new unit. Being this NE station uses a high-speed fan for aspiration (51 cfm) the humidity sensor can dry out so needs replaced yearly. Spring is a good time to replace. Sensors in non-aspirating fan units can last twice as long. Sensor life can be extended by going to reduced fan speed at night this is also the trick for high humidity areas to prevent instrument saturation and dripping water out like yesterday morning.

Dense Fog this morning. Airport has .24 mi, visibility and 100% RH. at 55°. All the same here in NE Valentine but shows 99%. The East-side station has a newer humidity sensor shows 100%. Maybe it's time to replace this NE sensor, do have a new backup ready to go. Water was dripping out of the main FARS shield this morning so it reached 100% saturation. A friend down in south Texas ( Victoria area) has this issue almost every day, it's a rare occurrence here to have extended hours of fog where water starts dripping out. Water doesn't cause sensor damage they just take longer to dry out so will read higher humidity than actual during recovery.

06/09/2022 Highs, lows with precip reported across Valentine today here. High temps came in late at both Miller Field and the South St. station just before 8 pm, a rather late time of day. Checking conditions to see what may have caused this late hour occurrence the wind went dead calm for about 15-20 minutes on that side of town. Here on the north side our highs came in around 4 pm.

1:30 pm: Updated East side amount: Our rainfall total here in NE Valentine (.28"). The radio station SRG reports (.27"). Everything has worked east of Valentine. FYI East-side tipping bucket reported (.23") I'll head out there later check and dump the Cocorahs manual gauge. I may have to stop doing this with gas prices approaching $5 a gallon. (Update:) land owner is going to check and dump the gauge. (.24") in coco gauge, thank you Merle. That's as close as a tipping bucket gauge can get, within (.01") the last few rainfalls. Calling the calibration good.

11:05: am: Getting thunder and lightning that cell heading our way has a top of 29,000 feet. IMAGE The big thunderstorms approach 40,000 feet plus.

Our forecast has decreased chances from likely yesterday to a 40% chance of thunderstorms today and 30% tonight. Radar is showing some light showers developing to the west of Valentine this morning at the 5 am hour. The heat is turning up with 92° forecast Saturday, Sunday, and 96° on Monday.

06/08/2022 Low temps around Valentine this morning here. The north side of town was slightly warmer where the wind didn't settle down as much.

High-pressure is building in today with a slight chance of precip 20% chance tonight.

06/07/2022 Two different light showers 7:35 (.05") and 8:45 pm (.02").

Last night when I mentioned the Miller Field ASOS is back this is what I was talking about Click here. Haven't seen it reach 100% humidity for years or even exceed 94%. And at the same time was matching temperatures of other stations. I like to use this LINK for a quick station comparison. (Desktops work best) Miller Field is the south station. It updates about every 5-10 minutes. This link is at the bottom of the external link menu bar too. Radar is showing a big thunderstom down south and we have a little development west of Valentine over Cody currently (4:45 pm).

Low temps across Valentine this morning here. They came in last night around 2:20 am during our fog.

6:20 am: The fog that developed last night has dissipated this morning. Forecasters are giving us a 30% chance of showers & TS today with our best chance Thursday at 80%.

1:25 am: Folks the airport ASOS is back and real again showing accurate conditions temps match other stations and even 100% humidity... Thanks to whoever did this bringing back what our climate is actually like. I'm still envious that my Sensirion instruments take a long time to saturate and reach 100% RH. "Currently 98%" I can see fog developing on the east side camera.

06/06/2022 9:53 pm: We did get a heavy shower here in NE Valentine just now (.11") in about 6 minutes the 8" NWS style SRG agrees. Yellow on the radar. (.09") at the East-side station.

Highs temps today around town here. Added the Miller Field (ASOS) back to external links.

3:45 pm: Thunderstorms being this spaced out across a region have a better opportunity to get big. Nothing around Valentine currently. I see west of Merriman a twister was reported with an actual tornado on the ground.

6:00 am: We have some fog developing again around sunrise. Hills to the west 1/2 mile aren't completely covered yet.

06/05/2022 7:15 pm: The reported high temps today with precip since midnight here. An uneventful afternoon for Valentine. I didn't bother with doppler estimate images because they are high like 1.70" airport and 1.73" here in NE Valentine. IDK why the overestimate is so much, almost double.

10:25 am: Just got back from the East-side the calibration was almost spot on (.78") in the Coco gauge vs (.79") tipping bucket. Hee-Haw, finally.

7:45 am: (.80") is today's total rainfall so far and still a light sprinkle. We have fog developing the hills have disappeared. The Tempest Weather Flow station shows 99% Rel.humidity while the main NE station shows 97%. The East-side station tipping bucket says (.79") so maybe it's finally adjusted. Been chasing the calibration all spring. I'll head out there later and check the Cocorahs gauge. What happened we had to move the gauge because cattle got brought in. So it knocked the calibration off.

6:20 am: Heavy rain 4.2" per hr. rate at one time. Steady around 2.2" rate. Good things happen with the dew point at 57.6°, RH 97% with our 58° ambient temp.

5:25 am: Active with thunderstorms early this morning. Forecast overnight 30% chance with a better chance 60% mainly after 4 pm today. Looks like cells to the west in the Cody area moving at 25 mph will arrive around 6 am if they hold together. (.04") in rainfall so far today.

This is what you get at the airport ASOS with the (+1.8°f) error and relative humidity. The computer doesn't recognize the fog because the RH is only 88%. So reports it as mist HERE. What a great "CLIMATE STATION".

06/04/2022 7:22 pm: Highs and Lows around town today HERE , Same Ol' story with the airport.

10:15 am: 2-day rainfall total now (.22"). FYI the East-side station total was (.20"). So less than the NE gauge by (.02"), made an adjustment on the tipping bucket. Been chasing the east-side calibration too long now. Not a lot of change with chances of moisture every day except next Wednesday. Sunday is our best chance currently at 80%. Forecast temps are expected to stay below normal not reaching 80° throughout the 7-day with next Thursday and Friday being the warmest at 77°. Worth mentioning our dew point temperature is 55° now, so our lower atmosphere is moist enough should rain develop we can start seeing higher rainfall amounts. The dew point is forecast to stay near 50° or above for the remainder of the period.

2:40 am: Heavy rain and small hail for a few minutes.

06/03/2022 7:15 pm: High temps around Valentine today here. All stations are the same with the exception airport 'CLIMATE STATION" (+4°) at 71°. We're melting...Confidence in rainfall tonight by forecasters has varied today from 50,80 now 60%.

Here are the doppler estimates at 1:pm and what was reported comparison St. Francis reported (.27"), NE Valentine actual (.09"), Miller Field reported (.07"), and finally the Radio Station reported (.10").

1:10 pm: Update: (.09") now, also (.09") East-side reported, airport shows (.07") .... Previous: This is good the forecast had a slight chance and now getting a little moisture along the warm-front boundary. Currently (.07") and light rain. A better chance tonight at 50%.

Well, I'm going to miss Dave Dent "Radio Hall of Fame". Retires June 6th. He knows the weather.

For today 40% chance with the best shot of precip coming tonight at 50%, models show timing late around midnight into early am hours. As far as how much these models show (.12 to .25"). The forecast continues with chances of moisture every day over the 7-day period but nothing above 50-50 chance right now. Temperatures look to stay below normal throughout, next Thursday 77° forecast is as close as it gets to the 80° mark. Normal today is H-79 L-51.

Here are the lows around town. Plus 2° at the airport ASOS not surprising over the South Valentine station.

06/02/2022 Highs today around town here. The forecast has moistened up some now seeing chances of rain every day starting Friday. Lows in 50's too this is a good sign, need the dew point temps out of the 40s. The current DP is 38° here 36° East-side meaning our low temp potential is right around that number. The forecast low is much warmer at 49° so possible clouds and moisture moving in later tonight. Update: discussion talks about a warm front moving north and stalling near the SD border by morning.

Highs yesterday around town here. Every station 69° except you may have guessed the airport 72°. This cool influence continues making chances of soaking rainfalls not that great. 50% chance Friday. Our low here in NE Valentine 39° this morning. Still needing the heat pump to cycle taking the chill off in June. Here are the final lows locally on this chilly June morning. Subtract the +2° airport error and it's the same as South Valentine station. This website keeps daily records here, showing both June 1 and 2 have set station low temps for both and low high for the 1st. Not historical records but June hasn't started this cool since at least 2014.

06/01/2022 For May we ended below normal, temperature (-.9°). precip (-.62"), for more including the rest of the year, click here.. Scroll down you can see the departures from normal. Coolish temperatures with no 80°'s in sight through the 7-day with chances of rain starting Friday.

05/31/2022 Update: We've had several light showers today picking up an additional (.01"). (.02") since midnight. Did make it out to the East-side station manual rain gauge. (1.14") so (.09") less rain than NE Valentine location. Doppler agreed was (-.13) less.

5:00 am: Heavy mist this morning not seeing fog yet, the manual SRG (.75") since yesterday morning + (.48") from yesterday makes storm total (1.23") for NE Valentine. The website totals reset at midnight making things more confusing but they are within (.01") of each other. On the month departure is now only (-.64") so it was a very welcome rainfall. FYI the East Side station located .68 mile east recorded storm total manual gauge (1.14").

Doppler estimates are going to come in high of actual due to the dry lower atmosphere we started out with. Here are the 72 hour estimates. St. Francis , NE Valentine , Miller Field and finally the old station location west Valentine HERE . The doppler estimate is running about (.12") high as previously mentioned rainfall wasn't reaching the ground with green radar returns until yesterday is the reason. For others check your location the doppler estimate is linked under external links. Many times it's right on or within a few hundredths of the NE station location using the 8" diameter rain gauge.

05/30/2022 7:50 pm: The last update today we just had a nice downpour here in NE Valentine (1.18") storm total so far. The wind continues from a westerly direction at 21 mph with gusts near 30 mph. Storm totals will get summarized tomorrow along with Doppler radar estimates.

On this Memorial Day, we had early morning rain (.16"), prior to midnight (.32") making the event total this hour (.48"). Valentine avoided any damaging storms last night. Gusts of 50 mph at midnight in NE Valentine, East side just after midnight 49 mph. South side near the airport only 43 mph reported. The airport reported 58 mph. I did get a report of pea size hail that lasted a few seconds from the westside of town but the TS had pretty much weakened by the time it reached Valentine. Update: The (.48") total is the manual reading from the 8" dia SRG. If we don't get a major rainfall event in the next 45 hours we are ending the month of May well below normal. It's almost like pulling teeth just to get an 1/2" this year. Normal May rainfall is 3.52", here in NE Valentine sitting at 2.13" leaving a departure of 1.39". The airport is worse.

Here are the 72 hour doppler estimates. Here in Valentine it's higher than actual due likely to evaporation. St Francis , Miller Field , NE Valentine . Added the Doppler estimate back to the external links menu bar so you can check against your rain gauge. It's usually pretty close even right on at times but today it overestimated.

05/29/2022 10:44 pm: Movement has slowed or stalled, moderate/light rain. (.14") has fell currently

Lows around town this morning, here. Highs yesterday around town here.

