532
FXUS63 KLBF 280521
AFDLBF
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service North Platte NE
1121 PM CST Tue Jan 27 2026
.KEY MESSAGES...
- Limited fire weather concerns will come with a warm up across
western and southwest Nebraska Wednesday.
- A long duration light snow potential exists Thursday through
Saturday. At this time accumulations look minimal.
- Cold wind chills are expected Friday night into Saturday
morning.
- Still expecting a warm up Sunday into Monday, especially
across western Nebraska.
&&
.SHORT TERM /THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/...
Issued at 341 PM CST Tue Jan 27 2026
Stationary boundary is located across western Nebraska this
afternoon. Temperatures to the east of the boundary are generally in
the 20s. Meanwhile to the west of the boundary lower 40s are
observed to the west of the boundary across the Panhandle. This
boundary will push eastward tonight, and be located from central
South Dakota to eastern Nebraska by Wednesday morning. Skies clear
tonight, and with the light west winds and dry air, lows will fall
into the upper single digits and teens.
A westerly push of downslope flow moves back eastward across the
area Wednesday as the stationary front remains just off to our east.
Some increase in high cloudiness is expected, but should have little
impact on temperatures as warmer air aloft mixes to the surface.
Areas along and south of I-80 will see the warmest temperatures,
with highs likely reaching the lower 50s. As far as fire weather
concerns, there will be some limited potential across portions of
the Panhandle into southwest Nebraska. HREF probs. keep the higher
winds mostly west of the area. Probabilities of gusts greater than
20 mph (are generally 50% or less) and confined to the far western
Sandhills with the probability increasing farther to the west nearer
the Wyoming border. Humidity is only marginally low as
well...remaining mostly above 25%.
&&
.LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/...
Issued at 341 PM CST Tue Jan 27 2026
Light snow chances will be the concern as we head into the Thursday
through Saturday period. A stalled cold front will remain from
northwest to southeast across the area. Overall forcing will remain
weak, but a persistent area of mid-level FGEN will develop between
the colder air to the east and warmer air to the west. Weak lift
lift will develop at times as disturbances quickly move
southeastward within fast northwest flow aloft. Snowfall
accumulations continue to look to remain on the light side. ENS/GEFS
probabilities remain below any advisory criteria. Even the 90th
%tile of both sets is around 2" across northern Nebraska and around
1" across southwest parts of the state. The 50th %tile is around 1"
across northern Nebraska and around 1/2" across southwest Nebraska.
The other concern will be cold wind chills Saturday morning. Arctic
air will settle into the area Friday as the stationary front
oscillates back to the west. As high pressure moves east of the area
Friday night south winds will increase. With the cold air still in
place, wind chill values of 5 to 15 below are expected. Coldest will
be for areas east of Highway 183.
Ridging will amplify across the western CONUS Sunday into the first
of next week. This will keep the area beneath northwest flow aloft
downstream of the ridging. There continues to be some question on
how far east the ridging will extend...and how much of a warm up
will occur across our area. What is certain is that the warmer
temperatures will remain across western Nebraska...with cooler
readings to the east.
&&
.AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z THURSDAY/...
Issued at 1120 PM CST Tue Jan 27 2026
Currently clear skies across western and north central Nebraska.
Will see a gradual increase in high cloudiness after 12z
Wednesday, with broken high cloudiness by 18Z and overcast high
cloudiness 20K ft agl after 00Z the 29th. Winds will remain
light below 10kts through the remainder of the TAF period.
&&
.LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
None.
&&
$$
SHORT TERM...Taylor
LONG TERM...Taylor
AVIATION...Roberg
NWS LBF Office Area Forecast Discussion