


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS North Platte, NE
Issued by NWS North Platte, NE
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186 FXUS63 KLBF 140806 AFDLBF Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service North Platte NE 306 AM CDT Mon Jul 14 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Hot temperatures are expected today with readings well into the 90s. Tuesday will be warm, however, timing of a strong cold front late in the day, could limit highs to the mid to upper 80s over far northern and northwestern Nebraska. - A good chance for thunderstorms Tuesday night across the area as a cold front passes through the area. A slight risk (level 2 of 5) exists across a large portion of the forecast area. - Much cooler Wednesday and Thursday with highs in the 70s. Temperatures will trend back toward more seasonal normals Friday into the weekend. && .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 306 AM CDT Mon Jul 14 2025 H5 analysis tonight had a broad area of high pressure located across the southwestern CONUS. A second area of high pressure was anchored over the northern gulf, south of Louisiana. Northwest of this high, a trough of low pressure extended from the western Great Lakes south into central Missouri. Across southwestern Canada and Washington State to north Dakota and northern Minnesota, broad west-northwesterly flow was present with a strong shortwave trough located over the Alaska Panhandle in the vicinity of Juneau. Earlier tonight, isolated thunderstorms impacted far northeastern portions of the forecast area. This activity has since traveled south and dissipated. Skies were clear across western and north central Nebraska overnight and readings as of 2 AM CDT, ranged from 57 degrees at Gordon to 69 degrees at Imperial. && .SHORT TERM /THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT/... Issued at 306 AM CDT Mon Jul 14 2025 A strong shortwave, currently over the Alaska Panhandle, will dive south southeast today ending up over far southern British Columbia by early evening. This feature will flatten the ridge over the southwestern CONUS. Lowering mid level hts. and a weak shortwave will lead to the development of thunderstorms over eastern Wyoming and far western Nebraska late this afternoon. This activity will ride to the east and northeast into the evening hours. As this activity tracks east of the panhandle, it will encounter a more stable, weak shear environment, and is expected to dissipate before reaching the highway 83 corridor late in the evening. As for the severe threat, this should remain largely off to the west of the forecast area, with only a marginal threat across far northwestern portions of the forecast area. Inverted V forecast soundings indicate high based storms with the main severe threat being strong winds. With respect to highs today, am expecting widespread 90s across the area and utilized a blend of MET and NBM guidance for highs. Felt, given the degree of moisture today across the area, that the MAV highs were on the warm side and reflected the high side of the NBM ensemble spread. With this in mind, felt the MAV numbers seemed too warm and were not utilized in this forecast. The shortwave trough over southwestern Canada, will slowly drop southeast into the Idaho Panhandle and northwestern Montana. Downstream of this feature, a strong cold front will approach northwestern Nebraska Tuesday afternoon, passing trough the forecast area Tuesday night. In advance of this feature, afternoon heating will lead to SB CAPES reaching 2000 to 4000 J/KG generally east of highway 83. West of this route, SB capes fall of to 1000 to 2000 J/KG. Deep layer shear is adequate for severe storms, Tuesday afternoon/evening across most of the forecast area with forecast shear ranging from 25 to 40 KTS. As for the severe threat, large hail will be the main threat early on with a wind threat thereafter as a line of storms transitions east. The threat for storms will continue into the evening hours as the front traverses the area, encountering a low level jet, which is focused over south central into central and eastern Nebraska. Activity will then transition east of the forecast area overnight. && .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... Issued at 306 AM CDT Mon Jul 14 2025 The frontal boundary will track south of the forecast area Wednesday, ending up over northern Kansas. NOrth of the front, adequate moisture will pool across southwestern into south central Nebraska Wednesday afternoon. Decent low level shear will be present across the area Wednesday and could lead to a strong to severe storm across the area. Highs Wednesday will struggle to get out of the 70s north of the front and this may limit the overall severe threat across the forecast area Wednesday. However, forecast PWATS north of the front approach 2+ inches over southwestern into central Nebraska Wednesday evening (latest NAM12 soln) which will contribute to a heavy rain threat. Cool temperatures will carry over into Thursday as the front remains south of the area. Highs Thursday will be in the 70s. Temperatures will moderate back into the 80s Friday into the weekend. ATTM the best chance for rain over that three day stretch appears to be Friday night into Saturday morning. Beyond Saturday, precipitation chances are less certain thanks to weaker forcing and lack of a clear cut surface boundary. && .AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z TUESDAY/... Issued at 1132 PM CDT Sun Jul 13 2025 VFR conditions will prevail through Monday afternoon. Skies remain clear or mostly clear with ceilings well above 10 kft. The only major concern will be some stronger southerly winds by late afternoon into early evening with gusts up to 20 to 25 knots. Winds will diminish after sunset returning to below 10 knots. && .LBF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...Buttler SHORT TERM...Buttler LONG TERM...Buttler AVIATION...Kulik