775
FXUS63 KOAX 212254
AFDOAX

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Omaha/Valley NE
554 PM CDT Fri Aug 21 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- There is a conditional threat for severe storms this afternoon
  and evening. Storms could have very large hail (2+ inch) and
  damaging winds (60-80 mph).

- After a brief lull in activity late tonight, more storms
  develop west of a Neligh to Wahoo to Nemaha line (20-40%
  chance) after midnight.

- Storms clear late Saturday morning leaving a pleasant day.
  Periodic storm chances continue into next week.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 151 PM CDT Fri Aug 21 2026

.SHORT TERM /TODAY THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT/...

18z METARs show a sfc front draped from near Hebron northeast toward
west-central Iowa. Elevated convection has continued to fester
over parts of the forecast area late this morning through the
early afternoon, largely driven by some H7 warm advection and
weak convergence along the H8/H9 front that`s displaced farther
north into northeast Nebraska.

The sfc front will continue pushing southward this afternoon and
evening, while aloft, a subtle H5 disturbance approaches from the
northwest. Near and ahead of the front, expect a warm and humid
airmass in place with CAPE of 1,000 to 2,000 J/kg. Lift provided by
the wave, low level forcing from the frontal features, and any
outflow boundaries should help trigger more scattered showers
and storms across the forecast area this afternoon and evening.
However, there is still a lot of uncertainty on how afternoon
and evening convection will evolve which is largely evident in
the latest HiRes CAM outputs making this severe threat largely
conditional.

12z guidance from the NSSL WRF and HiRes FV3 take the current
cluster of storms over central Nebraska to the southeast, clipping
our far southern counties later this afternoon with additional
storms firing off along the frontal zone. Meanwhile, other solutions
from both the HRRR and NAMNest would suggest the cluster across
central Nebraska weakening with southeastward extent, and little to
no late afternoon/early evening storm activity. Given the good
amount of instability present and 0-6 km shear of 45-50 kts provided
by an H5 jet, storms would likely become severe. Their main hazards
would be very large hail of up to 2+ inches given the favorable,
elongated hodographs and steep H7-H5 lapse rates of 7 to 8 C/km, and
also damaging wind gusts of 60-80 mph as BUFKIT soundings show
a rather deep low level pocket of dry air contributing to large
downdraft CAPE of 1,100 to 1,400 J/kg.

With this forecast update, have kept PoPs of 15 to 30% for most of
eastern Nebraska through 00z tonight. Highs today warm to the mid to
upper 80s.

Another round of storms is forecast after 06z tonight (20-40%
chance) across our far western and southwestern areas as lift
remains in place from continued low level warm advection and some
lingering FGEN. Some of these storms could have some gusty winds
or hail, but the better potential appears to be in central
Nebraska. PoPs taper off after 15z as sfc high pressure
gradually builds back into the Northern Plains. This should give
us a pleasant day with highs in the low to mid 80s under partly
to mostly sunny skies. Lows Saturday night cool to the 60s for
most locations.

.LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/...

Another mid-level impulse will arrive by early Sunday morning, and
combined with continue low level thermal advection, will see
another round of storms across our western counties (20-50%
chance). At this time, severe weather appears unfavorable. The
southwest US H5 ridge will remain in place for much of the long
term forecast period, placing us in northwesterly flow with
several mid-level impulses riding it. This will lead to
continued chances for storms for much of the period, but the
best chances appear to be late Sunday into Monday (50 to 70%
chance, especially across northeast Nebraska), Tuesday (20 to
40% chance areawide), and late Thursday. The various machine
learning severe weather algorithms would suggest at least a
small severe threat is possible during those days with any
activity, but at this time it`s still too early to dig into
specifics.

Temperatures Sunday remain cool in the upper 70s and low 80s, while
highs in the 80s are expected through Thursday.

&&

.AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z SUNDAY/...
Issued at 552 PM CDT Fri Aug 21 2026

VFR conditions are expected through the remainder of the period
as drier weather builds into the area. Expect a 20-40% chance
of thunderstorms in the vicinity of KLNK overnight tonight. Have
added VCTS from 5am to 8am there. Hope to have a better idea of
timing and likelihood with 06Z issuance.

&&

.OAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NE...None.
IA...None.

&&

$$

DISCUSSION...Castillo
AVIATION...Nicolaisen