679  
FXUS63 KLBF 200826  
AFDLBF  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE  
326 AM CDT TUE OCT 20 2026  
   
KEY MESSAGES
 
 
- PATCHY FOG IS POSSIBLE THIS MORNING, ESPECIALLY ACROSS  
SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA. ANY FOG THAT DEVELOPS SHOULD DISSIPATE BY  
MID-MORNING.  
 
- WARMER TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY, WITH  
HIGHS IN THE UPPER 60S TO MIDDLE 70S. A FEW SHOWERS ARE  
POSSIBLE TUESDAY, MAINLY ACROSS SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA, BEFORE DRY  
CONDITIONS RETURN WEDNESDAY.  
 
- MUCH WARMER TEMPERATURES EXPECTED TO END THE WEEK, WITH SOUTHWEST  
NEBRASKA POTENTIALLY SEEING LOW 80S FRIDAY AFTERNOON.  
 
- MULTIPLE CHANCES OF SHOWERS AND POSSIBLY A FEW THUNDERSTORMS  
THIS WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. FIRST, LATE FRIDAY NIGHT  
INTO SATURDAY DUE TO AN INCOMING COLD FRONT. SECOND, A  
POTENTIALLY MORE WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION EVENT SUNDAY INTO  
EARLY TUESDAY MORNING.  
 

 
   
SHORT TERM /THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/
 
 
ISSUED AT 323 AM CDT TUE OCT 20 2026  
 
THIS MORNING, INCREASING LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE ACROSS SOUTHWESTERN  
PORTIONS OF THE AREA, COMBINED WITH WEAK SOUTHEASTERLY FLOW AND  
ASSOCIATED MOISTURE ADVECTION, WILL SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF  
PATCHY FOG. THE GREATEST POTENTIAL FOR FOG DEVELOPMENT APPEARS TO BE  
ALONG A CURTIS-NORTH PLATTE-THEDFORD LINE AND POINTS WEST. LOOKING  
AT BUFKIT SOUNDINGS, A NEARLY SATURATED PROFILE WITHIN THE LOWEST 50  
TO 100 MB, ALONG WITH A LOW-LEVEL INVERSION AND LIGHT WINDS, FURTHER  
SUPPORTS THE POTENTIAL FOR FOG DEVELOPMENT. SOME UNCERTAINTY REMAINS  
REGARDING THE OVERALL COVERAGE AND EXTENT OF THE FOG, THOUGH ANY FOG  
THAT DEVELOPS SHOULD DISSIPATE BY MID-MORNING AS DAYTIME HEATING  
PROMOTES BOUNDARY-LAYER MIXING. GIVEN THE INCREASED LOW-LEVEL  
MOISTURE AND POTENTIAL FOR FOG DEVELOPMENT, OVERNIGHT LOWS SHOULD  
REMAIN IN THE UPPER 30S ACROSS SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA, WITH LOWER 40S  
ELSEWHERE. THROUGH THE DAY TUESDAY, WEST-SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT  
WILL BECOME ESTABLISHED ACROSS THE REGION, SUPPORTING INCREASING  
WARM AIR ADVECTION WITHIN THE LOWER TO MIDDLE LEVELS. THIS WILL  
ALLOW 850-MB TEMPERATURES TO RISE INTO THE 12 TO 17°C RANGE,  
SUPPORTING SURFACE HIGHS IN THE UPPER 60S TO LOWER 70S. WITHIN THIS  
FLOW, A WEAK DISTURBANCE IS FORECAST TO APPROACH THE AREA,  
POTENTIALLY PROVIDING SUFFICIENT ASCENT FOR ISOLATED TO SCATTERED  
SHOWER ACTIVITY, PARTICULARLY ACROSS SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA. CONFIDENCE  
IN PRECIPITATION DEVELOPMENT REMAINS LOW GIVEN THE RELATIVELY WEAK  
FORCING, AND ANY SHOWERS THAT DEVELOP SHOULD REMAIN FAIRLY LIMITED  
IN COVERAGE. AHEAD OF THIS DISTURBANCE, A TIGHTENING SURFACE  
PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL RESULT IN INCREASING SOUTHERLY WINDS, WITH  
SPEEDS OF 10 TO 20 MPH EXPECTED DURING THE AFTERNOON. TUESDAY NIGHT  
LOWS SHOULD REMAIN IN THE LOWER TO MIDDLE 40S AS SOUTHERLY FLOW AND  
INCREASED LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE PERSIST ACROSS THE REGION.  
 
WEDNESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT, THE UPPER-LEVEL RIDGE ACROSS THE  
CENTRAL UNITED STATES WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD AND AMPLIFY, SUPPORTING  
ADDITIONAL WARM AIR ADVECTION WITHIN THE LOWER TO MIDDLE LEVELS. 850-  
MB TEMPERATURES ARE FORECAST TO INCREASE INTO THE 15 TO 20°C RANGE,  
APPROXIMATELY 4 TO 8°C ABOVE AVERAGE FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR.  
INCREASING SUBSIDENCE ASSOCIATED WITH THE AMPLIFYING RIDGE SHOULD  
ALSO PROMOTE CLEARING SKIES BY WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. THE COMBINATION  
OF WARMER TEMPERATURES ALOFT, INCREASING SUNSHINE, AND BOUNDARY-  
LAYER MIXING SHOULD ALLOW HIGHS TO REACH THE LOWER TO MIDDLE 70S  
ACROSS THE AREA. WITH THE RIDGE REMAINING THE DOMINANT UPPER-LEVEL  
FEATURE AND LITTLE IN THE WAY OF APPRECIABLE FORCING FOR ASCENT, DRY  
CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT.  
 

 
   
LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/
 
 
ISSUED AT 323 AM CDT TUE OCT 20 2026  
 
UPPER RIDGING WILL REMAIN SITUATED OVER THE PLAINS THURSDAY INTO  
FRIDAY, WITH UPPER TROUGHING COMING ONSHORE OVER CALIFORNIA AND  
TRAVERSING INTO THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN DURING THIS TIME FRAME AS WELL.  
WITH HIGH PRESSURE SETTLING OVER OUR REGION, DAYTIME HIGHS WILL BE  
WELL ABOVE CLIMATOLOGICAL NORMS (15 TO 20 DEGREES), WITH HIGHS BEING  
IN THE MID TO UPPER 70S ACROSS WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA.  
FRIDAY AFTERNOON IN PARTICULAR WILL BE THE WARMEST FOR THE WEEK.  
25TH/75TH PERCENTILE FOR DAYTIME HIGHS ARE 71 TO 75 RESPECTIVELY,  
WITH SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA HAVING AT LEAST A 30 - 50 PERCENT CHANCE OF  
BREAKING 80 DEGREES. DAYTIME MIXING WILL BRING STRONG SOUTHERLY  
WINDS, 20 TO 30 MPH, GUSTING UP TO 45 MPH ACROSS THE REGION. NBM  
PROBABILITIES, WHILE TYPICALLY ON THE HIGHER END OF THIS RANGE,  
STILL HAVE GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 45 MPH AT 30 TO 50 PERCENT.  
 
AS THE UPPER TROUGH CROSSES THE ROCKIES OFF TO OUR WEST, A COLD  
FRONT WILL ARRIVE LATE FRIDAY NIGHT INTO OUR AREA. THERE STILL IS  
SOME MODEL DISAGREEMENT ON HOW FAST THE FRONT PROGRESSES  
SOUTHEASTWARD ACROSS THE REGION, WITH THE GFS PUSHING THE FRONT  
MOSTLY OUT OF NEBRASKA BY SATURDAY EVENING, WHILE THE EURO HAS IT  
MOVING MORE SLOWLY AND STALLING OUT IN SOUTHERN NEBRASKA.  
NEVERTHELESS, THIS FRONT WILL BE THE CATALYST FOR COOLER, SEASONABLE  
HIGHS IN THE 60S AS WELL AS INCREASING CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AND  
PERHAPS A FEW THUNDERSTORMS. QPF TOTALS WILL REMAIN FAIRLY LOW WITH  
AREAS OF SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA TO THE CENTRAL SANDHILLS POTENTIALLY  
RECEIVING A TENTH OF AN INCH OR LESS.  
 
