Forecast Discussion
NWS Omaha/Valley, NE

794
FXUS63 KOAX 012326
AFDOAX

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Omaha/Valley NE
626 PM CDT Fri May 1 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Potential for widespread frost and a freeze tonight through
  early Saturday morning

- Occasional spotty shower and storm chances (20-40%) Sunday
  night through Wednesday. Highest chance across southeast
  Nebraska/far southwest Iowa Monday night/early Tuesday.

- Temperatures warming into the 60s and 70s Saturday through
  Monday.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 1240 PM CDT Fri May 1 2026

Today through Sunday...

Friday morning temperatures dipped into the 30s at most locations
overnight, before pushing back into the upper 40s and 50s by
noon. A few spotty showers struggled to reach the ground just to
the west and east of our borders. Brisk northerly winds,
gusting up to 20 to 30 mph, drove drier air south into the
Central Plains. Relative humidities will continue to fall to
20-30 percent this afternoon, thankfully local green up has
helped mitigate fire danger concerns, despite the gusty winds
and low RH.

Surface high pressure will continue to settle south into the
Missouri River Valley tonight, allowing for clear skies, light
winds, and frigid temperatures. Lows tonight are forecast to range
from 29-32 degrees, north of a line from Columbus to Onawa,IA.
South of that line, temperatures will likely dip into the low to
mid 30s. Thus, a Freeze Warning has been issued for parts of
northeast Nebraska and west-central Iowa, with a Frost Advisory
in effect over the remainder of the forecast area.

The surface High will shift southeast of the area by Saturday
afternoon, as an upper ridge begins to build over the Four Corners
region. Temperatures will warm nicely through the day, Saturday, as
southwesterly low level flow advects warm air into the Central
CONUS. Highs are forecast to reach the upper 60s and low 70s
over eastern Nebraska, with mid 60s over western Iowa.

A dry, weak cold front will dip through the region Saturday night
into Sunday, bringing little more than a wind shift across the
forecast area. While a sprinkle or two could work it`s way into
western Iowa, the better chance for rain will remain well to our
east. Warmer air in place will keep overnight lows limited to the
mid and upper 40s, Sunday morning. Afternoon highs are forecast to
reach the low 70s over northeast Nebraska, and approach 80 near the
NE/KS border, as warm air advection prevails.

Monday and Beyond...

Similarly warmer temperatures are forecast for Monday, with highs
reaching the mid to upper 70s and low 80s. Spotty rain chances (20-
40%) will return to the forecast Monday through mid week, as a cut
off low near California attempts to phase with a longwave trough
digging into the nation`s midsection. A boundary lying just to our
south will be the focus point for precipitation, bringing
highest chances near the Nebraska/Kansas border. While
widespread wetting rainfall doesn`t look super likely at this
time, we will take whatever minor amounts we can get.

Temperatures will likely take a bit of a dip early to mid week,
depending on the track of the main low to our north. Highs are
currently expected to drop back into the 50s and 60s Tuesday and
Wednesday, with at least some potential for a frosty morning or two
across northeast Nebraska Wednesday and Thursday.

Temperatures will likely rebound Thursday afternoon and beyond as
the trough shifts east and a ridge approaches from the west.

&&

.AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z SUNDAY/...
Issued at 624 PM CDT Fri May 1 2026

VFR conditions are set to hold strong for the next 24 hours,
with north-northwesterly winds holding on a bit longer before
becoming increasingly light heading into the overnight hours. By
03z, expect surface wind speeds to fall below 5 kts at all three
TAF sites, becoming calm for periods of the overnight hours. By
10z, winds will begin shifting westerly and remain that way
through tomorrow afternoon at less than 10 kts.

&&

.OAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NE...Freeze Warning from 1 AM to 8 AM CDT Saturday for NEZ011-012-
     015>018-030>034-042>044.
     Frost Advisory from 1 AM to 8 AM CDT Saturday for NEZ045-
     050>053-065>068-078-088>093.
IA...Freeze Warning from 1 AM to 8 AM CDT Saturday for IAZ043.
     Frost Advisory from 1 AM to 8 AM CDT Saturday for IAZ055-056-
     069-079-080-090-091.

&&

$$

DISCUSSION...KG
AVIATION...Petersen

NWS OAX Office Area Forecast Discussion

Forecast Discussion
NWS Hastings, NE

685
FXUS63 KGID 020000
AFDGID

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Hastings NE
700 PM CDT Fri May 1 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Late tonight into early Sat AM (1-8 AM), our entire forecast
  area (CWA) goes under either a Freeze Warning or Frost
  Advisory, as low temps are forecast to bottom out 27-36
  degrees most places.

