Forecast Discussion
NWS Omaha/Valley, NE

969
FXUS63 KOAX 281700
AFDOAX

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Omaha/Valley NE
1100 AM CST Wed Jan 28 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Warmer, but still below-normal temperatures in the upper 20s
  and mid 30s today.

- Colder temperatures move back in Thursday and Friday with lows
  dropping below zero again Saturday morning and wind chills as
  low as -10 to -20.

- Light accumulating snow chances Thursday into early Friday
  (30-60%) and again Saturday into Saturday night (30-50%).

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 131 AM CST Wed Jan 28 2026

Today through Friday...

A band of midlevel clouds blanketed the region early last night,
keeping temperatures from dropping too quickly. However, it began to
erode around midnight, and by 1AM, most locations had dipped into
the teens and low 20s, with light winds.

Upper ridging over the Four-Corners region will shift eastward
today, quickly followed by a shortwave trough pushing into the
Rockies from the west coast. The ridge will allow warmer air to
advect back into the region. Highs this afternoon will reach a few
degrees higher than yesterday, generally up to the low to mid 30s.
However, this "warm-up" will be short-lived, as a backdoor cold
front moves in from the northeast Wednesday afternoon, dropping
Thursday`s highs back into low 20s.

The previously mentioned shortwave will pass to the southwest
Thursday, with a surface low developing over the southern plains.
This system will draw moisture in from the northwest, allowing a
band of light snow to develop from northwest to southeast late
tonight through Thursday (30-60%). Overall, ensemble plumes
indicate an inch or less of snow accumulation is expected,
however a stripe of slightly higher amounts would be possible if
a frontogenesis band is able to establish itself. The greatest
risk for over an inch would be across far northeast Nebraska,
with lesser amounts expected to the southeast.

A more robust trough will drop south out of the Great Lakes on
Friday, as a surface high builds into the northern Plains. This will
both push moisture, and any lingering snowfall, off to our
southwest, and bring a resurgence of cold air back into the region.
Highs on Friday are only expected to reach the positive teens.
Friday night, low temperatures are expected to dip into the
single digits below 0, however wind chills will feel more like
- 10 to -20.

The Weekend and Beyond...

Another clipper system will draw a cold front through the northern
Plains this weekend, bringing another chance for light snow Saturday
through Sunday (30-50%). However, the details of this system
still remain pretty hazy with little consensus amongst model
solutions.

The good news is models do hint at an upper ridge building into the
nation`s midsection early next week, bringing warmer air with it.
Both the latest 6-10 and 8-14 day outlooks from the CPC continue to
paint us with at least a 50-60% chance for temperatures to rise
above normal.

&&

.AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z THURSDAY/...
Issued at 1054 AM CST Wed Jan 28 2026

VFR conditions are expected to prevail through at least the
first half of the forecast period. Calm northeasterly winds will
prevail with increasing mid and high level clouds through the
evening. Overnight, a band of light snow will work in from the
north. The highest confidence in seeing snow will be at KOFK and
KLNK (60% chance), with lower chances at KOMA (20% chance). All
terminals will see overcast ceilings decreasing through the
overnight period, with patchy MVFR conditions possible as snow
moves in.

&&

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

&&

$$

DISCUSSION...KG
AVIATION...Wood

NWS OAX Office Area Forecast Discussion

Forecast Discussion
NWS Hastings, NE

571
FXUS63 KGID 281718
AFDGID

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Hastings NE
1118 AM CST Wed Jan 28 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Highs in the mid 30s to low 50s this afternoon will drop through
  Friday back to the teens to mid 20s.

- Occasional snow showers between Thursday and Sunday look more likely
  to deposit at least a few tenths of snow across around 30-70%
  of the area with a 10-30% change for areas north and east of
  a line from Valley to Polk counties receiving at least 1" of
  snowfall.