Trace amounts of rainfall last night, everything stayed just W-NW of town starting at least 3-grass fires with lightning and lack of rainfall. A photographer could have got some spectacular lightning images last night. 70% chance again tonight with thunderstorms and 80% Memorial Day. Our dew point is slightly higher 55-56° (+2°) over yesterday this morning so feel a little better about getting rainfall tonight. Ideally closer to 60° plus is what we need for a good soaking. Last night was another example of our dry lower atmosphere, rainfall was only reaching the ground with the yellow and red radar returns. So our thunderstorms are pretty much shooting blanks unless parked directly under the main cell with lots of wind and lightning.

05/28/2022 8:20 pm: Update: We are under a Severe Thunderstorm WATCH currently. Thunderstorms to our west and SW are moving about 25 mph. Already hearing thunder so the arrival time may be earlier than thought. Lightning strikes 19-24 miles out. The stronger storm is the furthest out to our SW aimed toward Valentine.

Lows around town here. NE Valentine the warm spot +4 vs South and East-side. Notice the airport still runs +2° over the nearby station. Good chance of thunderstorms tonight at 60%. Hopefully not high based and we get some moisture.

05/27/2022 Highs today around town here. The Airport "Climate Station" +4° over the nearby south Valentine station. +5° over this NE Valentine location. The radio station downtown location surrounded by concrete and buildings high temp using NWS instruments reported (91°).

6:30 pm: The lower atmosphere is just too dry (44° dp) so hardly anything is reaching the ground even with dark green returns, seeing lots of virga from high base clouds. A sprinkle so far is all. We did get a gust of 41 mph here in NE Valentine. 34 mph South-side.

5:25 pm: update: The radar shows activity to the west the strength of cells are dying down some (no red). We might get a shower before it's over tonight. The dew point temp just crashed both NE and East-side. We were pushing 50° about 15 minutes ago now 42°. Seeing lightning 22 miles away, 8 strikes total.

The ECM is bullish on rainfall lets hope it's just half true.

Low temps this morning around town here. Our afternoon dew point temp was 43-44° 4-pm yesterday so was a little puzzled at the forecast low of only 51°. Unless there is a airmass change, clouds moisture cold front etc. you can get a good idea what the low temp will be by the afternoon dew point temp. That's the forecasters of old general rule before models.

05/26/2022 High temps today around town, here. The ASOS always runs +2° but why +5° IDK. ASOS stands for (Automated Surface Observing Systems). I have another name for it.

6:30 am: Final lows on this very chilly morning: NE valentine 35°, East-side 34°, South side near airport: 35°.

5:15:am Update: There may be some scattered patchy frost this morning, especially in low-lying areas. here on top of the hill above the city park and Mill Pond sitting at 37°. Noticed the 40° afternoon dew point yesterday and should have mentioned it. It doesn't need to freeze where air temps are measured for frost to form. Colder air is denser and sinks toward the ground making it several degrees colder, especially with good radiational cooling and dead calm like this morning. The airport area Tempest station is 36° at 7' above ground. (35°) at the East-side station. Still time to cover those tenders if you happen to be up at this hour.

05/25/2022 Update:3:pm: Well not one issue all day since posting this early this morning 5 am, maybe the problem on server end has been corrected: Previous: Been having an issue with the GR3 radar not connecting to the server. Recently it's gotten worse and really at a loss as to why. I'll try to keep it going and upload the message when noticed down. If you suspect the images are not updating use the loops under Sat/Radar tab. They are not near as nice or detailed but better than nothing. Hopefully, this doesn't continue especially when needed.

05/24/2022 6:34 am: Starting to see a little fog on the hilltops .

Doppler estimate agrees with rainfall in NE Valentine, the airport was .08" but only (.06") reported, so was low once again. The temperature runs high and the rainfall low on the "Climate Station", get it? Here is the estimate for St. Francis (.02"). For those living on the far westside and down on Lake Shore dr. the same .07". RH is running high this morning 97%-98% on all stations, the exception, airport Climate Station that can't run that high with the temperature +2° error. A couple more below normal days before we get into the 80's and possible weekend thunderstorms including Memorial Day.

05/23/2022 We picked up (.07") here in NE Valentine, (.08") at the East-side station here. As far as models go the winner was the GEM predicting only (.08"). It was also the first model to pickup on the freeze yesterday some 7-days out. I rarely give it a second look because it's all over the place maybe it's worth another.

12:45 pm: Hate to be the bearer of bad news once again, the curse of the 100% chance has struck again. Valentine looks to be in a dry slot. HRRR latest for future precip shows only .08. I hope not but at the noon hour using the HRRR, it doesn't look great for Valentine. So far not a sprinkle. We are up to a 42° dew point so that's going in the right direction, maybe the slot will fill in and bring some rain.

9:15 am: The forecast was adjusted down to 90% chance of rain today. Radar is showing some green returns over Valentine but nothing is reaching the ground yet. The dew point has come up 5° to 39° so the lower atmosphere is getting wetter.

5:30 am: The models have trended drier it started yesterday afternoon. The HRRR is the wettest here is what they say to expect in rainfall. The surface is dry this morning (34° dp) so expect early on radar returns not to produce much. Using the HRRR model rain in Valentine will begin between 10-11 am. It's gonna be another unseasonable cool day (52°), we've had plenty of those this spring with the La Nina influence along with the below-normal moisture. Some heat Friday, 90° followed by thunderstorm chances Saturday and Sunday.

05/22/2022 It's been down to (25.7°) at the South St. station near the airport. That's a pretty hard freeze over on the south side, here in NE Valentine only 29.5°. The East-side station low came in at 28°. Looking out the front window the lawn is frost-covered. Here's a shocker the airport ASOS low 28° and looks normal, Right? Wrong! The actual low was (25.7°) nearby so still runs +1.8° (1°c) high. The Tempest Weather Flow stations publish temperature similiar to the ASOS that 25.7° was a one minute average temperature. And the temperature is very accurate better than .2f is their claim.

Hopefully, we get a good soaking tomorrow some models show over an inch possible with ECM coming in at .60" and the lowest around .40". We are below normal for May our wettest month and if we don't get it now, may not come. Clouds will start rolling in from the SW after 2 pm today. The HRRR doesn't start rain chances for Valentine until Monday morning after 7am.

La Niña Synopsis issued May 12th: Though La Niña is favored to continue, the odds for La Niña decrease into the late Northern Hemisphere summer (58% chance in August-October 2022) before slightly increasing through the Northern Hemisphere fall and early winter 2022 (61% chance). The stronger La Niña is brings in more northerly drier flows for our area. So the weaker it gets the better for moisture.

05/21/2022 "Freeze Warning" is in effect starting tonight 10 pm for the Valentine area and Eastern Cherry. The Forecast low for the immediate area is 28° with widespread frost so most areas will freeze. Rainfall chance for Sunday night 60% into Monday 80% still looks good with most models saying around a 1/2". FYI: Noticed the dew point temp is 32°, that's the potential low temp should the clouds clear out this morning. Currently at 5:30 am it's 35° with a 10-14 mph wind so not ideal radiational cooling. South St. near the airport with lighter wind 3-5 mph is down to 34°.

Just how dry has this May 2022 been compared to others going back to 2015 HERE . May has been our wettest month with over a 5" average. This data is available under Reports/Daily summary. Reload the page if it doesn't open the first time.

05/20/2022 Rainfall overnight (.04"). Also at the East-side station, all fell prior to midnight. Some of the light radar returns this morning are not reaching the ground with drier air at the surface. High temps today and tomorrow only mid 50's. Saturday morning clouds will likely prevent a freeze for Valentine but Sunday skies will be clear with a current forecast low of 32° at 6 feet. As far as rainfall this coming Monday looks really good with a 70% chance with thunderstorms possible, models are saying around 1/3" ECM to 1/2" with others. As mentioned drier air at the surface shows with the doppler estimate overnight .07" here at the NE station actually reaching the rain gauge was (.04"). The airport estimate was .05", reported (.02"). The one exception St.Francis doppler estimate .15" , there was a report 3X that amount (.45")?

As with measuring air temperature, rainfall requires certain siting guidelines, along with an accurate gauge. The NWS recognizes two rain gauges the 8" diameter standard rain gauge and the 4" diameter CoCorahs gauge. Cocorahs gauges are affordable and can be purchased HERE.

05/19/2022 Today we have a 30% chance of showers during the evening with wind gusts reaching 40 mph with the approaching cold front. We've had good luck with 30% chances. Friday very cool, the high temp in the 50's with a few snowflakes into the early morning hours Saturday with the clouds and precip keeping any frost away per the forecast. Sunday morning we are not as lucky, with a clear sky it looks like scattered frost is likely with a 33° low temperature. Nice warm up Sunday during the day back to 67°.

05/18/2022 6:pm: One last update with so many wondering about the frost potential this weekend. Saturday morning looks like only 35° and maybe a few sprinkles or flakes but Sunday morning the forecast has 34° with patchy frost. I looked at the ECM cloud cover for Sunday morning from midnight on it's mostly clear. We got down to 40° just a couple days ago, even 39° on the East side with a much warmer air mass in place. The only thing that may slow it would be the wind around 3-5 kts at 10 meters, but when it says 5 knots it could be much less at the surface. Was given a list of flowers and while checking temperature tolerances ran across one (Marigolds) they don't like anything below 40°. What it says is 40° might not kill a healthy plant. Yikes! So some are more tender than others.

3:50 pm: Update: The 8" diameter SRG (.11") . The East side Cocorahs gauge was (.12"). This was what the TS cell looked like after it had weakened slighty. Here are the Doppler estimates NE (.11") and I added St.Francis here at (.01") . Some may understand what this is about. The airport doppler estimate says it was only (.04") where the instruments are located. West 3rd St. at the old station location came in at (.14") on the doppler estimate.

1:35 pm: Well that little cell got a little bigger and turned south slightly so we might get a shower. It's very weak right now with only 8 lightning strikes.

1:15 pm: This little cell looks like it slides just north of Valentine. St. Frances probably picked up an inch at least. Just kidding.

Thursday night is our next best chance of precip. Looking at the freeze/frost potential over the coming weekend it really comes down to clouds acting like a blanket holding the ground heat in or good radiational cooling with clear skies. Using the ECMWF model Saturday looks cloudy while Sunday looks clear around the 7am hour. Models differ at this point with the GFS MOS freezing Saturday and still being a few days out they will jockey around more. Yesterday the ECM model was clear Saturday morning and if the timing is off a little maybe clear again on Saturday. As of today the best chance of a frost/freeze looks like Sunday morning. I know this potential frost is on many gardener's minds with planting in full swing, if still sitting in pots ready to go in the ground I would just wait until after the weekend before planting to be on the safe side.

Need to make a correction on how HW 12 came into Valentine years ago. Thanks Gerry for the information, instead of connecting to Bias street which made sense because the Bias St. layout makes little otherwise it actually made a hard left and then a hard right. The 1957 yearbook verifies this, plus you can still see the outline on the google image. The NE station location looked much more wooded back in 1957 before developed.

05/17/2022 FYI if any interest in the thunderstorm cells out in far Western Nebraska, under the Sat/Radar tab open Cheyenne radar.

