863
FXUS63 KLBF 152320
AFDLBF

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service North Platte NE
620 PM CDT Sun Mar 15 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Moderate confidence in wind chills near 15 to 19 below zero
tonight and into Monday morning.

- Moderate to high confidence in dry conditions through the next
weekend.

- High confidence in above normal, potentially record-breaking, high
temperatures by late week and into the weekend.

&&

.SHORT TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/...
Issued at 130 PM CDT Sun Mar 15 2026

Snow has basically come to an end across the region with only some
light lingering snow continuing through early afternoon. Little to
no additional snowfall is expected. Gusty winds will continue
through the afternoon before gradually diminishing through the
overnight hours. While winds will diminish to below high wind
criteria, gusts up to 25 mph could be possible through the overnight
hours especially east of US-83. This will create continued areas of
blowing and drifting snow well into the overnight hours. Those
traveling across north central Nebraska this evening or overnight
should allow for extra time due to rapidly changing conditions.

Behind the departing system, much colder air will push into the
region. Lows tonight will drop into the single digits across
northern Nebraska with wind chill values approaching 15 to 18 below
zero. While not quite headline criteria, this cold air combined with
recent snowfall will make for some bitter conditions tonight and
into Monday morning.

&&

.LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/...
Issued at 130 PM CDT Sun Mar 15 2026

High pressure will build back into the region early next week
bringing with it a return to dry and warmer conditions. Temperatures
will gradually warm back up through mid-week, with highs returning
back into the mid to upper 80s by Thursday and Friday. Latest EFI
remains high (0.8 to 0.9) with marginal SoT (between 0 and 1)
increasing confidence that more extreme, potentially record-
breaking, maximum temperatures may occur on Thursday and Friday. On
Saturday, EFI and SoT values increase even higher with EFI values
over 0.9 and SoT approaching 1. Current forecasted highs are much
too low as confidence remains high that maximum temperatures
will reach at least 90 by Saturday, potentially even into the
mid 90s. Latest probabilities support these higher than
forecasted highs as the potential to see over 90 degrees on
Saturday is near 50 to 60 percent. Expect highs through the end
of next week and into the weekend to continue to trend upwards
over the next several days.

There is a low end chance of some isolated precipitation on Monday
night and into Tuesday as a weak frontal system pushes across the
northern Plains. At this time, confidence is low in development and
any precipitation that does develop is expected to be light with
little in the way of QPF. Therefore, confidence is high in
continuing to advertise a generally dry forecast through next
weekend.

The continued dry conditions and increasing temperatures through
next week will result in a return to fire concerns. West northwest
winds will gust up to 35 mph on Tuesday and combined with afternoon
RH values near 20 percent. Winds lessen slightly on Wednesday, but
minimum RH drops to near 15 percent across portions of southwest
Nebraska. Will need to keep an eye on this over the next forecast
cycle as fire weather headlines may be necessary.

&&

.AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z TUESDAY/...
Issued at 620 PM CDT Sun Mar 15 2026

Gusty northerly winds are expected through midnight across western
and north central Nebraska, with gusts diminishing overnight. Winds
become north to northwest overnight and into the morning, remaining
fairly consistent in direction and generally under 10 knots through
the rest of the TAF period. Localized MVFR conditions are expected
across north central Nebraska through midnight, as a lower cloud
base continues to erode. After midnight, expecting VFR conditions
across all of western and north central Nebraska through the rest of
the TAF period.

&&

.LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
High Wind Warning until 7 PM CDT /6 PM MDT/ this evening for
NEZ004>010-022>029-035>038-056>059-069>071-094.
Winter Weather Advisory until 7 PM CDT this evening for NEZ006-
008-009-026>029.
Blizzard Warning until 7 PM CDT this evening for NEZ007-010.

&&

$$

SHORT TERM...Kulik
LONG TERM...Kulik
AVIATION...Richie

NWS LBF Office Area Forecast Discussion