BETTER PRECIPITATION CHANCES COULD COME SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY  
MORNING, WHEN THE UPPER LOW STALLS OUT OVER THE FOUR CORNERS REGION.  
THIS WILL CREATE SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT, BRINGING A STREAM OF GULF  
MOISTURE UP INTO OUR REGION. LATEST GUIDANCE SUGGESTS INCREASED  
CHANCES FOR PRIMARILY RAIN SHOWERS ARRIVING TO SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA  
EARLY SUNDAY MORNING AND SPREADING NORTHEASTWARD ACROSS NORTH  
CENTRAL NEBRASKA THROUGHOUT THE DAY AND INTO MONDAY MORNING. WHILE  
GUIDANCE HAS AN INCREASING TREND OF PRECIPITATION, THERE STILL IS A  
WIDE RANGE OF EXACTLY WHERE IT COULD END UP. GFS/EURO MODELS HAVE  
TOTAL QPF, GENERALLY A HALF AN INCH TO AN INCH RANGE ACROSS THE  
EASTERN PORTIONS OF OUR CWA ALONG ALONG AND EACH OF HWY 83. THE EURO  
IN PARTICULAR HAS TOTALS AS HIGH AS 2+ INCHES ACROSS THE SANDHILLS.  
CONVERSELY, HREF IS A BIT MORE BULLISH WITH A 30 TO 50 PERCENT  
CHANCE OF A QUARTER INCH OR MORE, EAST OF HWY 83, WITH THE  
PROBABILITY DROPPING TO 10 TO 30 PERCENT CHANCE FOR A HALF AN INCH  
OR MORE. THERE IS GENERAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN MODELS THAT TEMPERATURES  
SHOULD REMAIN ABOVE FREEZING THROUGHOUT THE EVENT, ASIDE FROM THE  
EURO SUGGESTING A BRIEF PERIOD OF NEAR TO SLIGHTLY BELOW FREEZING  
TEMPERATURES ACROSS WESTERN NEBRASKA THAT COULD BRING THE FIRST  
DUSTING OF SNOW FOR THE SEASON. IT SHOULD BE HIGHLIGHTED THAT THERE  
IS LOW CONFIDENCE IN THIS SCENARIO PLAYING OUT AT THIS TIME. THE  
POTENTIAL EVENT WILL CONTINUE TO BE MONITORED CLOSELY IF THERE IS  
ANY INCREASING AGREEMENT IN INTENSITY, TIMING, AND LOCATION OF  
POTENTIAL PRECIPITATION.  
 
ASIDE FROM THE INCREASED SHOWER CHANCES, THE UPPER TROUGH WILL  
WEAKEN AND MERGE BACK INTO THE MEAN FLOW WHILE A STRONG UPPER TROUGH  
DIGS INTO THE MIDWEST FROM CANADA. DAYTIME HIGHS HEADING INTO EARLY  
NEXT WEEK WILL RETURN TO SEASONAL NORMS IN THE LOW TO MID 60S ACROSS  
THE REGION, WITH LIGHT SOUTH SOUTHEASTERLY WINDS AT 10 TO 15  
MPH.  
 

 
   
AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z WEDNESDAY/
 
 
ISSUED AT 1220 AM CDT TUE OCT 20 2026  
 
PATCHY FOG DEVELOPMENT IS EXPECTED ACROSS PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST  
NEBRASKA EARLY TUESDAY MORNING, LEADING TO PERIODS OF  
IFR/LOCALLY LIFR CIGS AND VISIBILITIES. THIS FOG WILL QUICKLY  
END BY LATE TUESDAY MORNING, AND VFR CONDITIONS ARE THEN  
EXPECTED TO PREVAIL INTO TUESDAY NIGHT ACROSS ALL OF WESTERN  
AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA.  
 
WINDS BECOME SOUTHERLY TUESDAY AFTERNOON, AT 10 TO 15KTS. WINDS  
THEN BECOME LIGHT AND VARIABLE TUESDAY NIGHT, AT 5KTS OR LESS.  
 

 
   
LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
 
 
NONE.  
 

 
 

 
 
SHORT TERM...LABENZ  
LONG TERM...MRS  
AVIATION...BROWN  
 
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