Last night it was looking like we might get something today but now looks less likely. Still a 30% chance with the forecast, the only model showing more than a .01 or .02" is the GEM with the ECM showing nothing. The potential freeze over the weekend is still on. Saturday and even Sunday mornings are possible. As far as station freeze data on the season we sit at 160 currently. (Correction made I'm half asleep sometimes when I do the morning blog) This season the only record was, we had the fewest days where the high temp stayed below 32° only (25). The next fewest was (33) back in 2015-2016.

High temps yesterday here in NE valentine (83°), at the south side station next to the airport (84°) as was the downtown radio station thermometer with (NWS Instruments). As is standard now the airport ASOS KVTN (Climate station) tongue in cheek, reported +2° at (86°).

05/16/2022 11:am: The Doppler radar is back and so is the current forecast thanks to KVSH radio giving a heads up. Wasn't paying attention this morning. The North Platte forecast stopped working so reverted back to an older script.

5:45 am: Cool morning currently 39-41° from South St. to NE side. Not seeing much accumulation of rain this week, maybe a few hundredths each event. Potential frost Saturday morning with forecasters in discussion mentioning growing confidence as a colder air mass moves in Friday. What it comes down to is whether it's clear or cloudy Saturday morning the air mass will be cold enough to freeze. Sunday also has a potential. Most models have high temps Friday around 50° exception is GFS currently 56°.

05/15/2022 Updated Doppler estimates around town after a few more showers occurred ranged from NE side, actual (.38"), airport side here , reported (.26") as you can see south side had less. Here is the far west side of town at the old station location. The St. Francis estimate here at (.21").

9:35 am: Checked the Cocorahs gauge at the East-side station (.34") . So calibration is a little low (.31") easiest way to fix is software adjustment so that was done. Also we have had a couple more showers (.04") so total rainfall is now (.38") here at the NE location.

7:40 am: Slept through the rain last night, just checked the 8" SRG (.34") The website tipping bucket was very close within (.01"). Also, put a Cocorahs gauge back out at the East-side station because the tipping bucket got calibrated a few days ago. I'll head out there later and compare the gauges. Well a nice little soaking, not totally unexpected. The European ECM model was on track and had been for some time. Anytime the ECM keeps saying the same thing it usually is more right than not. The America models even the HRRR, never mind I'll zip it.

05/14/2022 Here is what Doppler says fell over the past 24-hours in the area. This was the evening showers (15 lightning strikes occurred) just to our east under a tenth of an inch.

6:00 am: Strange occurrence the wind just gusted to over 30 mph from almost calm conditions. Temps bumped up to 48° also.

5:30 am: Temps this morning on the cool side 42° and dropping across town. Model runs early on look about the same as yesterday with the ECM still saying a couple of tenths late toward or after midnight tonight. The German Icon is onboard also. American models not so, this includes HRRR. Won't surprise me to see a shower but not near enough. The month of May is generally such a wet month for us and being 1/2 way through with only 1-inch is concerning. Things can sure change however look at Ainsworth over 2" in one storm reported from city observer. Wasn't long ago the same happened to Valentine where nothing could miss. One last freeze is back on the table for the 22nd per the GEM (28°). Still a ways out but something those planting tenders are concerned with. Not many places have to wait until almost June for their last freeze.

05/13/2022 12:30 pm: The forecast doesn't look great for precip at 20% but the latest hot off the press ECM continues to move moisture in around the 10-11 pm hour Saturday night (tomorrow). Not a lot but is something to watch for being this is the best medium range model.

05/12/2022 6:10 pm: The peak gust so far here in NE Valentine is 56 mph, East side 52 mph, and the airport ASOS looks like 58 mph.

5:25 pm: I can't remember thunderstorms moving this fast. 60 mph according to the direction barbs. Ainsworth doesn't need more rain and they're about to get it.

HRRR at 6 pm today. Gusts will reach the 40's around the 5 pm hour according to the model. Sticky outside today with the 65° dew point temperature.

05/11/2022 Updated 5/13/21: Yesterday turned on a new Weather Flow Tempest station for public viewing. The station is located next (13-feet) to the NE station so you can compare temperature and dewpoint. Don't use the wind speed it's mounted near ground level and surrounded by obstructions so not accurate at all. That's the problem with any all-in-one weather station is finding an open unobstructed area where wind can be measured accurately like at the South St. station. The link for the new station is found on the external links menubar or HERE. If you click on the cloud toward the top right you get a forecast with rain chances etc. Also, you can click on history for comparing highs and lows you may be surprised how accurate it is sitting next to the professional NE station. Follows much closer within a few tenths vs the +1°c (+1.8f) airport ASOS. The temperature isn't real-time but a 1-minute average similar to how the ASOS reports. What's nice about these all-in-one Tempest stations they also do lightning detection, UV and solar so really a complete package provided accurate wind speeds and rainfall iffy at best aren't a necessity. The strong point is the temperature and humidity they have quality sensors and with AI technology for accuracy claim (.2f) or better and you can see it sitting next to a fan aspirated station.

05/09/2022 Here is the doppler estimate over the last 72 hours, Valentine around (1.07") , St.Francis has got the least by far according to doppler here . This covers Friday and the 2-weekend storms Saturday and Sunday nights.

A large thunderstorm capable of 2" hail according to GR3 doppler rolled through. Checked the manual gauge (.46"). Here is what doppler says fell here also (.46"). At Miller Field (.51") but only reported (.39"). Miller Field seems to always report lower. The barometer is low this morning 29.26" with the forecast having wind gusts reaching 45 mph later today.

05/08/2022 7:30 pm: 2 models are now saying Valentine will get 1" plus precip tonight. ECM, and Icon. Doesn't look very threatening but starting to see some development out west. Make that 3 the HRRR got onboard with the last hourly run. Looking at the HRRR timing around 1-2 am for arrival time.

*UPDATED* Today did rain gauge calibration checks on both the East side and NE station automated tipping buckets. Made adjustments as needed. The SRG 8" diameter manual gauge is the final say, but still want the best calibration possible for website visitors in real-time. About 3% accuracy is the best a tipping bucket of this design can do depending on rainfall rate. The East side station tipping bucket gauge has a 5% accuracy. There is a single spoon rain gauge bucket coming out in about 8 weeks according to the manufacturer RainWise with a 2% accuracy I"ll be looking into. I've spoken with them about the single spoon, the claim is it resets much faster than alternating tipping buckets so less loss between tips.

05/07/2022 Wood Lake had some larger hail. (1.25"). Not sure when the power east of town gets restored. Meanwhile, the east side camera image (middle) won't update nor will the East-weather station report.

Update: The peak wind gust as the thunderstorm rolled in, at the NE Valentine location (57 mph). We did get an abundance of pea size and slightly larger hail. The hail pad showed mainly pea-size with a few larger but nothing near 1". We had 3 nearby lightning strikes knocking power out each time. The east side station power is still out.

5:43 pm: We are under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch. A "Warning" was issued for NE Cherry county. Quite the lightning show to the west of Valentine. 12-15 miles are the closest strikes currently. 2000 strikes and building. Open the South St. station it will show the lightning strikes. Current image as it approaches. Reminder that white reflection is hail.

Cody got wet, Kilgore is next image here. When you see white reflected back that is likely hail. The pink triangles are TVS ( Tornado Vortex Signature ) indicated by radar. Doesn't mean a tornado, rarely does just rotation is detected.

4:45 pm: HRRR has most of the activity east of Valentine but looking at the current radar it's well west so not sure how this plays out. It's behind on timing for sure with thunderstorms developing at least 1-hour ago.

05/04/2022 2:20 pm: Today we did pickup (.02") in moisture. Our next best shot of precip comes in late Saturday evening into Sunday, the forecast says thunderstorms.

11:30 am: Light rain and the doppler radar is back up. Keyboard (Ctrl+ F5) if image hasn't refreshed.

Doppler Radar at North Platte (Thedford) is down for maintenance again. The backup Doppler that covers Valentine is Rapid City. The loop is found under Sat/radar tab. Valentine is on the very outer edge so may not show actual intensity.

Not looking very impressive for moisture again. HRRR has pretty much backed away from the idea (.01"), here is what some different models look like early this morning.

05/03/2022 Lows this morning before it clouded up. NE: 28°, East: 27°, South St.: 28°. I doubt this is our last freeze the way this spring has gone with below normal temps. Station average last freeze is May 13 so wouldn't be surprised this year to see a freeze sneak in toward June. Looking at the HRRR this morning we may get around 1/4" plus of moisture Wednesday.

05/02/2022 Here is what doppler radar says about rainfall over the past 24 hours.

4:pm Starting to look like we won't even get a sprinkle out of this. Wonder how often this occurs, going from 100% to nothing? Yesterday I could tell it was a stretch getting much anyway because all but one (GFS) had us on the outer edge so any shift south we get left out and that was exactly what happened. It's too bad events got moved unnecessarily.

9:05 Added the Cheyenne Wy. doppler radar which covers the western Nebraska panhandle area. Linked under Satellite/Radar tab. Update also added the Omaha doppler. FYI the radar you see on the website front page images are generated from GR3 Doppler Radar software so a private feed that uploads automatically to the website. GR3 is much more detailed and has a higher resolution than what the general public gets with the green blob radar loops.

7:55 am: The HRRR this morning is showing showers moving in around 11 am....Update now showing nothing. So maybe not a total bust. (update)...It was.... You can look at the "Model Hourly " link scroll down and look at each hour with temperature.

2:40 am: The power outage is over. Looks like the East-side station is back up not sure why updates are not going through. Updates never went down here in NE Valentine thanks to the cellular hotspot.

05/01/2022 3 pm: Hate to break the news on this next round of moisture, been holding off waiting for a model shift northward instead the moisture keeps moving south. Here is what HRRR says, bone dry. Hope it's wrong. I have very little faith in the GFS which still says Valentine is very wet (1.5")+ while other models are all under two-tenths. The GFS is the outlier and doesn't have a good track-record when it is. Now if it was the ECM it would be different. Hope the forecast and GFS are correct and the HRRR gets its act together. We still have more chances later this week should everything stay south.

For April we ended up (-3.3°) below normal on temperatures but only (-.13") on moisture thanks to the last storm. For the year however we are still (-1.51") behind. Our temperatures with the strong La Nina influence bringing down more dry Canadian air are running (-1.4°) with all but January running below normal. For the full summary go HERE. For April HERE. Something many can relate to I've heard a lot of complaining including myself, using wind-run data starting from the station beginning of June 2014, April has been by far our windiest month with more than (1,000 miles) further than the 2nd windiest month also in 2022 (March).

04/30/2022 After 7:am an additional (.04") fell upping Storm Total (1.84") with the East-side (1.79"). Peak wind gusts today, 55 mph with 50 mph at the East-side location.

04/29/2022 The 2 am HRRR around 3.5" just through Sunday 1 am. I'm going to stop posting model predictions it's pretty clear we are in for a good soaking by the end of next week. Enjoy the moisture it's been a long time coming. Valentine residents continue to boil drinking water until the all-clear, listen to local radio or visit here .

04/28/2022 I keep waiting for models to say "Awe shucks nevermind, we messed up again" but they continue to advertise heavy rainfall amounts. Here is the latest 1 pm: ECMWF run. Even wetter now for south central SD showing 5" amounts. SE Cherry County has been very dry, worse shape than Valentine so this is good news if it holds true. This only goes through Monday 7 am with more coming during the week.

