955
FXUS63 KLBF 212043
AFDLBF

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service North Platte NE
243 PM CST Wed Jan 21 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- An arctic cold front arrives Thursday night, bringing bitterly
  cold temperatures in its wake. Wind chills of 15 to 30 below
  zero or colder are expected Friday morning. An Extreme Cold
  Watch remain in effect for the eastern half of north central
  Nebraska, where wind chills of 30 below are expected.

- Accumulating snowfall is likely across portions of western and
  north central Nebraska, mainly Friday into Friday night.
  Accumulations up to 2 inches are forecast, with higher amounts
  possible.

- Wind chills of 15 to 20 below zero are expected during the
  morning hours Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

&&

.SHORT TERM /THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT/...
Issued at 243 PM CST Wed Jan 21 2026

A cold front has currently pushed through western and north
central Nebraska with gusty winds. Winds will become light and
variable to light westerly tonight with lows from 10 to 15
above.

Thursday, a backdoor cold front will move in with Cooler highs
from the mid 20s far northern Nebraska to upper 30s southwest.
Winds northerly at 5 to 15 mph with afternoon gusts to 20 mph in
the north central.

A strong arctic cold front will drop south through the region
Thursday night as strong surface high pressure near 1052MB
moves into western North Dakota. This will bring bitterly cold
temperatures, with lows from 10 to 15 below across the northeast
to near zero far southwest. A northerly wind 10 to 15 mph will
create dangerous wind chills from 15 to 30 below zero or colder
late Thursday night into Friday morning. An Extreme Cold Watch
remains in effect for much of the eastern half of north central
Nebraska, where confidence in 30 below zero wind chills or
colder is highest.

Meanwhile, light snow is expected to develop after 06Z Friday
across the western and central Sandhills. This will occur along
the western side of the strong surface high pressure ridge axis,
aided by a coupled upper jet at H300. A Northern Stream jet max
will extend from southeast MT across South Dakota while a
Southern Stream jet max extends from AZ through southern CO.

&&

.LONG TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/...
Issued at 243 PM CST Wed Jan 21 2026

Accumulating snow is likely Friday into Friday night,
especially west of Valentine through Burwell. Some of the latest
models including the ECMWF, GEM, and GFS forecast a band of
heavier snowfall from Chadron through Broken Bow. The current
snowfall forecast is for 1 to around 2 inches south of a
Valentine through Burwell line. Upcoming forecasts will better
resolve location and amounts. Due to the arctic airmass, SLR
ratios may range up to 30:1, and with light winds, a light and
fluffy snow is expected.

An Extreme Cold Watch remain in effect for the eastern half of
north central Nebraska Friday morning. Lowered high temperatures
for Friday, Saturday and Sunday toward the NBM 50th percentile.
Highs only from 5 below to 9 above Friday and mostly single
digits Saturday. The ECMWF EFI shift of tails indicates the
anomalously cold high temperatures. The strongest signal
greater than 1 SOT is over the Northern Plains Friday and
western KS and western OK Saturday. Wind chill values from 10
below to 20 below or colder are possible each morning Saturday,
Sunday and Monday.

A return of warmer temperatures Monday into the upper 20s to
upper 30s, and from 30 to 45 degrees Tuesday and Wednesday.

&&

.AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z THURSDAY/...
Issued at 1116 AM CST Wed Jan 21 2026

Strong gusty northwest winds will be the main aviation concern
until 21Z across north central Nebraka. Northwest winds gusting
to 45 to 50kts will continue at KVTN, KANW and KONL until 21Z.
Winds across western and north central will quickly diminish by
00Z Thursday. VFR conditions SCT250 expected to prevail through
the end of the TAF period.

&&

.LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
Extreme Cold Watch from late Thursday night through Friday
morning for NEZ005>010-027>029.

&&

$$

SHORT TERM...Roberg
LONG TERM...Roberg
AVIATION...Roberg

NWS LBF Office Area Forecast Discussion