Cold air coming; winter by this weekend

Fog still a possibility early on Thursday with the recent moisture we’ve seen move through the region. It hasn’t all made it to the ground as rain but take some more time with you as you start your Thursday morning commute. Scattered storms were seen in northeast Nebraska early on Thursday, with those to continue through the early afternoon.

We may see a spot chance at some drizzle around lunchtime, but chances should drop off for the rest of the day after that.

Big changes in the way of the forecast for the rest of the week, though. A cold air mass is going to creep into portions of the state as early as today.

Evidence of that is apparent in northwest Nebraska, where temperatures are not expected to climb out of the 30s. For us, we’ve got one more warmer day before the arctic air sweeps through overnight.

High temperatures should be nearing the low and mid 70s by Thursday afternoon. Note the winds in the top-left corner and how those change as we step through the forecast for Thursday afternoon, Friday morning and Friday afternoon.

We start with light south winds on Thursday, but with the coming cold front a wind shift will soon follow. With that, overnight we’ll have winds increasing and gusts anywhere from 30-40 mph expected. The wind, with air temperatures in the 30s, will make Friday morning’s start a frigid one.

Northwest winds will be strong through the morning before calming throughout the day, gradually. Highs on Friday will only be in the 40s. Then by the weekend, we may not see even the 40s.

On Saturday, we look to flip the switch to winter. Snow looks to start in northern parts of Nebraska throughout the morning, with a heavy, wet band looking to set up across that area. Farther south and east, we’ll see more rain and a wintry mix starting through the late morning and afternoon. Almost all should transition to snow by Sunday morning.

The best chance for accumulating snow will be near where that band of snow sets up, more likely for north Nebraska. The darker blues hint at those better chances, with more rain expected the farther south and east you look.

We’ll get a clearer look into amounts here, soon. But with cold air moving in, winter and snow across the state looks likely.

Meteorologist Jessica Blum 
Twitter: JessicaBlumWx 
Facebook: JessicaBlumWx