Beginning to look like a drought buster over this upcoming 6-7 day period starting Friday. The last couple of model runs Valentine 2" plus likely by Monday but even more throughout the week totaling (3.21") according to the ECM model which would put us only slightly below normal on the year. This is our rainy season so normal keeps growing (.10") daily (.70") weekly so seeing rainfall amounts in the 3" range over a week is not that abnormal.

FYI the forecast dropped chances from 100% yesterday down to 90% today but see no reason the models have only gotten wetter so wouldn't read much into it. The power outage scheduled for all of Valentine Sunday midnight for 2-hours doesn't look like it will be during rainfall, showers forecast to start later. The weather station here in NE Valentine and East-side are solar and battery powered so no information is lost. The NE station (valentinenebraska.net) will be put over on the backup passive shield for temperature and humidity prior to the outage because the (52 CFM) aspiration fan inside the main solar radiation shield needs 115v AC power.

04/27/2022 Here is last night's ECMWF run for Sunday 7am . Looking pretty good for at least 1-inch of moisture for the Valentine area and leaving wiggle room for more. For other models use the "Model Hourly" link under external links/Menu Bar. We are currently around 3" deficit this year but it's actually worse when you combine the dry Oct. Nov. fall months of last year. BTW the North Platte doppler radar is currently down for routine scheduled maintenance but will be back before the moisture arrives.

04/26/2022 Here is what models are saying this morning Valentine , North Platte . You can see the one outlier is the UK. The ECMWF is the one to pay the most attention to. This is linked under menu bar "Model Hourly" Also included is the HRRR daily temperature trend which is the most accurate for the next 18-hour temps. We've been down to 28° this morning but since warmed above freezing currently, fluctuating around this morning.

04/25/2022 If this comes anywhere close to actual it would be wonderful. So Friday the 29th is the big day if it happens, followed by Sat, Sun and maybe some on Monday.

04/24/2022 Light flurries and wind-driven sprinkles throughout the day, high temps only managed 40° at all 3 stations with wind gusts reaching 51 to 53 mph. The airport "climate station" as usual (+1.8°) or more, the max wind gust at the airport 56 mph. This April will end up being the windiest month since this station started in 2014. Current wind run 8,083 miles with 6 days left, the next closest happens to also be this year (2022) March 7,076 mi so if you thought it has been windy you would be right. Average wind speed 14 mph, avg. daily high gusts 39 mph with a peak gust of 67 mph. All this information is available under Reports/Daily, Summary.

6:00 am: We picked up an additional (.03") in mainly snow before midnight making the storm total (.28") in moisture. At 6 am we are 35° and very windy again with gusts into the 40's. More precip is possible in the form of snow showers 50% chance today. FYI this total was more than expected looking at models, grateful but still leaves 3" dep. on the year.

04/23/2022 High Wind Warning was reissued by the NWS, it expires at midnight. Something happened with the East-side anemometer direction. It's came loose or the mast has rotated maybe even bent, I'll need a calm day to investigate and fix. meanwhile I've added some direction offset inside the Davis console to compensate. The wind speed looks close to normal.

Noon: (.25") moisture total here in NE Valentine, also at the East-side station (.25") so far. Radar is showing less retuns now with only a 30% chance going forward.

4:40 am: (updated) Rainfall from area TS activity (.14") still light rain in the area as of this hour. The same (.14") in the east-side gauge (.68 mi) east of here. We had lightning-started grass fires going on last night along with the 60 mph wind gusts south of town hopefully they got extinguished. The peak airport wind gust was 63 mph. The 73 mph HHHR predicted gust never developed for Valentine. Other peak gusts at the South St. station 57 mph, East-side 55, and here in NE Valentine 49 mph. It really wasn't that bad compared to some of the other wind events this year. If you live on the south side of town you may of thought it was worse. A little taste of what the north side gets all winter long. Here is the doppler radar image of thunderstorm cell as it passed over Valentine.

Don't know if you heard the radio station this morning talking about the record high temperature supposedly at the airport yesterday. They measure the air temperature at the radio station location and have been for many years using NWS instruments for the NWS and the high recorded was 93° yesterday vs 97° at the airport. The Weatherflow (tempest) station near the airport recorded 94° the same as the NE station here. We have a serious problem of fake climate warming records being created right under our own noses. Reminder the KVTN ASOS is considered a Climate Station one the scientist trust as accurate and it's anything but.

04/22/2022 Make sure everything is battened down. Already seeing 55 mph at South St. and east side, 63 mph at the airport. The NE station won't have as strong of south winds due to the location with the City of Valentine being the windbreak so watch the East-side or South St. stations for a better indication of wind speeds tonight.

Some may find this interesting the South St. station shows how many lightning strikes in the area and how far away. Linked below menubar.

5:50 pm: Many thunderstorms popping on radar in SD mainly, the lightning detector on the WF stations says 22 miles distance. Maybe a better chance tonight around 2 am HRRR has activity moving in with about 1/4" of moisture. So far It's reached 95° at the east station, 94° here in NE Valentine and 94° at the South St. station near the airport.

5:10 am: Wish I could say all is looking good for moisture. It may be more thunderstorm dependent initially and that puts us in a hit or miss situation. If we can somehow pick up a quarter-inch that will be a plus. One thing for sure is high wind speeds tonight between 11 pm and 1 am, we could see south wind gusts in the 65+ mph range per the HRRR which is pretty good at projecting wind. South is a different direction from our usual high winds NW. Unless you have a Pivotal subscription wind gusts aren't available so here is the 11 pm graph

04/21/2022 The late afternoon forecast dropped our chances of moisture down to 60% Friday night and Saturday. Looking at models this afternoon you can see why. Hopefully, they look more encouraging tomorrow. (Check out the next HRRR (048) tab about 8:45 pm, linked) The forecast high for tomorrow was also moved down a couple to 90°. Today's high reached 71° at both South St. and NE locations, 72° at the east side station. As usual, add a couple (+2°f) or (+1c), 74° reported at the airport ASOS. Peak wind gusts ranged from 41 mph to 46 mph. The HRRR this afternoon projects 66 mph out of the south tomorrow evening for Valentine starting around 11 pm.

Looking like better chances of precip 70% Friday night and 60% Saturday along with some serious heat for this time of year (92°) on Friday....Fingers crossed.... We still have the wind in the forecast especially Friday night into am hours Saturday with gusts to 50 mph along with thunderstorms. Rainfall amounts with thunderstorms always vary. The only location that froze this morning was the east side location (31°). South St. reached (32.4°) and here NE Valentine (33.7°) as of 6:30 am.

04/20/2022 Last night just after midnight anywhere from (.01 to .03") fell in certain areas. It was pretty spotty around Valentine where some areas got nothing, more fell to the east. Lows around town this morning only got down to 46° at all 3 locations, NE, East, and south near the airport. The airport ASOS as usual came in much warmer at 49°. Nice not to freeze for once. Looking at freeze data we are sitting at (157) this season and it's not over with May 13th the average last freeze since 2014. Freeze data is linked under Reports/Daily tab.

04/19/2022 8:10 pm: We may pick up a little something tonight here in Valentine. The 40% chance looks about right with radar starting to show returns to our west.

6:00 pm: High temps today, NE-71.0°, East side 71.7°, South St. 71.1°. For the airport ASOS just add anywhere between (1.8°) to (3°) to the South St. station. The peak gusts today, east-side 47 mph, NE-44 mph while the airport with excellent south exposure topped out at (49.5) mph

8:00 am: Well the air temperature did reach 32.0° this morning in NE Valentine and the lawn sprinklers showed it. Here. and Here, very crunchy underfoot. Other lows (32.1°) at the east side and (32.4°) South St.

5:15 am: Finally starting to see air mass changes starting today with much warmer temperatures unfortunately not seeing a whole lot of moisture yet, maybe 1/4" this week when we need 2.5" just to catch up. Mid-April through about July is our rainy season so we are inside it now. (33°) everywhere but the airport ASOS (35°) this morning so we may freeze before sunrise. Do have the lawn sprinklers going this morning but they are the self-draining heads. Being so dry have to start watering to prevent weed take over, especially with no guarantee we are going to get anywhere close to normal rainfall with La Nina expected to continue into June.

04/18/2022 Some information for visitors, I've had several WF (Weather Flow) Techs look at the South Street station because of a little concern it was running around 1/2 to 1 degree cooler than this NE station at times and was assured there was no offset on the station and it was accurate. Here was just one of several correspondence emails, note (tech) William said the green station ASOS was a touch warm. LOL, it's not just a touch, it runs (+1.8f) warm or (+1°C). Here is the correspondence Image . My response was no offset necessary I just wanted to confirm there was no offset. Oh yes! And I let them know what I thought was going on with rural ASOS climate stations. Also had to clear up where the ASOS location was in comparison to the South St. station by sending images from both satellite and camera. Something else of interest, WF stations update temperature using AI every 1-minute giving the 1-minute average so similar to how ASOS stations report temperature, this removes many peaks and valleys with average data. I don't like it, IMO it's not the proper way to measure air temperature but it is what it is.

Another chilly morning running 13°+ below normal. The sun isn't up yet so may not be final lows, South St. near the airport (17.6°), here in NE Valentine (20°). I've been following South St. closely it's actually the cool spot for daytime highs much of the time, yesterday was 58° while here in NE Valentine 58.6°, and the airport ASOS reported 62° yesterday, or (+3°) just a block away from the South St. station location. All stations linked under menubar.

04/17/2022 A trace amount of rain this morning and still sitting at (.21") on the month and (.77") on the year so almost 1/4 of the year has gone by with well under an inch of moisture. In comparison to last year 2021 on this date we were (1.67") for April and (5.75") on the year at this location.

04/16/2022 Calm and clear this morning, final lows the South Street station next to the airport was (13°). The remote east station was (14°) and the warm spot here in NE Valentine (15°) coming in late (7:20 am) 20 minutes after sunrise. These temps are around 20° below the normal low of 33°. All these station thermometers are linked under external links.

04/15/2022 7:35 am: The light snow has stopped, it was just enough to fill the cracks.

6:00 am: Getting some light snow this morning. The low temperature dropped to 16° at both South St. and here in NE Valentine before it clouded up. The wind is only 10 mph with gust to 16 mph so that's a plus.

04/14/2022 We haven't set any low temperature (station Records) this April but we have set several (13) daily high wind speeds and gusts records. Here is the link to the NE station daily records . Look over on the right side highlighted in maroon all daily wind records for this April 2022. Records date back to June 2014. We continue to run below normal temps and dry with the La Nina Pacific influence. If the wind decreases to calm toward morning we could see some low teens if not upper teens as the forecast says.

04/13/2022 7:00 pm: Our high and low temps today didn't set any station records but the wind kept the "feels like" well below freezing.

5:05 am: Bitter cold for the time of year (17.4°) currently, the feels like is (zero to 2°f) above zero. High wind gusts last night came in between 9-10 pm, pretty much what the HRRR predicted, (53 mph) here in NE Valentine, (51) at the remote east side, (53) mph at the South St. WF station, (53) mph at the airport.

