Frigid Friday before warming by Christmas

Friday starts off on another cold note with wind chills 30 to 40° below zero. Temperatures will improve as we warm up slightly through the morning and into the afternoon as skies start clearing a bit. At our warmest though, temperatures will still feel 15 to 20° below zero.

As for actual temperatures, most of us are going to struggle to temperatures finally above zero for a time. Warm thoughts will be important today, but if you do have to go outside, it’ll be cold enough to be dangerous. However, strong winds will be gusting as high as 40 mph this afternoon out of the northwest. A break is in sight though, calming down as we head into the holiday weekend.

With some alerts expiring as of Friday morning, here is the latest for winter weather headlines across the state. Current Winter Weather Advisories are in place through 6 p.m. Friday for northern portions of Nebraska. Especially in the northwest, blowing snow has been a problem in reducing visibilities. Patchy areas of blowing snow and drifts will still be possible in open areas, quickly reducing your line of sight as you travel.

Continuing through Friday and into early Saturday, a Wind Chill Warning is still in effect for the entire state. Wind chill values will range from -20 to -40°F starting Friday morning.

But there is bright news despite the cold! This weekend we will steadily warm up in time for Christmas. Even looking beyond that, the extended outlook shows we have great chances to be above normal for some time. It seems as though the new year will start off a lot warmer than where we are now!

There are some slight chances to see some precipitation late Sunday into Monday, and then again next Thursday. Other than that, we remain dry but warm.

Meteorologist Jessica Blum 
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