LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Nebraska’s brief taste of summer is ending Thursday as a cold front sweeps across the state, bringing gusty north winds and significantly cooler temperatures — but not before creating dangerous fire weather conditions.
Wednesday’s record-breaking heat, with highs in the 80s and lower 90s across southern Nebraska, set new records in Norfolk, Grand Island, Hastings, Kearney, North Platte and McCook. Lincoln narrowly missed its record high.
But Thursday tells a different story.
A cold front currently over Wyoming and Montana will crash south through the region by mid-afternoon Thursday, creating a dangerous combination of warm temperatures, very low humidity and gusty winds.
Temperatures near and south of I-80 are expected to reach the upper 70s to mid-80s ahead of the front, while areas to the north will see cooler air spilling in earlier with highs in the 60s to mid-70s.
Very high to extreme fire danger is expected Thursday with the strongest winds — 35 to 45 mph gusts out of the northwest to north — arriving behind the cold front into the evening. Relative humidity will drop to the mid-20s in southeast Nebraska, creating critical fire weather conditions. The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning near the Nebraska/Kansas border through Thursday night.
Despite the gusty conditions, rain chances remain slim through Friday. The atmosphere is too dry for meaningful precipitation. Any radar returns Thursday and Friday will likely dissipate before reaching the ground, with perhaps a few sprinkles possible.
What to expect:…