Rain primarily north/west of Lincoln on Wednesday

Showers and storms are affecting the western half of the state on Wednesday morning. Those areas are seeing some much-needed rainfall. A storm or two may be on the stronger side in northern Nebraska during the morning. These may be capable of producing borderline severe hail and/or wind.

Unfortunately, the rain does not drift into southeast Nebraska as the morning progresses. A spotty shower or two can’t be ruled out, but we’re otherwise just mostly cloudy.

By afternoon, we could see the sun poking out. That should be enough to push temperatures into the 80s for much of the area. We’re forecasting a high of 82° in Lincoln.

By evening, we expect more storm development in the Panhandle and southwest Nebraska. Once these develop, they will intensify fast and move north. These storms also feature a severe weather risk, with hail, wind, and tornadoes possible. However, these will remain in western Nebraska during the evening.

The only rain chance in eastern Nebraska comes from a stray shower or storm that may or may not develop. For that reason, most (if not all) of the day remains dry in Lincoln.

A Level 1/5 risk for severe weather is in place for central and northeast Nebraska. This is for the morning round of storms in this part of the state. It’s a lower-end risk, meaning that severe weather would only occur on a very isolated basis.

A Level 2/5 risk for severe weather is in place for most of western Nebraska. This is for the evening round of storms which will likely pack more of a punch and cover more area.

In fact, there is even a Level 3/5 risk for severe weather in far southwest Nebraska. That region is where we have the best chance of seeing supercells capable of producing very large hail and perhaps a few tornadoes.

A stronger storm system arrives on Thursday, and this brings renewed storm chances. The storms develop first to the west, so storms may operate on more of a widely scattered basis in eastern Nebraska at first. However, we should see more storms moving from west to east overnight and into Friday morning.

Meteorologist Malcolm Byron

Facebook: /mbyronwx

Twitter: @mbyronwx