Frosty start Friday out west, then surge of summer by Saturday

There’s a lot to talk about in the coming days, so buckle up for this forecast.

First on Friday, much cooler air has settled into western Nebraska — chilly enough for a Frost Advisory to be in effect through 9 a.m. CDT this morning.

Friday overall will be a rather pleasant day, though. Southeast Nebraska will see highs in the upper 70s to around 80° during the afternoon hours.

Which will pan out nicely for a cooler start to some area high school football games tonight. Channel 8’s Game of the Week features Bishop Neumann against Malcolm. Temperatures will fall to the lower 60s and upper 50s by the end of this one!

Then if you’re interested, the Northern Lights look like they could be visible across Nebraska both tonight and Saturday night. There has been a lot of recent activity with solar flares that could bring about some picturesque nights!

It’s very hard to predict timing for the best window to see the lights, but generally later in the night will be your better bet around here. And having clear skies with a new moon will make for amazing conditions to try to get a glimpse.

But Saturday won’t be as fun. Very hot and windy weather will affect Husker plans throughout the day. Temperatures will be quickly heating up as the winds crank out of the southwest ahead of another front.

The worst part is the start of the Husker football game is during the hottest part of the day. Temperatures will be around the middle 90s for kickoff.

Keeping hydrated will be important, especially if you’re on the sides (east/north) of Memorial in more direct sunlight throughout the game.

Early afternoon winds will be prime for critical fire danger especially on Saturday. Gusts statewide will be around 35-45 mph!

For now, a Fire Weather Watch is in place as the National Weather Service leans toward issuing a Red Flag Warning for most of the state. Avoid whatever may lead to sparking a fire, because it would spread quickly.

Sunday will be calmer and cooler once the front moves through Saturday evening. But we warm right back up through next week: unable to shake this warm, dry weather pattern.

Meteorologist Jessica Blum 
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