04/12/2022 12:25 am: Looking at the barometric pressure (29.20") indicates just how deep the low pressure is...Hang onto your hat. The HRRR has Valentine gusts to 54 mph this evening 2200. I'll go with it over the GFS 44 mph based on how deep the low pressure is. At the noon hour we have a lighter west wind 12-18 mph and trying to switch over to the NW direction.

04/11/2022 The potential big midweek storm looks like mainly a North Dakota event. As of this morning, it looks like just a chance of rain and snow showers for the area.

04/10/2022 Daily moisture (.06") in light rain.

04/08/2022 Next week something is brewing according to the European model. A possible blizzard with 68 mph wind gusts and up to 15" of snowfall (1.5") moisture is what is being projected for Valentine right now on the latest run. Being 5 days out and not all models in agreement it could fizzle on the next forecast run but serious enough to keep an eye on what forecasters say as we get closer.

04/07/2022 6:00 pm: Updated peak gusts today: Airport (64 mph), Remote east (64 mph), NE Valentine (60 mph), South St. near airport (59 mph). Total moisture in the form of 1" snowfall was (.12").

6:29 am: We just had a lightning strike and thunder, (thundersnow). The distance was 3 to 6 miles.

6:12 am: Getting moderate/heavy snow now with the temperature at 32°.

5:25 am: Getting snow showers this morning (.03"). We are above freezing at 34° so melts on contact. Current wind speeds are 20's with gusts 30's mph. Later today the wind gets back into the warning criteria 60-65 mph again.

04/06/2022 2:35 pm: Looking at the forecast for Thursday forecasters expect potential 65 mph wind gusts again. Even Thursday evening 55 mph before the warning expires at 9 pm. Currently hanging in the 25 mph range with gust to 40 mph. Course as soon as I type it 30 with gust to 46 mph.

12:20 pm: We've measured (.02") in NE Valentine in the form of mainly snowfall. This is coming from the automatic tipping bucket haven't done a manual check yet. Still, 25 mph NW winds with 40 mph gusts.

6:15 am: The wind has relaxed some sustained wind currently 32 mph vs gale force of 40 mph just over an hour ago. The "High Wind Warning" statement potential gusts is back to 70 mph which has occurred.

5:00 am: Just had a 67 mph gust here in NE Valentine. It's noisy, we may have some damage around town. Once it approaches 70 mph stuff starts breaking. Also on (South St.) Tempest station 65 mph

4:10 am: New peak gusts (NE) 59 mph, (Remote east) 68 mph, (South St.) 57 mph, (Airport) 62 mph..

3:21 am: Our strongest wind gusts so far (Remote east) 59 mph, (NE) 54 mph, (South St.) 53 mph, (Airport) ?

04/05/2022 5:15 pm: A little good news with "The High Wind Warning" expected peak gusts have decreased to 65 mph . Today the highest gust so far has been 49 mph and was associated with a rain shower. Snow shower chances tomorrow have decreased to 60% in the afternoon forecast package.

11:20 am: Getting some light rain 38° currently. Peak gusts so far (NE) 49 mph, (Remote east) 47 mph, (Airport) 46 mph. It's just getting started though 3-days of this ...Ugh!

"High Wind Warning" The NWS has moved the warning up to start (NOW) through Thursday evening at 9 pm. So this will be a very extended period of high wind speeds (3-days) with gusts to 75 mph possible. The highest wind speeds are likely Wednesday. I enjoy weather observing but am not a fan of extended hair pulling wind events. Looks like forecasters are feeling better about the chances of snow with this vigorous spring storm with a 70% chance of snow showers on Wednesday morning before 11 am. Not seeing much accumulation however. The barometric pressure is sure low early this morning at 29.28 inches. Notice our high temp came in at 12:52 am (65°) today.

04/04/2022 6:45 am: update: We have widespread freezing ground fog around Valentine this morning, from the east side camera you can't see the fairground lights so it's dense. Calm wind everywhere south side currently 98% RH, here in NE Valentine 97% RH. If you want to see what the ASOS is saying for humidity and temperature here it is. Check that 88% RH and dense fog, visibility -0 at times. This is what happens when you raise the ambient temperature sensor +1°C (1.8°f). Update: Now the ASOS went to haze and 80% humidity it's not broke what it does is look at the RH and visibility, calculates there can't be fog so says HAZE, the only thing broke is the thermometer calibration. I guess this is the new normal raise the temperature calibration for the climate activist and fake out the scientist.

Looking early this morning what models are saying the wind could be like later this week, the ECM has gusts reaching 62 mph on Wednesday. This graph shows gusts not sustained.

04/03/2022 6:50 pm: Updated final peak NW wind gusts today in mph. (NE)- 48, (Remote east)- 54, (South St)- 43, (Airport)- 45,

04/02/2022 Heavy frost this morning, we have our micro-climate going on this morning with a 12-17 mph wind on the north side holding the temp at (33°) while the South St. station is (27°) with only 4-7 mph wind. Temperatures may come closer together if the wind subsides toward sunrise.

Pinned : Many if not all "Rural Climate Station" thermometers have been compromised running (+1°C) Celsius, this is the same error I see in Fahrenheit (+1.8°F) with multiple field checks done using a NIST certified (calibration certificate traceable to NIST is available) thermometer with (.1f) accuracy at the Miller Field ASOS. This also throws the Rel/humidity off so these compromised stations can no longer exceed 94% humidity without a manual input to cover it up. Most of the record highs the Valentine ASOS (KVTN) has set are not real dating back to early 2016. When I first started recognizing something was wrong along with others who also measure the temperature, I couldn't imagine this was being done on purpose but it's spreading across the country with other rural climate stations. Notice I say "Climate Stations" the stations scientist rely on for accurate data and it's anything but. It's no longer just the Miller field ASOS as mentioned, 2 other contacts with CWOP wx stations are reporting the same issue with their nearby ASOS suddenly running (+2°) warm and can no longer go above 94% RH. So it's not going unnoticed amoung the CWOP community. If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.

04/01/2022 9 pm: Both the NE and remote east only picked up (.01"), the South Street station, and the airport (.03"). Was down in North Platte today doubling sometimes quadrupling spendable income grocery shopping and there were just a few raindrops. Note to self don't go on a Friday again it was very crowded even at Margarita's. Rumor has it we may have a Mexican food restaurant coming to Valentine soon. Hope it's true.

10:35 am: Temperatures are warm enough we should get mainly rain if the precip ever gets here so took the snowboard/stake down to allow the grass underneath to breathe and get moisture. The camera is still running available under camera tab.

If you thought March was running on the cool side you would be right just like February at (-1.9°) which included 3 days reaching below 0. The arctic and Canadian air visits were frequent but the downside it's been dry. Climate summary HERE .

03/31/2022 HRRR has dropped the predicted precip tomorrow down to (.10") Still above the ECM (.02").

Looks like another shot of moisture Friday with the HRRR more bullish (.17") than the ECM (.02"). The more the merrier going south and east of HW 83 along the Goose Creek road didn't get as much moisture as we did. Over on the west side of 83 they received more moisture the yellow is .50" plus. The Valentine estimate was (.17") , St. Francis (.17") . Actual here in Valentine was (.18") north side (.19") south at the airport. I've always found the Doppler estimate very close to actual. Added the Doppler rainfall estimate back to external links.

03/30/2022 Storm total was 1.7" of snowfall with (.18") water content. Most of the snow fell before midnight on the 29th. Accidentally deleted the whole day so this is the summary. I use Notepad++ a text and source code editor to do this blog, it's not the easiest software to use and if not paying attention can mess up.

03/29/2022 2:35 pm: Seeing lots on the radar but nothing reaching the ground here yet. The lower atmosphere has been so dry it may need to moisten up before the lighter radar returns start producing. The dewpoint temp is 33° and the RH only 51% so what's falling is evaporating.

Moisture chances for the area picked up overnight, models indicate 1/3" on the low end to 1/2". NWS forecast chance was bumped back to 80%. I'll get the camera snowboard & stake setup today in the event we do get snow. We could have periods of snow squalls with lots of wind once it changes over to the NW direction but not expecting more than about 1". Travel could become difficult during these periods. Yesterday we made 66° in NE Valentine but it was a struggle coming late in the day and the wind chill didn't help. We won't freeze this morning which is rare it's only our 3rd time this month with the dry atmosphere and low dew point temperatures. Changed the HRRR link from snowfall over to total moisture. Also added the front porch camera back just for the storm you may need to (ctrl + F5) to clear cache if an old image shows up.

03/28/2022 5:30 am: Valentine today will be on the divide line between very warm air near 80° to the west and cooler March-like temperatures 50's to the east. Our high temperature will occur late today during the 5-6 pm hour. The Red Flag Warning is for the western side of Cherry county where temperatures are warmer with lower humidity. We are still on track for moisture anywhere from a tenth to 1/3 of an inch starting late Tuesday into Wednesday. The forecast chance has dropped slightly down to 70% reflects the lesser amount on the GFS only a tenth of a inch. The ECM however is still showing 1/3" of a inch. Later today the HRRR will be within range and another adjustment could be done.

03/27/2022 Still on track for moisture starting late Tuesday into Wednesday around 1/4" is the model consensus. Today's forecast by the NWS has a 80% chance of moisture. Getting excited over a 1/4" of moisture in March is a sure sign of drought. Here is some good news back in 2015 it was also dry (.03") and then the dam broke with one of our wettest May's on record 8" plus.

03/26/2022 Final lows across Valentine with the dry air and good radiational cooling, the warm spot (17.9°) here on the NE side, (17.2°) at the South St. location and (17.1°) at the remote east side. Still looks like possible moisture coming next week. It's not near enough but at least something.

03/25/2022 12:12 pm: Starting to see a good chance of moisture on Wednesday. Slight chance on Monday, right now models are saying around 3 tenths is possible on the 30th and 31st. Today we are getting NW wind gusts in the 35-40 mph range as we have another dry clipper with Canadian air moving through. (48°) at noon so it's chilly without a jacket.

03/24/2022 7:55 am: Final lows today across Valentine, (14.2°) at the South-side location near the airport, (14.3°) at the remote east side with the warm spot (14.9°) here in NE Valentine. This calm wind is nice but it does make for chilly morning lows with the dry air. We are gonna warm to almost 70° today so enjoy.

5:10 am: No wind this morning it's calm here in NE Valentine. Also, the warm spot (19°) while the south side near the airport is running 16° (linked menu bar). Still no serious moisture chances in the 7-day forecast other than a slight chance toward the end. Looks like these cold dry clipper-type systems will continue with above-normal temperature spikes between. The wetter pacific systems will run the southern route leaving us dry. Unfortunately, this is the pattern of La Nina we are stuck in, and now being warned by SD state Climatologists this may continue through June. Let's hope not.

03/23/2022 Final peak gusts (NE) 45 mph, (Remote east) 50 mph, (airport) 46 mph.

03/22/2022 7 pm: Peak gusts today (remote east side) 50 mph, (airport) 47 mph, (NE Valentine) 44 mph

1:39 pm: Starting to get some decent gusts (46 mph) at the remote east side station. Just checked the airport ASOS the same (46 mph) gust. Only 39 mph at this location. The remote east side wx station is linked with real-time updates every few seconds. This station is located on the wide-open prairie and uses the same wind, temp/humidity, pressure instruments as the NE station. The only difference it doesn't have a heated rain gauge being remote and no electricity. Everything is battery and solar powered.

