509
FXUS63 KLBF 130539
AFDLBF

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service North Platte NE
1139 PM CST Fri Dec 12 2025

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Snow persists tonight into Saturday afternoon across portions
  of north central Nebraska. The greatest accumulations are
  expected northeast of a Springview to O`Neill line, where 1-3"
  are possible.

- Freezing drizzle is possible for areas near and south of HWY
  2 tonight into Saturday morning and could lead hazardous
  travel conditions.

- After a cold weekend, temperatures quickly return to well
  above average early next week, with highs in the 50s to 60s
  Monday through Wednesday.

&&

.SHORT TERM /THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT/...
Issued at 320 PM CST Fri Dec 12 2025

Currently, light snow persists across much of northern Nebraska,
with light accumulations of one inch or less observed. Further
south, drizzle and freezing drizzle continue across central and
southwest Nebraska. Temperatures range from the teens near HWY 20 to
the low 40s in far southwest Nebraska.

For tonight, expect ongoing snow to slowly shift east across north
central Nebraska and into southeastern South Dakota overnight. As
this occurs, snow will consolidate into a strengthening FGEN band as
the upper trough axis begins to pivot overhead and the thermal
gradient constricts in the mid-levels. Guidance continues to come
into better agreement with respect to this band, and keep the bulk
of notable snow accumulations across southeastern South Dakota into
extreme northeastern Nebraska through Saturday afternoon. Still,
Boyd county looks to get enough of a glancing blow to lead to 1-3"
of new snow accumulation. With this in mind, made no changes to the
inherited Winter Weather Advisory.

Further south, a more complex precip evolution is expected across
much of southwest into central Nebraska. Forecast soundings continue
to indicate a lack of cloud ice within the shallow moist layer and
points towards a liquid p-type. As temperatures continue to fall
tonight as a shallow arctic airmass overspreads the entire area, any
drizzle will quickly become freezing drizzle for areas south of HWY
2. Though isentropic ascent remains meager, some increase is
expected into early Saturday morning as low level flow becomes
southeasterly. This could lead to light ice accretions, especially
on elevated surfaces, and will need to be monitored very closely.
Additional Winter Weather Advisory headlines may be needed should
confidence in light icing grow for portions of the area Saturday
morning.

As the upper low begins to exit well off to the east through the
Great Lakes, snow will begin to taper off into Saturday afternoon.
In the wake of this system, strong arctic high pressure will then
spill into the Dakotas by Saturday evening. This pushes another
backdoor cold front through the area, with temperatures falling
through the afternoon hours Saturday. This will lead to a very
limited diurnal swing for much of the area, with just far southwest
Nebraska seeing any increase in temperatures in the afternoon. Highs
will struggle to leave the single digits across north central
Nebraska, with low to middle 20s across the Sandhills. Winds will
also increase from the north with the passage of this front as well,
with strong surface pressure rises behind the front. Unfortunately,
this increase in winds will combine with the cold temperatures and
push wind chills into the low single digits to below zero across
much of the area.

&&

.LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/...
Issued at 320 PM CST Fri Dec 12 2025

Drier conditions return for Sunday and beyond, as northwest flow
establishes aloft behind the departing upper low. Low level warm
advection begins to increase in earnest Sunday afternoon, beginning
the trend back to above average temperatures by early next week. A
wide range in highs can be expected Sunday, with low 20s east of HWY
281 to the low 50s west of HWY 61. Westerly downslope flow then
establishes by Monday, shunting the cold airmass off to the east of
the area. Highs return to the 50s to low 60s for most Monday, and to
the upper 50s to 60s for all by Wednesday. Will have to monitor
early next week for increasing fire weather concerns, especially
Wednesday when strong west winds combine with the mild temperatures.
Another clipper system passes by on Thursday, bringing a brief
return of cooler highs and a chance for light rain or snow. This
looks to be short lived however, with yet another return of above
average highs into late week.

&&

.AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z SUNDAY/...
Issued at 1138 PM CST Fri Dec 12 2025

For the KLBF terminal: Expect patchy freezing drizzle and fog
across southwestern Nebraska overnight into mid morning
Saturday. Ceilings will be IFR and LIFR along with visibilities
as low as 1SM. Ceilings will improve to MVFR levels by late
morning Saturday, ranging from 1000 to 1500 FT AGL. Skies will
then scatter out late Saturday afternoon. For the KVTN terminal:
Expect MVFR ceilings overnight into Saturday afternoon with
ceilings ranging from 1000 to 2000 FT AGL. Skies will then
scatter out Saturday evening.

&&

.LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
Winter Weather Advisory until noon CST Saturday for NEZ007.

&&

$$

SHORT TERM...Brown
LONG TERM...Brown
AVIATION...Buttler

NWS LBF Office Area Forecast Discussion