The Platte River south of Overton, (Brian Neben, Courtesy)
HASTINGS — An unsettled weather pattern will settle over the area Wednesday night and bring the chance for precipitation and non-severe thunderstorms on Thursday. Temperatures will be seasonably warm by the weekend.
The fire weather concerns that have dogged central Nebraska over the past several days will continue Tuesday but should be more limited. A line north of Lexington to Belgrade will see the worst, near critical conditions, according to the National Weather Service – Hastings.
By Wednesday, a pattern shift will be taking place as moisture will continue to surge from the south and a cold front will eventually cross the local area from the north.
This will bring the chance for unsettled weather Wednesday night into Friday morning, with a few thunderstorms being possible on Thursday.
Thursday sees the best chance for thunderstorms due to some weak instability values, and some wind shear present, but severe weather does not appear likely. The areas that could see sub-severe storms will be south of Interstate 80, per NWS Hastings.
On the backside of the system Friday, a mix of rain and snow will be possible, but no snowfall accumulation is expected.
However, the area could see some decent moisture with this system, with most ensemble models showing the possibility of several tenths of an inch.
With the extra cloud cover and precipitation on the backside of the system, Friday has the potential to see slightly below normal temperatures.
By the weekend, temperatures are expected to rapidly warm back up into the lower 50s on Saturday and lower to mid-60s by Sunday and Monday.
