Dry, windy weather with extreme fire danger Thursday

Temperatures are expected to hold steady in the upper 30s to around the lower 40s as winds continue to increase. Wind chills will feel like the 30s to begin the day.

Sustained winds out of the northwest will increase to 20-25 mph later this morning after a few hours of the sun being out.

Gusts along with the wind speed will be more frequent and stronger at about 35-40 mph here in Lincoln today.

Winds will be nowhere near the blustery conditions of last Saturday, but across eastern Nebraska, gusts up to 45 mph will be expected for a majority of the afternoon.

With dry and windy conditions mixing down to the surface today, a Red Flag Warning is in place across the eastern two-thirds of the state. High winds, very dry air and dry fuels will make for extreme fire danger Thursday. Fires in these conditions will have the potential to spread very quickly, so be sure to avoid whatever may lead to a spark.

The cool down won’t last long with warmer air moving in for the end of the week. Less wind will accompany Friday’s weather with a very warm weekend ahead. Temperatures will be approaching records in Lincoln on both Saturday and Sunday.

Thunderstorms will be possible on Monday and into Tuesday of next week, with the potential for some of those storms to be strong, if not severe. Still about five days out, the Storm Prediction Center has a 15 percent risk for possible severe weather during this timeframe.

It’s not common to see these risks 5-7 days out like we have been tracking so far this week, so this will be worth keeping an eye on.

Stay tuned to this forecast as we get more details hammered out as we get closer to early next week and this event.

Meteorologist Jessica Blum 
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