HASTINGS, Neb. (KSNB) – Good evening! It was a toasty one today with temperatures rising into the upper 80’s with lot’s of sunshine. The winds were light today too, but are expected to pick up tomorrow which will start a stretch of days with fire weather conditions across the area. A Red Flag Warning has been issued for tomorrow until 9:00 pm CDT for areas along and north of I-80 and along and west of Highway 281. Relative humidity is expected to drop below 20% at times tomorrow afternoon and winds gusting up to 30-35 mph can be expected as well, although the stronger winds will persist in northwestern Nebraska. We’re expecting to stay very dry over the next 7 days with strong gusty winds and with the already current drought in place this will create widespread fire weather conditions through Thursday. The hot temperatures in the upper 80’s to low 90’s will also aide those fire weather conditions.
Getting into the forecast for the remainder of the weekend temperatures tonight will stay mild in the 50’s with a low of 55 in the Tri-Cities, 54 in North Platte, and 56 in Lincoln. The skies will clear out tonight as well staying clear through the day tomorrow. Temperatures tomorrow will once again be in the upper 80’s with some spots reaching the low 90’s. 88 is the high for both North Platte and the Tri-Cities, and 91 is your high in Lincoln. The winds will start light tomorrow morning but quickly pick up as we head into the afternoon hours. A majority of the Red Flag Warning begins at 11:00 am CDT, then 12:00 pm CDT for areas around the Tri-Cities.
Next week the sunny skies are expected to continue all the way through Wednesday. Breezy to windy conditions are expected both Monday and Tuesday with temperatures remaining in the mid to upper 80’s. The warmer of the two days will be Tuesday as chances are higher places will reach the 90’s. More of the area has a chance to reach the 90’s on Wednesday, but mainly along and east of Highway 281. Temperatures will still be in the 80’s elsewhere, but a cold front is expected to move through Wednesday night. Winds will pick up a bit Wednesday with gusts over 40 mph possible and continuing into Thursday behind the cold front. There is a very slight chance we see rain with the cold front, but the better chances remain in northern Nebraska and anything that does develop is not expected to be substantial. Temperatures cool a bit into Thursday with highs in the upper 70’s to low 80’s, but with the continued very dry conditions and stronger winds Wednesday and Thursday are expected to have the highest fire danger…