03/21/2022 11:30 am: Updated peak gusts, (50) mph here, (53) mph at the remote east station, (48) mph at the airport and (47) mph at the south Valentine location. The HW 83 station just north of the SD border peak gust has been 62 mph. BTW you can link to these stations under menu bar "Area Observations" and click to open, use your scroll wheel to zoom etc. Moisture chances have pretty much disappeared with a 20% chance of snow showers Wednesday.

03/20/2022 6:00 pm: Very nice springlike day with all 3 locations across Valentine... southside, NE, and remote east reaching 75°, while the airport thermometer reported its usual (+1c) (77°). Very light wind currently (2 mph) with high clouds the peak gust was (26 mph) here at the NE location. Forecast has a slight chance of precip Tuesday night with a better chance on Wednesday but below the likely criteria.

03/19/2022 10:20 am: Did a soil temperature check in the middle of backyard near the snow stake where it gets full sun all day. At the 4" depth 10:am it was 34° and was able to reach the full 6" length of the thermometer probe without hitting any frozen ground. Not sure if that means totally thawed further down. I've got soil temperature sensors for 4 different depths I still haven't setup since moving to this location. Maybe later this year it gets installed.

Still major model differences this morning. ECM and NAM have a large area of no precip including around Valentine and the GFS has moisture and lots of it, (1.43") here in Valentine. The main concern today is the elevated fire danger and it is tinder dry out there so the NWS has issued a "Fire Weather Watch". Morning temps across Valentine 23° north to south with light wind almost calm and clear sky so could drop a degree or more before sunrise.

03/18/2022 7:00 am: Looking at models this morning doesn't look promising with the upcoming system, unfortunately. Still some hope however the GFS is still wet but the ECM (Euro) has consistently stayed on the dry side. I did notice the German ICON got wetter this morning after being dry yesterday. It looks more like showers vs a soaking. The forecast also says showers and slight chances in the 30% range. Current temps this morning across Valentine (17°) at the remote east side, (18°) here in NE Valentine, (17°) on South St. happens to be the same as the airport ASOS (19°) , (shocker) by removing the (+1°c) error.

03/17/2022 Over halfway through March and still very dry. La Niña years generally bring drier arctic systems into the area vs wetter Pacific and it's really played out this year. We had weekly dry arctic clippers for the ladder part of winter and now La Niña is favored (53%) to continue into the Northern Hemisphere into the summer maybe even August with colder pacific water. Scattered showers to the west on radar this morning with a better shot of precip starting Monday but questions still remain on how much and when this happens we generally get the lesser amounts projected by models which could mean little. Fingers crossed this is as dry as I've seen it around Valentine in 7+ years.

Pinned : Many if not all "Rural Climate Station" thermometers have been compromised running (+1°C) Celsius, this is the same error I see in Fahrenheit (+1.8°F) with multiple field checks done using a NIST certified (calibration certificate traceable to NIST is available) thermometer with (.1f) accuracy at the Miller Field ASOS. This also throws the Rel/humidity off so these compromised stations can no longer exceed 94% humidity without a manual input to cover it up. Most of the record highs the Valentine ASOS (KVTN) has set are not real dating back to early 2016. When I first started recognizing something was wrong along with others who also measure the temperature, I couldn't imagine this was being done on purpose but it's spreading across the country with other rural climate stations. Notice I say "Climate Stations" the stations scientist rely on for accurate data and it's anything but. It's no longer just the Miller field ASOS as mentioned, 2 other contacts with CWOP wx stations are reporting the same issue with their nearby ASOS suddenly running (+2°) warm and can no longer go above 94% RH. So it's not going unnoticed amoung the CWOP community. If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.

03/12/2022 Just another 59.5° swing day.

Both NE Valentine and remote side thermometers went below zero before midnight and just after (-2° NE), the remote station (-4° and -5°), while the South St. station stayed above zero at +(1°). Everyone has warmed up since with the cloud deck showing on satellite and cameras. It may clear off again just before sunrise but warmer air is also moving in today after 3 days of sub-zero lows on this side of town. Sub-zero lows in NE Valentine is (19) on the season, several have occurred just prior to midnight and just after but they still count as 2 separate occurrences in the climatological books.

03/11/2022 2:45 pm: Updated seasonal snow report. The new snow today had (.01") in moisture.

5:15 am: Wind overnight was stronger than forecast mid-teens gusts to 24 mph here on the north side of Valentine most of the night. It has slowed below 10 mph as we approach daybreak. Areas, where the breeze is the calmest, will also have the lowest overnight lows. Currently, at this moment 6° south side where the wind is only 2-3 mph and 9° here on the north side with a 8-11 mph wind.

03/10/2022 7:20 am: Our overnight lows so far South Street (-2.0°), Remote east side (-2.5°) here in NE valentine (-0.7°), I'll update later if they change. The airport ASOS reports (-0.4°) removing the (+1°c) error it's actually (-2.2°) or the same as the South Street temperature which is only 1-block away.

03/09/2022 8:55 pm: Clear sky and calm wind currently, looks like the (-2°) forecast low is very reachable. We are already between 8 to 10°. The 8° location is on South St., 9° here and 10° at the remote east side location. FYI we did get a late afternoon snow flurry but nothing measurable. Added a few more locations to the forecast pull-down box for personal localized forecast at different towns and cities.

2 pm: The forecast this afternoon has been updated, changes are we dropped to 30% chance of snow today, tonight 20% with the low in the morning below zero at (-2°).

5:00 am: Below zero wind chill this morning, currently (12°) and slowly dropping toward the forecast low of 11°. Snow chances for Valentine have dropped to 40%, we may see a few tenths of a inch or maybe not. If heading south today there's a "Winter Weather Advisory" for the North Platte area with 2-4" and a additional 1-2" possible tonight. The heaviest snowfall will occur along the Nebraska/Kansas border concentrated on the Kansas side.

03/08/2022 10:15 am: We are currently getting that 30% chance of snow in the forecast. Currently light snow here in NE valentine.

Don't be surprised if Valentine only gets a skiff of snow from the upcoming event. The NWS uncertainty of the upcoming storm track is because models keep pushing it further south down into Kansas. Hopefully, models get a better handle today. The NAM (North American Model) is disseminating right now and looks like this. Valentine is in that sub 1" range. Same thing with the ECM (euro) . One thing we won't miss out on is another shot of arctic air. HeeHaw!

03/07/2022 4:00 pm: Looks like this upcoming snow event is a repeat of around 1" or so for Valentine. Only one model out of several is disagreeing. Heading south it's a different story however. FYI I added the EURO ECMWF under the menu bar you can check for any updates twice a day. The HRRR updates hourly but to be frank hasn't done as well as expected predicting Valentine precip recently.

5:30 am: Here in NE Valentine, currently (10°) with a 9-12 mph wind making the windchill (-3°). 2-miles away the south side of town has less wind so running a degree or two colder on the thermometer with less windchill. It's gonna get worse this week before it gets better if not a winter weather fan with much colder air moving in mid-week and chances of snow again. We are still running about half of normal (moisture & snowfall ) this season so hopefully, we get some of that needed moisture. These 1" snowfalls just aren't getting it done. Historically March is our snowiest month but since 2014 it's been February. This upcoming storm is more of a dead of winter type with arctic air instead of a typical spring storm.

03/06/2022 4:10 pm: Getting light snow here in NE Valentine but nothing showing on radar.

03/05/2022 Updated: We picked up another (.01"), since the manual snowmelt check so (.08") total moisture today. Updated the seasonal snow report page. Only 18.8" on the season, about 14" below the Valentine seasonal average (33") but we still have most of March left which can be our highest snowfall month. Having (0") of snow during October and November is why we are lagging so far behind this season.

9:20 am: Snow is heavy around 1/8 mi visibility currently, the distance of the house across the field on the west view camera. We had a few flakes off and on wetting the ground but it didn't really get going until about 9:00 am. I didn't notice any freeezing rain today.

03/04/2022 The NWS has issued a Winter Weather Advisory starting Saturday 6am for Ice and snow accumulations. The snowfall potential map has been updated and it looks like 1.6" for Valentine and .07" of ice. Haven't seen any fog development so far this morning. Looking at next week a couple models are hinting at below zero temperatures with others in the single digits again around the 11th.

03/03/2022 5:00 pm: The fog finally lifted after 1 pm today. Something similar may occur tomorrow with fog again per the forecast discussion with the high temperature-dependent on just how long the low clouds can hang on and limit sunshine. The air is very warm should it clear off early so reaching 60° shouldn't be a problem.

At noon still ice fog, 1/4 mi visibility here in NE Valentine and 26°.

8:50 am: Still ice fog, noticed as I went downtown bushy trees are starting to turn white. Visibility has been as low as 1/16 of a mile at times.

03/02/2022 The image occasionally going on the front page is from the (remote east side) weather station location. The area has 30 head of cattle currently so has a makeshift fence around the instruments. If traveling east on HW 12 just out of Valentine and look off to the left it can be seen. This station is running on solar and is a great location for measuring weather conditions due to the wide-open area but has no power source for snowmelt. It uses the same professional instruments as the NE station with minor differences like the radiation shield is naturally aspirated and no rain bucket heater. Real-time conditions from this station (remote east side), linked under external links.

03/01/2022 We did reach 70° across Valentine today. All 3 locations South St., NE and (remote east side) all occurred around the same time 4:30 pm.

7 am: Below freezing (30.6°) at the South Street station with only a light breeze while the north side of Valentine is 39°. South St. station is linked (external links). This is what's called a microclimate usually occurring pre-sunrise, it's been a common occurrence here in Valentine between storm systems.

Big temperature differential (10°) across Valentine this morning with a brisk west wind (17-25 mph) blowing across the north side of town. The South St. station is near freezing while NE Valentine is 41°. The Forecast has us reaching 72° today, turning much colder this weekend with chances of snow.

02/28/2022 February will go down as our coldest winter month again for (2021-2022) season with 7 sub-zero lows. There is a clear pattern that's developed with our climate, starting in 2018 (4 of 5) February months have turned into the coldest months. The only year Feb. wasn't the coldest month occurred 2020 when Jan. came in (.6°) lower. Here is the station mean temps.

02/27/2022 5:20 am: Calm wind this morning clear skies, the cold location so far is here in NE Valentine (11°), remote east side (13°), South St. (14°). A big warm-up is expected this coming first week of March pushing 70° Tuesday, Wednesday. This is a whopping 83° temperature differential from 2 days ago. The METAR conditions icon is back on, I don't think it's working right still but with no moisture expected until Friday will leave on for a while anyway.

02/26/2022 3 thermometers 39° for high temps today across Valentine today.

6:30 am: Another cold morning but so far its stayed above zero. Lows so far (1°) remote east side and here in NE Valentine. (3°) near the airport at the South St. location. It sounds cold but we are running +13° above yesterday at this same time.

02/25/2022 6:45 am: The calm wind and clear skies this morning is creating good radiational cooling. With a 3 mph wind our wind chill is running (-20°)...Lows so far (-16°) at the remote east side station (-14°) here in NE Valentine (-13°) on South St. Expect a healthy warmup today with upper 20's. Webcam images this morning: HERE. and HERE.