- High confidence continues in a dry weekend (once any
  showers/weak storms fade away this evening), with warmer
  temperatures (highs mainly 70s/lows mainly 40s) and no
  frost/freeze concerns.

- Precipitation chances early-mid next week: Intermittent
  chances for showers/thunderstorms return mainly Monday
  afternoon through Wednesday. IF we get any stronger
  thunderstorms during this time (not necessarily severe), they
  appear most favored Monday afternoon-evening.

- Temperatures next week: After peaking on Monday (highs near 80
  many areas), especially Tues-Wed bring another decent cool-
  down with highs currently only projected near-60 and overnight
  lows mainly 30s (perhaps some additional frost concerns Tues
  night and/or Wed night?). An upward rebound back to highs
  upper 60s-upper 70s is then expected for Thurs-Fri.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 434 PM CDT Fri May 1 2026

- FORECAST CHANGES OF NOTE/BIG PICTURE COMMENTS:

- No truly "major" changes to speak of, with the Key Messages
  above giving a decent overview of the highlights.

- That being said, on the more minor side of things, high temps
  have trended down very slightly for Sunday...but a bit farther
  out they have trended a good 2-5 degrees cooler than previous
  forecast for Wed-Thurs, as the mid-week cool down looks a
  little more pronounced than before.

- All in all though, nothing all that unusual about the next
  week for early May, as on positive notes we: 1) appear to be
  lacking in severe thunderstorm concerns (will need to keep an
  eye on Monday though)...2) Do not currently foresee any
  critical fire weather issues. On a negative note,
  unfortunately rainfall does not look abundant, but hopefully
  at least SOME places can pick up at least 0.25" with the
  intermittent chances mainly Mon-Wed, and the lack of "higher
  end heat" should also help keep soil moisture evaporation to a
  relative minimum.


-- 7-DAY FORECAST CHRONOLOGICAL RUNDOWN (through Fri. May 8):
- CURRENT/RECENT WEATHER SCENE AS OF 330 PM:
Overall, certainly no big surprises today. As expected, isolated
to scattered light showers and a FEW weak thunderstorms have
materialized over our KS counties, while north of the state line
a smattering of sprinkles have developed at least on radar (most
of which probably not reaching the ground given the dry low-
levels).

In the big picture of the mid-upper levels, water vapor
satellite and short term model data confirm a highly amplified
pattern over the U.S., with our Central Plains region residing
under north-northwesterly flow...directed between a pronounced
high pressure ridge extending over several northwestern states,
and an expansive trough dominated much of the Midwest/northeast
states and anchored by a closed low over southeast Canada. On
the smaller scale, a compact shortwave trough is currently
diving due southward out of SD into NE, and is helping provide
lift to get our spotty showers/sprinkles going.

At the surface, a modest pressure gradient emanating southward
from a roughly 1020 millibar high centered over eastern SD,
along with diurnal/daytime mixing, is promoting somewhat-breezy
north winds across our area...commonly sustained 10-15 MPH/gusts
20+ MPH. High temperatures are on track to top out between
60-66 degrees across the vast majority of our CWA.


- THIS EVENING (pre-midnight):
Through at least nightfall (9-10 PM), isolated-to-scattered rain
showers (and perhaps a few weak thunderstorms) will continue in
our south (especially KS), while mainly spotty sprinkles will
continue northward into our Nebraska counties...driven by a
combination of weak instability (CAPE up to a few hundred J/kg)
and upper forcing/lift from the aforementioned wave diving
directly southward through our area. Have extended these fairly
minor precip chances through at least 10 PM especially
near/south of the KS border, with some models suggesting they
may need extended a touch longer and also expanded a bit farther
north. However, no matter what, confidence is fairly high that
even our extreme southern zones should be rain-free no later
than 11pm-Midnight, with skies then clearing efficiently from
north-to-south.


- LATE TONIGHT (post-midnight):
As surface high pressure settles directly over the heart of our
CWA in the presence of clear skies and light/variable direction
breezes (mainly under 5 MPH), the stage will be set for a fairly
ideal radiational cooling situation. As a result, slightly
"undercut" most available/guidance for overnight lows, with most
places forecast to bottom out between 30-34 degrees, and some
upper 20s most favored mainly in our far north-northwest (mainly
north of a Lexington-Greeley line). There is high confidence
that the vast majority of our CWA will see fairly widespread
frost development. As for frost/freeze "headlines", due in part
to neighboring WFO`s North Platte/Goodland opting to "join the
headline game" now that it`s May, decided to do BOTH a Freeze
Warning for roughly the northwest 1/3 of our CWA (counties most
favored to see low temps ~ 30 degrees or slightly colder), while
issuing another Frost Advisory for the remainder of our CWA
(very-slightly-freezing low temps as cold as 30-32 possible in
a few spots, but with most places likely dropping no colder than
32-36 and making frost the MAIN concern instead of a "true"
freeze".


