A cold front ends our warm spell soon

Lincoln was awfully close to reaching 90° on Wednesday, topping out at 89°. Nevertheless, we’ll make a run for 90° again on Thursday. We’re forecasting high temperatures in the upper-80s to near 90° for most locations. The record high in Lincoln is 89° which was set in 1936.

The wind also remains, with sustained speeds upwards of 25-35 mph and gusts in the 40-45 mph range during the afternoon. The combination of dry air, warm temepratures, and strong winds will allow for a very high and borderline extreme fire weather danger on Thursday. Please be extra vigilant, as fires can ignite easily and spread fast in these conditions.

While sunshine dominates eastern Nebraska on Thursday, more clouds will be in place to the west. There could also be some scattered storm development in western Nebraska.

There will be a lot of dry air in place, so these cells may have a hard time forming initially. But once they do, damaging winds may come out of them. For that reason, a Level 1/5 risk for severe weather is in place to the west for Thursday.

We’ll see a mix of sun and clouds in southeast Nebraska on Friday. There could also be a spotty shower or two during the morning and early afternoon. Sunshine in the afternoon will destabilize our atmosphere, and by evening, we’ll see storm development as a cold front nears.

There is a Level 2/5 risk for severe weather on Friday in southeast Nebraska. Large hail could be an issue, but the threat should transition toward a straight-line wind threat as the evening progresses.

Behind this front, we expect temperatures to drop off for Saturday. There could also be some lingering showers on Saturday. While Saturday will be a relatively chilly day, temperatures will climb with each passing day into next week.

Meteorologist Malcolm Byron

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Twitter: @mbyronwx