


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Omaha/Valley, NE
Issued by NWS Omaha/Valley, NE
Versions:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
422 FXUS63 KOAX 300814 AFDOAX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Omaha/Valley NE 314 AM CDT Sat Aug 30 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - A cool and wet holiday weekend is in store for much of the area. - Repeated rounds of heavy rain with embedded storms from today through Labor Day may lead to flooding in some areas. The threat of damaging winds and hail remains low. - Cooler temperatures in the 60s and lower 70s continue mid to late next week with more comfortable humidity. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 314 AM CDT Sat Aug 30 2025 Today through Monday: Early morning water vapor imagery indicates a vorticity maximum progressing through western NE, with other more subtle impulses present within the prevailing northwest flow from eastern MT into the Dakotas. The 00z models continue to indicate that these separate disturbances will coalesce into a closed midlevel circulation, which will track very slowly southeast through the area in tandem with a weak surface low. As a result, cool and wet conditions are expected this Labor Day weekend, with the primary concern being the potential for heavy rainfall and associated flooding. Last evening`s upper-air sounding sampled a seasonably moist air mass, with a precipitable water of around 1.5", which is around the 90th percentile for this location at this time of year. That moisture will combine with forcing for ascent preceding the midlevel low to foster multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms across our area through Labor Day. For today, the CAMs indicate the greatest heavy-rainfall threat developing along the U.S. 281 corridor between O`Neill and Grand Island, with the highest PoPs (60-80+%) across our western counties. Showers and isolated thunderstorms are expected to become more widespread across our area tonight, with considerable model spread in where the heaviest rain might occur. Given the recent dry weather, area soils should be receptive to the initial rainfall, with 1,3, and 6-hr flash flood guidance generally in the 2-3" range. As such, we are planning to hold off on a flood watch for now. However, convective trends will be monitored for a possible issuance later today. As mentioned above, periods of rainfall are expected to continue on Sunday into Monday, with the various ensemble systems indicating the heaviest storm-total rainfall occurring across eastern NE. Potential amounts range from around a half inch on the low end (25th percentile) to 2-3" on the high end (75th percentile). Local amounts up to 4-5" are possible, especially in our western counties. Severe weather potential is expected to remain low due to the limited instability forecast. However, the presence of the midlevel low could support isolated funnel occurrences, especially on Sunday afternoon. Considerable cloudiness and areas of rain will hold daytime temperatures in the 60s and 70s. Tuesday through Friday: A potent shortwave trough and associated mid/upper-level wind maxima over central Canada on Tuesday are forecast to dive south and form a deep, closed low over the Great Lakes region by late in the work week. That upper-air system will be attended by a cold front, which is expected to push through the mid-MO Valley on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. This forecast update will maintain a chance (20-30% PoPs) of showers along and ahead of the front Tuesday into Wednesday morning, with dry conditions thereafter. Highs in the 70s on Tuesday are forecast to fall into the 60s on Wednesday and Thursday. && .AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z SUNDAY/... Issued at 1111 PM CDT Fri Aug 29 2025 Isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms may develop across northeast Nebraska around 09-12Z this morning, ahead of an approaching storm system. Confidence in these earlier showers impacting the KOFK area has lowered with the latest model runs. The better chance for prevailing showers still looks to be around 12Z at KOFK, 15Z at KLNK, and 18Z at KOMA. VFR conditions early in the period will gradually deteriorate to MVFR and IFR as showers move into the region. Precipitation is expected to linger through Saturday night and into Sunday. && .OAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NE...None. IA...None. && $$ DISCUSSION...Mead AVIATION...KG