Mild into March, start of meteorological spring

February 2024 went down as the third warmest on record for Lincoln, factoring in high and low temperatures each day for the month. The only two years that beat this year was 1930 and 1954.

However, if you only consider just the high temperatures, 2024 had the warmest February ever on record.

Friday transitions us into March, the beginning of meteorological spring! We will have to set clocks forward the morning of March 10th, which will push sunsets back to almost 8 p.m. by the end of the month. Average temperatures will continue to increase, including highs that on average will be closer to the 60s around March 31st!

We’ll be starting March on a mild note and continued winds out of the south and southwest. Winds have diminished from what we felt on Thursday but count on a decent breeze through most of the afternoon.

Gusts today will be around 25 to 30 mph, transporting warm air our way once more. Higher wind gusts are possible in northwestern Nebraska where a Red Flag Warning is again in place. We’ll see conditions get closer to those criteria heading into Sunday.

Friday should see highs reach the lower 60s again by the afternoon across southeast Nebraska, with the warmest temperatures across the state seen in central Nebraska.

The weekend warm up looks inviting with temperatures back in the 70s. Sunny skies will keep on until a cold front comes the second half of Sunday. Depending on the timing of that front, we’ll either be close to record highs (78° from 1983 on Sunday) or closer to Saturday’s highs in the lower 70s.

Most of us will be dry late Sunday and into Monday through that frontal passage. There’s a small, spotty chance that we could see some very light rain showers well into Sunday night.

Temperatures look to be warm enough that the precipitation that does fall in eastern Nebraska would be rain.

Meteorologist Jessica Blum 
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