- SATURDAY DAYTIME:
Following the seasonably-chilly/frosty start, a fairly pleasant
and all-but-guaranteed dry day is on tap, with temperatures
warming rather steadily in response to the onset of steady (but
not very strong) west-southwesterly breezes (generally sustained
10-15 MPH/gusts 15-20 MPH during the afternoon). High temps were
changed very little and are aimed roughly 10 degrees warmer than
today (most places topping out 70-74 degrees).


- SATURDAY NIGHT:
Continued dry weather and clear/mostly clear skies, with by far
the main difference versus tonight being milder low
temperatures. For much of the night, southerly to westerly
breezes will average 5-15 MPH, which along with the warmer low-
level airmass will keep lows 10+ degrees warmer than
tonight...with most places aimed 40-46 degrees.


- SUNDAY-SUNDAY NIGHT:
The vast majority of our CWA likely stays dry through these 24
hours, but especially our extreme northern CWA could be brushed
by a few sprinkles/light showers as a weak disturbance passes by
in northwesterly flow aloft (right now we have some 20% chances
in our far north during the evening-overnight). During the
daytime, a weak cold front will pass southward through our CWA,
turning winds northerly-to-easterly at around 10 MPH with
slightly higher gusts. Temperature-wise, highs did come down
very slightly from previous forecast (1-2 degrees) due in part
to these weak front, but we`re still calling for a range from
low-mid 70s north...to upper 70s-low 80s south (most 80+
readings in our KS zones).


- MONDAY-TUESDAY:
Our weather looks to turn a bit more active again, as increased
forcing/upper lift from disturbances dropping down from the
north and also riding in from the west (primary upper lows
centered over the Great Lakes region and also southern CA/AZ
region) will team up to drive a somewhat stronger surface cold
front southward through our region...sparking increased chances
for at least isolated to scattered showers/thunderstorms. There
is still some model discrepancy on exactly WHEN this front
passes through (will it be afternoon or evening?), but there are
hints that at least modest instability will build ahead of it,
with early projections from NAM/GFS suggesting anywhere from
500-1000 J/kg mixed-layer CAPE getting into especially the
southern 1/3 to 1/2 of our CWA. This could bring a threat for at
least a few strong (MAYBE marginally severe?) storms to mainly
our southern-southeast CWA Monday afternoon and/or evening, so
this will bear watching and it will be interesting to see if SPC
opts to assign a formal Marginal Risk (level 1 of 5) on
tonight`s upcoming Day 3 outlook. At any rate, once we get past
Monday evening, cooler/more stable air enters our area, keeping
any precip into Tuesday as more benign rain/rain showers.
Temperature-wise, we`re currently calling for a 15-20 degree
drop in high temps between Monday (most areas mid 70s-low 80s)
and Tuesday (near-60). IF skies happen to clear enough (still
very much a question mark), perhaps we have some frost concerns
for Tuesday night especially in our far western/northern
counties.


- WEDNESDAY-FRIDAY:
In the big picture aloft, we look to reside under mainly
northwesterly flow aloft, and thus subject to occasional weak
waves and at least spotty rain shower/weak thunderstorm
potential. Officially, our only mentionable (20+%) rain chances
are right away Wednesday as the main larger scale trough axis
swings through. However, despite our going dry forecast for
Thurs-Fri, the latest ECMWF/GFS suggests it`s no guarantee to
stay this way. Temperature-wise, a steady warm-up is currently
projected over the course of these 3 days...with highs rising
from upper 50s/near-60 on Wednesday...to mid 60s-low 70s
Thursday...to mid-upper 70s Friday. Like Tues night-Wed AM, Wed
night-Thurs AM currently bear watching for possible frost or
marginal freeze possibilities.

&&

.AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z SATURDAY/...
Issued at 700 PM CDT Fri May 1 2026

For KGRI/KEAR Airports:

High confidence (95%+) in VFR conditions through the period.
Scattered CU will dissipate this evening, and mostly clear
skies are expected through Saturday.

Winds become light/variable tonight and will turn to the west
for Saturday.

&&

.GID WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NE...Frost Advisory from 1 AM to 8 AM CDT Saturday for NEZ062>064-
     073>077-082>087.
     Freeze Warning from 1 AM to 8 AM CDT Saturday for NEZ039>041-
     046>049-060-061-072.
KS...Frost Advisory from 1 AM to 8 AM CDT Saturday for KSZ005>007-
     017>019.

&&

$$

DISCUSSION...Pfannkuch
AVIATION...Mangels

NWS GID Office Area Forecast Discussion