The large American flag at Perkins in Kearney blows violently in wind gusts up to 60 mph on Dec. 18, (Brian Neben, Central Nebraska Today)
LEXINGTON — Wind gusts over 70 mph swept through central Nebraska during the morning and early afternoon hours of Thursday, Dec. 18.
According to National Weather Service – Hastings, the highest wind gust in Nebraska was reported at the Lexington Airport at 9:35 a.m. with a gust of 72 mph.
Other local readings included the Hastings Airport, Hildreth, and Gothenburg, 71 mph; Holdrege, Odessa, 68 mph; Loomis, Ragan, Hildreth, 66 mph; Wilcox, 65 mph; Axtell, Bertrand, Oxford, 64 mph; Kearney, Atlanta, 63 mph and Cambridge Airport, 62 mph.
Winds were the strongest during the morning hours, but faded with a few scattered 50 to 60 mph gusts by the afternoon but began to decrease after peak heating around 4 p.m. in the afternoon.
“Following yesterday’s strong northwest winds, breezy southerlies will return again this afternoon, gusts up to 25-35 mph, as a surface low pressure trough deepens across the upper plains,” per NWS Hastings.
“These gusty southerlies will advect warmer air from the south, lifting temperatures around 10-15 degrees compared to Thursday. Despite a few clouds today, highs this afternoon are still expected to fall between the upper 40s to low 60s, generally warmest towards the west,” NWS Hastings stated.
