Forecast Discussion
NWS Omaha/Valley, NE

338
FXUS63 KOAX 050509
AFDOAX

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Omaha/Valley NE
1109 PM CST Thu Dec 4 2025

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Expect some slick roads Saturday into early Sunday as some
  snow moves through. The highest potential for at least 1" will
  be northeast of a Norfolk to Omaha line (40-70% chance).

- High temperatures over the next week will generally be in the
  30s and 40s, but Sunday will be colder, with highs in the
  teens to mid 20s.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 332 PM CST Thu Dec 4 2025

Early afternoon analysis showed an upper level trough axis
passing through the area while surface high pressure was sitting
over IA/IL/MO. In addition, a surface warm front was
approaching from the west and will give us relief from the cold,
with the mid 30s-40s behind it progged to move into the
forecast area on Friday. A few pieces of short term guidance
also suggest we could see some patchy fog develop along the
front as it pushes through late tonight/early Friday. By late
morning/early afternoon Friday, some weak shortwave energy will
be passing by to our north with associated snow falling across
SD/MN. Most guidance suggests any accumulation will stay to our
north, though a few pieces of short term guidance show some
showery precip near a cold front progged to pass through Friday
afternoon. If these develop, could see some brief snow or even
sleet showers given the convective nature depicted by various
CAMs. However, model soundings don`t show much in the way of
instability and saturated layers are fairly shallow, so
confidence in them occurring is on the lower side (5-10%
chance).

Attention then turns to snow chances Saturday into early
Sunday. Some shortwave energy currently over the Gulf of Alaska
will push toward the Rockies by Saturday morning while a surface
low spins up over eastern WY and eventually pushes through NE
and KS Saturday afternoon/evening. Guidance is in pretty good
agreement that a band of frontogenesis and snow sets up
somewhere over SD/NE/IA, though still some differences in exact
track with EPS members generally a little farther northeast than
other guidance. As it stands, consensus gives areas northeast
of a Norfolk to Omaha line about a 40-70% chance of at least 1".
The heaviest snow would likely fall Saturday afternoon into the
evening and come to an end by sunrise on Sunday. Expect some
slick spots in these areas, as well as potential for some
reduced visibility with wind gusts of 20-25 mph at times.

Farther south, temperatures will be a few degrees warmer with
guidance good warm air advection across southeast NE into
southwest IA. As a result, model soundings show fairly deep low
level saturation with lack of in-cloud ice at times, suggesting
potential for some drizzle. With surface temperatures hovering
right around freezing, some ice accumulation could occur, but
still lots of smaller scale details to work out and just 1
degree could make a pretty big difference, so confidence in this
is quite low.

We`ll be quite cold again behind the precip, with highs on
Sunday in the teens to mid 20s as surface high pressure builds
in. Lows that night will be a little more questionable as the
high pushes east and southerly flow/warm air advection return.
Currently have lows in single digits above and below 0, coolest
over west-central IA, but if that warm air advection ramps up
quicker and we get some resulting cloud cover, we could end up
several degrees warmer. We`ll then trend warmer to start next
week with highs in the upper 20s and 30s Monday followed by
upper 30s and 40s Tuesday. Guidance is in decent agreement that
another system tracks through the Plains sometime Tuesday night
or Wednesday, though still lots of spread on timing and track.
For now, have a 15-20% chance of precip (rain and snow), but
overall confidence is pretty low.

&&

.AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z SATURDAY/...
Issued at 1104 PM CST Thu Dec 4 2025

VFR conditions are expected through the TAF period. Low-end LLWS
at OMA and LNK is expected to subside over the next few hours.
Across the area, south winds continue through the early morning.
A southwesterly to westerly wind shift overspreads the region
from northwest to southeast through the late morning and
early afternoon with a passing frontal system. Increasing
clouds is expected with this passing system, but VFR ceilings
should remain. Any MVFR ceilings are expected to remain north
of the area.

&&

.OAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NE...None.
IA...None.

&&

$$

DISCUSSION...CA
AVIATION...Chehak

NWS OAX Office Area Forecast Discussion

Forecast Discussion
NWS Hastings, NE

197
FXUS63 KGID 050559
AFDGID

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Hastings NE
1159 PM CST Thu Dec 4 2025

...AVIATION UPDATE...

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Chance (20-50%) for light snow accumulation on
  Saturday...mainly north and east of Grand Island.

- Otherwise mostly dry into next week. Next Wednesday/Thursday
  would be the next opportunity for precipitation.

- Brief shot of cold for Sunday, followed by above-normal
  temperatures early next week.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 336 PM CST Thu Dec 4 2025

Lingering cloud cover kept temperatures a bit on the cooler side
today, although western areas have risen into the 40s as skies
clear. Tonight, temperatures are expected to dip to around 20
degrees...pretty close to climatological normals for early
December.

On Friday, the passage of a surface trough will switch winds to
the northwest. Mid and high-level cloud cover is expected to
increase through the day, but temperatures still are
anticipated to reach the 40s for most of the area.

On Saturday, a weak shortwave moving through the northwesterly
flow pattern will bring a chance for precipitation (mainly snow)
to parts of the area. Global ensembles continue to indicate that
the best potential for measurable snow will be to our east.
Additionally, most of the snow would be falling during the
daytime with temperatures in the 30s...not a great recipe for
meaningful snow accumulation. As such, the probability for 1"+
has decreased to only 10-15% in areas north and east of Grand
Island. A light dusting is the most likely outcome at this
point, and many areas will miss out entirely.

Colder air will rush into the area behind this shortwave,
resulting in noticably cooler day for Sunday. High temperatures
are expected to remain below freezing for most of the area.

Fortunately (or unfortunately if you are a winter-lover), this
cooldown won`t last long. The deep trough over the eastern CONUS
will shift eastward, and rising heights aloft will favor a
warmup for Monday/Tuesday. Ensembles currently favor Tuesday to
be the warmest day (upper 40s and 50s for most). Additional
northwesterly-flow shortwaves are expected to push through the
are for the middle to end of next week, but confidence in timing
is quite low. This could bring rain/snow to parts of the area,
but anything significant/impactful looks pretty unlikely.

&&

.AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z SATURDAY/...
Issued at 1115 PM CST Thu Dec 4 2025

For KGRI/KEAR Airports:

High confidence VFR conditions expected at both terminals
through the period as the MVFR stratus that impacted the
terminals earlier in the day has since eroded and only a mix of
mid/high level clouds and good VSBYs are expected through the
period.

For the remainder of the overnight hours, expect mostly
clear skies and light southwesterly winds less than 10 KTS to
prevail...eventually shifting and becoming NW behind a passing
trough during the morning hours Friday. Winds will eventually
increase and become gusty...to near 20-25KTS by mid-morning...
and then diminish to less than 8 KTS during the evening hours
Friday.

&&

.GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NE...None.
KS...None.

&&

$$

DISCUSSION...Mangels
AVIATION...SR

NWS GID Office Area Forecast Discussion