02/24/2022 Final highs today were still very cold with the fresh snow. 10° NE, 10.8° remote east. Tomorrow will approach freezing followed by a steady warm-up getting above normal over the next 7-days.

Light snow started about 6 am and still falling 11 am but radar shows it may stop soon. (.6") measured new snow. Final lows this morning came in at (-6°) both NE and South St., (-8°) remote east side.

02/23/2022 Another cold one today. High temp today NE Valentine (5.8°), remote east side (5.7°), and the warm spot South St. (7.0°). I think there is a snow reflection issue with the Tempest passive shield not really shown today it was partially cloudy but others where +3 or more was recorded. Both NE and the remote east side have the best sensor radiation shields with extensive testing done when it comes to snow reflective glare. My correspondence with Tempest Station tech support says they never addressed the issue and didn't even know about it. Whatever, it's a known issue with shields. Snow glare can heat a shield up.

02/22/2022 5:05 pm: The NWS reissued the "Wind Chill Warning" for tonight starting at 6:pm, so possible negative -30's again. Our high temps across Valentine today (-0.1) NE location, (-0.8°) remote east side, (+0.3°) and that's above zero (barely) at the South St. location near the airport. The wind chill has stayed in the -23° or lower range all day. I believe this is the coldest day (feels like) I've experienced in Valentine since moving the station here in 2014. We've had other below zero daytime highs but not with this much wind.

10:20 am: Total snowmelt (.06") here in NE Valentine. (-6°) air temp and starting to see blue sky but the wind is still rearranging the 1" of powdery snow. The lowest wind chill recorded was (-37°) around 7:15 am this morning. Unfortunately .06" isn't much moisture, the good thing is what snow fell will rapidly melt once it warms up.

5:00 am: Ongoing winter event with extreme cold and light snowfall. Air temperature this morning (-9°) with a -30 to -34° windchill. Wind has ranged 14-20 mph with gusts near 30 mph here in NE Valentine. Yesterday the air temperature dipped below zero by late afternoon, today the forecast high temperature is 1°.

02/21/2022 8:20 am: Visibility has dropped some looking like a haze on the horizon with very light arctic type (small) flakes falling. The airport ASOS has it as haze which is the norm now. We have dropped to 4° with a -13° windchill currently. The temperature continues to fall even after sunrise. The latest HRRR has our moisture at (.13"). Not much room for error should the track shift slightly one way or the other.

6:00 am: Currently 6° with a windchill of -10° and a few flakes falling. The forecast high today went from the previous forecast of 12° to 17° ? now. The 24 hr. high occurred at midnight 21°. Looking at the HRRR Valentine temps should peak around 9-10° at most during the daylight hours before falling again this evening. It looks like we could pick up some needed moisture ranging from (.12 to .20") in snow water content. The snowfall/moisture ratio is expected to range between 15:1 and 17:1 for calculating how many inches in snowfall. Example: at 17:1 (.10") moisture is 1.7" of snowfall. FYI snowfall isn't expected to start in earnest until after 9 pm.

02/19/2022 Snowfall potential forecast was updated last night linked on this website.

02/18/2022 6:45 pm: Getting some light snow now, the snow stake board is covered. 5:25pm: light rain.

02/17/2022 Final Lows this morning: South St. (0.3°), remote east side (-0.1°), NE Valentine (0.4°).

The winter storm next week could be impactful. If any travel plans make sure to watch the forecast and adjust accordingly. Very cold sub-zero at times with chances of snow is pretty much the theme next week.

02/16/2022 Today it looks like our high temperature came in at midnight (29°), currently we are at 24°. We do have a few light flakes starting to fall at 2:20 pm. It's taken a while for the atmosphere to saturate down to the surface even though radar shows light snow.

02/15/2022 Last year today Feb 2021 the all time station low (-32.2°) occurred. We ended up with 8 below zero station records that week. 3 of those days (12,13,14) the high temps never got above zero. Station daily records going back to 2014 are available HERE.

02/14/2022 After the Wednesday clipper our next shot of winter looks like Monday the 21st. Usually, when you see this type of consensuses it holds true even if it is a week out. We've had a steady diet of these clippers that just don't stay long since the end of December. Maybe this one will be different and bring some needed moisture. The ECM usually conservative with low temps is pointing toward -20° so something to watch how it evolves with upcoming forecasts.

(50°) temperature differential yesterday. We went from 8° to 58° here in NE Valentine the same east remote station 8° to 58°, the South St. Station near the airport 10° to 57°. The special airport ASOS thermometer reported 12 to 60° so the mechanically aspirated radiation shield on the ASOS reported +3° warmer than a naturally aspirated thermometer a block away. I did notice several other stations in the region also reported large spreads of upper 40's. The 50° spread is the most I can recall at the NE station without digging through the station data.

02/13/2022 5:30 am: Arctic air back over the area this morning with the low coming in at (8°) here in NE Valentine. A warm front will quickly replace the cold air warming us back around 49° later today per the forecast. No mention of precip. in the forecast. Yesterday our high temp stopped short of the forecast coming in at 38°. With Valentine located near the edge of these arctic clippers just a few miles separation temperatures can vary greatly so being a few degrees off does occur. I've mentioned this before this area is unique with the rapid change of air masses. Very few places does it go from single digits to 50° the same day.

02/12/2022 Light snow this morning. We've really warmed up currently 20° from the overnight low of (10.4°) at 2:25 am. Other lows (11.3°) on South St. near the airport and (10.6°) at the remote east side station. We have a warm front moving through which has triggered the light snow. Our high temp forecast today is low 40's late in the afternoon.

02/11/2022 Snowmelt (.02") making the daily moisture total (.06"), (.04") fell as rain. Updated the seasonal snow report page. Peak wind gust today 47 mph at the remote east side, 41 NE station, 40 airport, 38 mph South Street. Our high temp today occurred at 12 am (41°) during the daytime hours as the arctic air spilled in it dropped into the 20's.

8:45 am: Moderate/heavy snow NE Valentine visibility around 1/8 mile. FYI the house across the field is .14 mi distance.

We picked up a little welcome moisture overnight (.04") in rain. We do have an arctic clipper cold front moving in today with a skiff of snow possible and 40 mph wind gusts just in time for the Bull Bash Saturday but not near as cold as 2021 when it ended up being canceled due to the bitter cold. February of 2021 was one of the coldest on record, inside top 10 dating back to the late 1800s for Valentine. All the remnants of the December snows melted yesterday here in NE Valentine with the high temperature of 60°. There was even a little green grass underneath.

02/08/2022 4:00 pm: Updated peak gusts, (51 mph) here in NE Valentine... (55 mph) at the remote east station and (52 mph) at the airport.

5:30 am: We have a (10°) split in temperature across town pre-sunrise. The south side has less wind and is running around 10° cooler. Here on the NE side wind is NW 17-29 mph currently. The south side of town has the micro-climate going on with other stations in the area similar to NE Valentine. Temperatures will come together once the wind mixes to the surface on the south side. "Red Flag Warning" goes into effect starting at 11:am until 6:pm central. NE Valentine has had gusts to 34 mph already this morning.

02/04/2022 3:15 pm: METAR conditions icon is back on. BTW we are going to have for the first time this winter 3 continuous days where the temperature never made freezing. All winter long cold snaps have been unusually short.

02/03/2022 5:30 am: Below zero again this morning. Lows so far vary by location, same with the wind: (-6°) NE, (-8°) remote east side, (-4°) South St. Here at the NE location very little wind but the remote east side has a (-14°) windchill currently. I'll update the final lows later today if they change. Today we start pulling out of the deep freeze reaching into the mid 20's as the arctic air moves away. A little change to the forecast, Friday won't be as warm as previously thought only low 30's but back into the 50's Saturday.

02/02/2022 5:20 pm: High temps today 9° South St. and remote east, 10° NE Valentine location.

Final lows on (2/2/22), the remote east station (-4.0°), South St. near the airport (-3.6°) NE Valentine (-3.2°).

4:55 am: Below zero this morning currently (-2°) NE Valentine, South St. (-3°) and at the remote east side. Areas where the light breeze is blowing the WindChill is around -11°. Temperatures may drop more before sunrise so will update the final lows if they do. Today will be a cold one struggling to get out of the single digits and back below zero tonight. Looking ahead nothing but 40's and 50's starting Friday so this is another short-lived cold snap followed by above normal temperatures. Pretty much the theme of this winter.

01/31/2022 We had a peak wind gust of 53 mph from the west around 4:08 pm in NE Valentine as the wind shifted from SW to NW. Since has calmed to 16-28 mph at 5:50 pm. Our dewpoint dropped into the single digits between 1:30 and 4:20 pm this afternoon. Around 5 pm a grass fire over on the west side of town was reported. The low RH reached 10% and DP 2° here in NE Valentine. Our high temperature was 61° at both NE Valentine locations and at the South Street location near the airport.

High temps reached 59° across NE Valentine yesterday, the forecast has it 64° today. The record is 70° back in 1989 so not in jeopardy. Today it looks to be very breezy with SW gusts reaching 50 mph and tonight W-NW reaching 45 mph as the arctic air moves in with a 30% chance of snowfall holding off until Wednesday.

For January it's been dry with only (1.8") of snowfall, (.12") moisture which is a station record for the lowest amount dating back to 2015 (4.6") (.32"). Watching the SD news going north it's been drier with Pierre only receiving 1.8" of snowfall all season including the fall months. So Valentine is fortunate to have had double the normal precip (.80") in December with two good snowfalls.

01/29/2022 (3) above normal days (50's) ending the month of January before another arctic cold snap and the accompanying chance of light snow arrives Feb. 1st (Tuesday). The forecast has our high temps back into the upper 30's next Friday so another fast rebound. So far this winter we have avoided consecutive below-freezing days lasting more than (2) days, we may reach (3) this coming week (Tues,Wed,Thur). This is not the norm our average winter stretch of consecutive completely below-freezing days has been (11) since 2014 with (22) the most back in 2018-19 and this year having the least at only 2 so far. Going back to the end of December the somewhat numerous arctic air visits have been short lived this winter season with temperatures going above normal in-between.

01/27/2022 Looking ahead to February right on cue, arctic air and possible snow the first week. Enjoy these upcoming 50's ending the month of January. For today 30% chance of snow. We got an inch with 20% on the last system but this one is a little different the air is not as cold.

01/26/2022 Yesterday it got down to (0°) before midnight at both the South Street and NE location. The remote site east of here was (-2°). The south wind has since kicked in and we have been on a steady temperature rise. The climate here is one-of-a-kind located on the divide between warm and cold, even dry and humid summer air making it one long rollercoaster ride. I've mentioned before how we can and do on a regular basis have several different air masses over a 24-hour period and why our high and low temperatures can occur at the oddest times.

01/25/2022 9:35 am: Sun popped out so did a snowfall measurement before the light fluffy snow settled, exactly 1" today (.04"). 25:1 ratio at 13° air temperature. Updated the snow report page. FYI the snow stake matches snow board measurement.

