Brian Neben, Central Nebraska Today
KEARNEY — It will be a chilly and gloomy start to the week as light precipitation and overcast skies lingers into the evening. There appears to be good travel weather for Thanksgiving, followed by a chance for light snow on Friday.
On Monday, a large upper low was spinning over eastern Kansas with a weak secondary over north central Nebraska. Drizzle was prevalent across much of south-central Nebraska with temperatures holding the mid-40s, according to the National Weather Service – Hastings.
Both upper-level systems will influence the weather throughout Monday. The drizzle will likely die off by late afternoon and rainfall amounts will likely be less than 0.05 inches but spots where showers develop could see 0.10 – 0.15 inches.
“By early evening, a cooler north wind will start to take hold as the precipitation ends and clearing begins. The clearing that takes hold late Monday night will sweep the remaining clouds out of south-central Nebraska and north central Kansas early Tuesday morning,” NWS Hastings states.
Tuesday will be sunny, but there will be a stiff northwest wind gusting over 30 mph and make the temperatures feel around 20 degrees cooler at any given time.
“Bottom line is Tuesday is sunny but cold,” NWS Hastings stated.
Winds will drop off quickly on Tuesday evening. Overnight, west, and southwest winds will set up and continue through the daytime hours on Wednesday. This will help temperatures to rebound into the upper 50s and lower 60s.
Wednesday should be the most pleasant day of the week.
It won’t last long, as a cold front will push through the area Wednesday evening and clear the area by Thanksgiving morning. This frontal passage will be dry and push highs down five to 10 degrees below normal.
The good news is that there should be no weather-related travel issues for the immediate area on Thanksgiving Day.
Looking through the weekend, colder temperatures will linger through at least Sunday.
There is more uncertainty regarding light snow on Friday as a close upper-level low pressure area slips into the intermountain west. The low will become separated from the main flow and open back up into a wave.
NWS Hastings notes that the best snow accumulation chances will be well west of the area. The current lower end precipitation amounts are centered on Friday, but this could be delayed to later Friday night and Saturday and be more associated with the open wave that will be moving into the Central Plains.
“At this point, this doesn`t look like a major winter event in south central Nebraska and north central Kansas, but there is some still some potential for light snow impacting travel in the area Friday, and maybe into Saturday,” NWS Hastings concluded.
