343
FXUS63 KLBF 270459
AFDLBF

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service North Platte NE
1059 PM CST Mon Jan 26 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Some elevated fire weather concerns across portions of
  southwest Nebraska Wednesday afternoon.

- Some light snow potential enters the picture Thursday through
  Saturday morning.

- Ridging appears to take hold across the western U.S. by
  Sunday. Should see an area-wide warm up as this occurs.

&&

.SHORT TERM /THROUGH WEDNESDAY/...
Issued at 339 PM CST Mon Jan 26 2026

Drier, warmer air has spread eastward off the Rockies this afternoon
as surface high pressure has quickly moved south into Texas.
Temperatures have warmed into the mid and upper 30s to lower 40s as
of 2pm CDT. Humidity values have tanked, and are running around 17%
from Valentine through Ainsworth and O`Neill areas. There is a snow
free area generally south of Highway 20 and north of Highway 2
across north central Nebraska. Fire concerns will remain elevated
here for the remainder of the afternoon. Humidity recovers nicely
tonight, with most areas seeing readings above 90%.

Tuesday, a shortwave will track southeast across the Great Lakes
region. Another arctic high will slide down the Missouri River
Valley through the Dakotas and into eastern Nebraska. This will back
a cold front into the northeast section of the area. The front will
stall from around Valentine to Broken Bow. Northeast of this line
highs will remain mostly in the mid 20s, meanwhile areas to the west
will once again see highs in the mid 30s to lower 40s. Little fire
weather threat with virtually no wind and higher humidity.

On Wednesday, the front will attempt to move eastward with a push of
westerly downslope winds expected. At this time fire weather
concerns look limited due to the overall weak low-level westerly
flow. Southwest Nebraska will see highs reach into the upper 40s to
near 50, and local gusts of 15 to 20 mph are expected. As humidity
drops to around 25% during the afternoon some limited concern will
be there.

&&

.LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY/...
Issued at 339 PM CST Mon Jan 26 2026

Northwest flow aloft will continue Thursday into the upcoming
weekend. A couple of weak shortwave disturbances will move southeast
within the flow. There will continue to be a stationary boundary
anchored northwest to southeast across the area. An area of mid-
level FGEN will increase Thursday into the weekend in the vicinity
of the boundary. This will bring some increase in precipitation/snow
chances to the area. ENS/GEFS probabilities are high for a light
dusting or a couple of tenths of an inch of snow accumulation.
Confident that much of the area will likely see at least a dusting
of snow. Chances decrease considerably as we approach more
appreciable amounts of 1"+. So, at this time, it appears it won`t be
a big deal but there will be a good chance for a dusting or very
light accumulation.

As mentioned there remains the stationary front, with continued
colder conditions across eastern Nebraska and warmer across western
portions of the state. By Sunday, strong ridging takes hold across
western Nebraska, and should see a significant warm up across all of
western and north central Nebraska.

&&

.AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z WEDNESDAY/...
Issued at 1058 PM CST Mon Jan 26 2026

High level cloudiness will increase Tuesday morning with
scattered to broken ceilings around 20000 FT AGL. Ceilings will
fall to 5000 to 10000 FT AGL Tuesday afternoon and will persist
through Tuesday evening. Winds will be light at under 10 KTS
over the next 24 hours.

&&

.LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
None.

&&

$$

SHORT TERM...Taylor
LONG TERM...
AVIATION...Buttler

NWS LBF Office Area Forecast Discussion