8:55 am: Visibility 1/8 to 1/4 of a mile moderate snow. Radar shows almost nothing so it will likely not last. We are around 1" now of accumulation.

8:14 am: Light snow continues just over 1/2" of snow today. Looks like moderate snow (green radar returns instead of blue) south of here but looking at the HW camera near Brownlee we have as much snow on the ground here. We are far enough away from the radar I'm not convinced the returns are correct for snow because it's so shallow.

5:00 am: Currently light snow again. Snowmelt yesterday was (.01") and (.01') today. Our high today forecast low 20's with single digits tonight warming into the 40's Wednesday and 50's starting Saturday. It will be interesting if this February continues the recent trend as our coldest month. Winter temperatures were really delayed this year with November being more like October and December more like November. January has been closer to normal but dry only (.09") in moisture.

01/24/2022 1:45 pm: Light snow continues on and off, the rain gauge tipping bucket finally tipped (.01"). We are already down to 24° so well ahead of the 5 pm temperature expectation. The manual snowmelt check for Cocorahs gets done tomorrow morning.

10:40 am: Flurries continue web cameras are not picking it up well but roads are wet. Our temperature has already slipped below freezing (29°). Looks like the airport ASOS isn't fixed, reporting HAZE. ..The radar is picking up on the light snow.

7:15 am: Fast-moving arctic clipper will move through, high temperatures already occurred, falling to around 25° this afternoon with a 30% chance of snow. Wind gusts this morning 43 mph, remote east-38, HW-83 north of town 45 mph, so wind gusts over on north side higher than forecast but should lighten up over the next hour says the HRRR. HRRR has freezing temps arriving around 4 pm, 26° by 5 pm.

01/23/2022 6:25 am: Light snow this morning didn't last long this is the trace amount.

01/22/2022 6:00 am: Stable and above normal temps again between these glancing-blow arctic air systems every few days. The next one is due Monday night and back into the 40's on Wednesday. This morning across town currently 16° at the south side station and 17° here in NE Valentine. Normal low is around (11°). Yesterday we had a trace amount of both sleet and rain as a warm front pushed through scouring out the arctic air.

01/20/2022 7:00 am: Lows so far (-14°) at the remote east station, (-13°) South St. near the airport, warm spot (-12°) here in NE Valentine. I used to think this NE location was a cold spot until the station went in on South St. near the airport where it's currently -13° linked on website.

4:55 am: Making lots of ice, the 3 stations low temps so far -12 to -13° across town, the area cold spot is the new Tempest station off Goose Creek Rd. (-19°). It must be located down in a cold air drainage area (valley). The thermometer sensor (SHT31) on these Tempest stations has no user calibration so it's correct within the (.3f specs). That station is linked under Tempest area map. Our daytime high here in NE Valentine yesterday topped at 11.7° but the 24 hr. daily was 17° occurring at midnight.

With the big ice fishing tournament coming up on Jan. (28-29th) I heard an interview talking about Merritt not being fully frozen over and how unusual it was for late January. Last year was the same. I think the issue goes back to the super mild fall weather October-like in November the water just got a late start at cooling down. January has been normal on temperatures actually running slightly below as of today. 6 sub-zero lows but no extended days of cold exceeding 2 consecutive days of below freezing highs with several high wind events that can eat at the ice if above freezing. All this has contributed to Merritt having thin ice in certain areas. It may be frozen over solid by Jan. (28-29th) hopefully for the 400+ fisherman.

01/19/2022 6:35 am: Arctic air is fully entrenched this morning currently (7°) and still slowly falling. TRENDS page. NW wind at 16 gusting to 28 mph gives a -11° WC currently. Most of the light snow is falling well south of Valentine. Our high temp today mid-teens bottoming around -5° tomorrow morning.

01/18/2022 Another arctic air visit today and like the last one doesn't stay long. We've had our share this winter but nothing super cold (-20's) and they tend to be the glancing-blow variety. Timing on arrival the HRRR has our temps dropping below freezing just after 6 pm today, forecast has temps dropping into single digits (4°) around sunrise Wed. and below zero the next morning Thursday. As usual with these visits, there is a chance of snow mainly in the panhandle with Valentine seeing flurries. Windchill could get pretty low with any wind. If you live on the south side of town the station has been hanging around 31° this morning. Warmer with more wind mixing on the NE side.

01/17/2022 We've got an all-night full moon, with any snow cover it would look really bright out tonight.

Was able to get the snow stake closer to the ground using a long-shank drill bit for the frozen sod. It should give a more accurate snowfall total during high wind and powdered snow events. The elevated board wouldn't collect anything. The camera and stake is a visual aid only and is not the actual amount measured officially for Cocorahs.

01/16/2022 12:45 pm: We are getting some light snow flurries.

01/15/2022 8:00 am: Deer browsing out front in the fresh snow this morning. Our lows this morning were 9° in NE Valentine, 7° at the south side and remote east side stations, all occurred around 4 am before it clouded up.

01/14/2022 6:15 pm: Snowfall measurement .3" (.02") melt. Still snowing lightly seen on the snow stake camera catching the flakes falling, update on seasonal Snow Report is done. We stand at 15" exactly.

FYI the airport ASOS has broke again not reporting any snow or moisture falling after (15:40) while snow continued for several hours. I mentioned this before how it shorts our actual precip during winter storms dating back at least 8 years for Valentine. I'm thinking of removing the METAR conditions icon for good. The cameras do a better job anyway.

4:06 pm: We've had enough snow the ground is white and the tipping bucket just tipped (.01"). Nothing has stuck to the snow stake board with the wind and powdered snow so being elevated isn't accurate but the ground was so frozen couldn't get stake down any closer even with hot water after moving closer to the camera. Visibility is pretty low, currently about 1/8 mile. We've already had more snow than I was expecting, these arctic air invasions have done this before over the years even with low chances.

11:18 am: Just looked at the remote east side station (59 mph) gust recorded. The airport ASOS reports a (55 mph) gust, and (52 mph) here so far. South side station only (47 mph) but that's being measured at just 7.2 feet.

Glancing blow of arctic air moving in but won't stay long. It's still looking like a more significant arctic air intrusion around the 19th with chances of snow mixed in. 41 mph gusts out of the NW here in NE Valentine this morning.

01/13/2022 Another breezy night but warmer preventing any chance of a freeze today breaking our freeze streak at 40-days dating back to December 4th. It almost froze at the industrial area South St. station (32.4°), NE Valentine (32.5°). Looking beyond the chance of moisture tomorrow, models are pointing toward something brewing around the 19th with arctic air and a chance of precip.

01/12/2022 The night-time moderate wind is blowing again on the NE side of town. (14-24 mph) This seems like a common occurrence in the winter. Over on the south side near the airport only 3-8 mph and several degrees (5-8°) cooler with less mixing. The nighttime microclimate is actually the airport and portions of town where the wind is unusually light at night usually SW direction , most all other stations in the area show this same moderate breeze being experienced on the NE side with a WNW wind direction. I've stood next to the airport ASOS when it says 8-10 mph average wind with barely a breeze felt. The wind is being measured at 33' not at the ground level. The south side station (Tempest) wind is being measured at 7.2' so what you see is actual near the surface. 26' feet here in NE Valentine with the anemometer measurement.

01/11/2022 5:30 pm: Snow stake camera is back up using an older spare camera without zoom but think it will work. With the frozen ground can't move any closer so this will have to do. The other (2) cameras both same model must have fried internally with the power outage. Spent a portion of the day with no joy they were completely dead so went with the spare camera. Some electronics just can't handle any line surge.

6:05 am: Breezy and warm (34°) NE Valentine this morning. Running 8° warmer than the south side station. If the wind subsides temps will drop. The power outage knocked out both the east and snow stake cameras yesterday. I'll be looking more into it today, looks like the power supplies may have got toasted because the IR lights aren't coming on at night which is automatic normally.

01/09/2022 Lows (1°) at the south side station near the airport and here in NE Valentine. The Remote east side came in below zero at (-.4°).

01/08/2022 We reached (47.2°) in NE Valentine (46.4°) near the airport, our high temps came in around 10:40 am so very early and prior to modified arctic air filtering back in. Our forecast low is back down in the single digits for tomorrow morning. The special airport thermometer was 50° today.

01/06/2022 Our low temperatures today (-12°) both NE stations and south side Tempest. As does happen here with different air masses the high temperature today came in late 10:34 pm at 10°. At 11:30 pm we are (9°) with a 12-18 mph SE wind. Looking at the 7-day no mention of moisture, starting Monday above normal temperatures after this cold start to 2022 currently running (-14°) below normal.

Lowest wind chill so far (-33°) @ 3:18 am, more station information including time of occurrence is HERE . This page summarizes yearly (2022) information.

01/05/2022 Noticed there is another Tempest weather station south of Valentine off Goose Creek road that just recently went online in December. HERE I'll link the Tempest station map below menu bar having ranchers living in the area that visit website. For those that do live in the area of Goose Creek Rd. your 7-day NWS forecast specific to the area is available with pull-down forecast menu called "Ranch".

12:30 pm: Currently -2.1° and with the increasing clouds, it's starting to look iffy whether we'll reach zero today. Our WC is still running -25°. (Correction we were 1.9° at midnight) so we did get above zero today.

If traveling today this is what the HRRR is saying for snow. North Platte could pick up 3.4 inches, going north from NP it will clear up fast but with the cold and wind any snow could be an issue.

6:45 am: Bitter cold 24 mph wind with 38 mph gusts here in NE Valentine. Current temperature (-4.5°) and still slowly dropping with our windchill -30°. Also (-4.5°) on south street and the remote station east of here. The snow mention has been removed from the forecast until Thursday night with only a slight chance (30%). This current system dug a little further south taking the snow chance away and brought in a little colder arctic air. Our high temperature is forecast at (2°) for Valentine today (-13°) tonight and only an (8°) high temperature for tomorrow. The airport ASOS always runs (+2°) higher than actual if it helps to feel warmer.

01/04/2022 4:05 pm: Still getting wind gusts to 53 mph and some light snow flurries, the air temperature is 20°.

2:40 pm: The arctic air has arrived our peak gusts so far 53 mph. Mostly cloudy with an air temperature of 26° and crashing. The HRRR has our temperature in the single digits around 9 pm tonight and below zero in the morning.

7:45 am: The arctic air should start filtering in around 2 pm per the HRRR model. We may see some west to NW wind gusts around 50 mph during this period. Not much snow is expected for the area, around half an inch at the most.

01/02/2022 Overnight lows so far this morning (-14°) NE and south side. Remote east side (-16°). Warmer air is moving in with high temps expected to reach into the mid 30's today, 40's Monday and Tuesday before the next arctic front arrives. Currently doesn't look like much snow with this system but there is still some question. Final lows will get updated later today if they change.

01/01/2022 4:40 pm: Jan 1, our coldest day of the season so far with daytime high of (4°) at both NE Valentine locations, and 5° at the south side station. The forecast has negative teens tonight likely with good radiational cooling. Big warm-up Monday, Tuesday followed by another arctic cold snap mid-week.

Manual snowmelt 8" SRG (.07"), snowboard measurement 1.0" of accumulation. Seasonal snow report is updated.

For older blog starting in June 2014. Go HERE. The file was getting to large so this section starts in 2022 Jan. 1.