29°F
Updated:
2/3/2026
07:04:58am
Forecast Discussion
NWS Omaha/Valley, NE
846 FXUS63 KOAX 031134 AFDOAX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Omaha/Valley NE 534 AM CST Tue Feb 3 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Widely scattered flurries and light snow showers this morning (15-25% chance). Snow amounts of a trace up to a few tenths of an inch. Minor to no travel impact expected. - Another round of light wintry precipitation is possible (15-30% chance) tonight into Wednesday morning, mainly near and north of I-80. A few spots in northeast Nebraska could see slick roads with up to a half inch of snow and a glaze of ice (10% chance). - Near-seasonal temperatures today and Wednesday warming into the 50s Thursday, and 40s and 50s Friday through Monday. These warmer temperatures could allow river ice to break up and move, increasing the risk of ice jams. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 344 AM CST Tue Feb 3 2026 Early morning analysis showed some weak shortwave energy sliding through the SD/IA/NE border area with radar showing some associated light returns. However, not many locations were reporting precip, owing to dry near surface air, though a few spots were seeing some flurries. These should continue off and on through at least this morning, though model soundings suggest we`ll continue to struggle with dry air, so expecting little to no accumulation and only perhaps some very localized dustings on roadways. Should also mention given the dry air, we may at times lose in-cloud ice allowing some freezing drizzle to mix in, but again, accumulations are expected to be fairly inconsequential. Otherwise, expect highs in the 30s area-wide. For tonight into Wednesday, another shortwave trough is on track to slide through the area and bring additional light precipitation chances. The initial push of forcing and associated precip continues to be more over western into central NE, leaving us dry initially. However, trends are toward the trough amplifying and becoming a little more positively tilted allowing a secondary bit of energy to "fold over" into the forecast area early Wednesday morning. As a result, latest short term guidance is indicating a southwest to northeast oriented band of precip moving into northeast NE during the early morning hours and sliding south through the remainder of the morning. Still some questions on exact timing, coverage, and how far south/east any accumulation will make it, but most CAMs have this signal. As far as precip type, model soundings suggest it`ll start as snow, but we quickly lose saturation aloft, eliminating in-cloud ice. This could lead to brief transition to freezing drizzle as we have some decent low level warm air advection and a 1-2 km deep layer of low level saturation. Precip should move through relatively quickly, so amounts of both snow and ice should remain low for most areas (0.1-0.2" of snow, glaze of ice). However, CAMs do show some convective snow shower potential, suggesting some localized half inch snow accumulations and slick roads aren`t out of the question (10% chance in portions of northeast NE). Any precip we get should exit by early Wednesday afternoon with temperatures climbing into the mid 30s to around 40. For Thursday onward, upper level ridging over the western CONUS will gradually edge eastward leading to warmer weather. Thursday continues to look like the warmest day of the next seven with westerly downslope flow helping us to get into the 50s for nearly the entire area, and perhaps even a few readings hitting 60 as you go west of Lincoln and Norfolk. A cold front is still progged to slide through Friday, though guidance is in very good agreement that it will be a dry passage and won`t impact temperatures too much. Expect highs to remain in the 40s and 50s through the weekend into early next week with long term outlooks favoring above average temperatures continuing into mid-February. Given the warmer temperatures, we`ll continue to watch for river ice break up/movement and an increasing threat of ice jams. However, overnight lows below freezing most nights into early next week should help keep it somewhat gradual. && .AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z WEDNESDAY/... Issued at 534 AM CST Tue Feb 3 2026 MVFR ceilings expected to prevail for much of the period with some scattering out possible at OMA and LNK after 00Z, though 3500-4000 ft ceilings are expected to remain. There`s also a 15-20% chance some light snow or brief freezing drizzle moves through OMA this morning, but upstream observations suggest any restrictions would be limited. Additional snow showers or light freezing drizzle are expected late in the period (09Z or later at OFK), but confidence in timing and coverage remains too low to include at this time. Otherwise winds will remain light and northeasterly this morning and will become more northerly to northwesterly this afternoon/evening. && .OAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NE...None. IA...None. && $$ DISCUSSION...CA AVIATION...CA
NWS OAX Office Area Forecast Discussion
Forecast Discussion
NWS Hastings, NE
357 FXUS63 KGID 031135 AFDGID Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Hastings NE 535 AM CST Tue Feb 3 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Rain/snow showers possible starting during the late afternoon/evening hours (west/southwest) and continuing through Wednesday morning (possible across the entire area). Impacts look to be minimal but a quick dusting of snow is possible. - Well above normal Temperatures expected Thursday onwards with highs in the upper 40s to low 60s. - Dry weather expected Wednesday afternoon onwards. && .UPDATE... Issued at 401 AM CST Tue Feb 3 2026 Temperatures this morning are currently in the 20s. Cloud coverage is increasing over the area as a stratus deck moves into eastern/northeastern portions of the area. A few flurries can`t be ruled out in this stratus deck, but the best chances look to be northeast of the forecast area. Highs today will vary from mid 30s across northeastern portions of the area to the low 50s across southwestern portions of the area. Scattered rain showers move into southwestern portions of the area during the late afternoon hours as a shortwave trough moves into the Plains. The best chances for precipitation through midnight will be for areas mainly along and west of Highway 183. As temperatures cool this evening, rain showers will transition to snow showers. There could be a brief window within this transition where freezing rain/drizzle is possible, but this does not look to be a widespread or significant impact. More widespread chances for precipitation arrive around midnight and continue through the morning hours on Wednesday. Accumulations from any snow showers looks to remain fairly light, though a quick dusting/coating is possible in snow showers. Additionally, breezy winds Wednesday morning could result in brief reductions in visibility in falling snow. After showers depart the area on Wednesday, highs climb into the upper 30s (northeast) to mid 40s (southwest). Otherwise the forecast remains on track, as highs climb into the 50s and 60s on Thursday. Highs in the upper 40s to low 60s expected through the rest of the forecast period. Dry weather is expected Wednesday afternoon onwards. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 405 PM CST Mon Feb 2 2026 Today has been seasonably mild, as expected, under copious high levels clouds. Far W portions of the area have actually warmed into the low to mid 50s behind a sfc trough that swung winds more westerly and resulted in better mixing. Quiet conditions will persist through the evening hours. A "clipper" system - currently seen in water vapor and regional radar mosaic imagery over the Dakotas - will quickly shift SE tonight. The brunt of the forcing with this wave will remain along and esp. E of the MO River Valley, but could get just enough moisture/lift to squeeze out some flurries and/or light snow showers over our far NE after midnight. Some of the latest hi-res guidance shows some simulated reflectivity lingering along Hwy 81 corridor through late morning. Not expecting much for impacts, if any, given off and on nature of only light snow. To the point, 12Z EPS probabilities were
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