Sunset in rural Phelps County, (Brian Neben, Central Nebraska Today)
KEARNEY — A week ago, central Nebraska was enduring temperatures well below zero, with even colder wind chills. Now this week, highs will be in the 60s and even 70s for Monday and Tuesday.
According to the National Weather Service – Hastings, temperatures exceeded expectations on Sunday and high temperatures for Monday and Tuesday were increased to reflect this.
The entire area is expected to reach 60 degrees which will likely melt any remaining snow cover. Southwestern areas, a line from Lexington to Osborne, Kan., has a change to hit 70 degrees on Tuesday.
By Tuesday evening, a passing shortwave disturbance will bring a chance for light rain showers. There may even be some weak instability in place so a few rumbles of thunder could take place, however, no severe activity is expected.
Rain amounts are expected to trace amounts, with probability of even 0.10 inches falling below the five percent mark in the models.
Wednesday will feature breezy northwest winds and slight cooler temperatures in the post-front airmass. Still, temperatures are expected to reach the 50s, around 10 degrees above normal for this time of year.
The rest of the week looks to be dry and mild, as upper-level high pressure returns to the western United States. With the relative warmth and lower humidity, the fire weather threat will need to be monitored, especially on Friday.
A series of upper-level low pressure systems will bring additional chances for precipitation to the area next week. The long-range forecast for early March seems to be trending milder.