- Overnight lows Friday night will drop near and into the
  negative single digits (as low as 0 to -6 degrees) with wind
  chill values as low as -10 to -20 degrees possible.

&&

.UPDATE...
Issued at 337 AM CST Wed Jan 28 2026

A pleasant winter day is expected today as highs will range from the
mid 30s to upper 40s. Highs might even reach the low 50s across a
few places west of HWY-183 (45-80% chances). In addition to the
near to just above seasonal temperatures, light winds should not
blow greater than 10MPH today. Though directions may be variable at
times among a weak surface pressure gradient, directions should
steer easterly by the evening. Clouds moving in for the second half
of the day will mark the beginning of a multi-day trend where cloud
coverage will overpower the number of breaks for the sun to shine
through.

Precipitation-wise, light snow could become possible as early as
Thursday with occasional bursts of scattered snow showers possible
through Saturday. An approaching shortwave trough aloft will stir up
scattered areas of snow showers, likely dropping down and into a
majority of the area between mainly Thursday through Friday evening
as well as the period Saturday evening and night. The wide window of
probabilities are due to inconsistent timing and coverage of these
snow showers between the high-res CAMs (narrower and more defined
peak amounts of snow) and the deterministic 6z GFS/ECMWF runs (more
widespread snow coverage with low-end amounts).

Despite the extended period that light snow may be possible, amounts
may still have a hard time accumulating more than a few tents up to
just over 1" of snow across isolated northeasterly lying locations.
Chances for areas seeing at least a 0.1" of snow range from 40-50%
for locations south of I-80 up to 60-70% for locations north of I-
80. For locations falling along and northeast of a line from Valley
to Polk counties, the latest forecast probs only show values between
10-30% for these areas to reach or exceed 1".

Beyond the snow chances near the end of the week, temperatures will
also drop with highs heading toward the teens to 20s with overnight
lows in the negative single digits again Friday night (0 to -6
degrees. Wind chill values Friday night into Saturday morning may
drop as low as -10 to -20 degrees.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 215 PM CST Tue Jan 27 2026

Light winds and slightly above-normal temperatures will result
in the most pleasant day of the week on Wednesday. A shortwave
and associated cold front then pushes in colder air into the
area for Thursday, along with a chance for snow. This snow could
actually move into northern portions of the area before sunrise
Thursday. Then periods of light snow continue off and on
through Friday in the northwesterly flow pattern. Impacts from
the snow are still expected to be minor to none. Most areas
will only see a dusting of new snow, and the potential to see 1"
or more is 20-40% (highest north of I-80).

Friday is expected to be the coldest day over the next week
(highs in the teens), and widespread subzero low temperatures
are expected Friday night into Saturday morning. Winds will not
be overly strong, but may still result in wind chills in the -15
to -20 degree range for at least short periods early Saturday
morning.

Another shortwave moves into the area Saturday afternoon into
Sunday, bringing with it another chance for light snow (favoring
northeastern zones). Again, most areas will likely only see a
dusting of additional snow.

Global ensembles differ on the speed of the warmup, but
generally agree in a warming trend for next week. There are some
hints for precipitation the middle of next week (Feb 3-5), but
the overall threat remains low.

&&

.AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z THURSDAY/...
Issued at 1115 AM CST Wed Jan 28 2026

For KGRI/KEAR Airports:

VFR conditions favored through TAF period.
Around sunrise on Thursday, snow becomes possible first at KGRI
then KEAR. Snow rates look to be light keeping visibility VFR
or above, but Briefly MVFR ceilings are possible in snow.
Otherwise VFR conditions will prevail through TAF period. Light
and variable winds shift to the east this evening, and persist
through the end of the TAF period. High level clouds move in
this afternoon, with low-mid level clouds moving in overnight-
Thursday morning.

&&

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

&&

$$

UPDATE...Stump
DISCUSSION...Mangels
AVIATION...Davis

NWS GID Office Area Forecast Discussion