Returning to more of a wintry feel

It sure got warm across southeast Nebraska on Tuesday afternoon. While Lincoln was stuck in the 40s for the majority of the afternoon, some were significantly warmer. For instance, Grand Island was able to achieve 59° for a high temperature!

A cold front will push through the state on Tuesday evening, ushering in a chillier air mass overnight and into Wednesday morning. We’re expecting mostly clear skies with low temperatures near 7° in Lincoln. It’ll be windy as well with gusts in the ballpark of 40-45mph on Tuesday night.

It’ll be a cold afternoon on Wednesday as highs will be stuck in the teens. Although we’re expecting mostly clear skies in the morning, clouds approach by lunchtime. We turn cloudy for the afternoon, and we can’t rule out the chance for a snow shower in the late afternoon and/or evening hours.

Speaking of those evening snow showers, know that there is no guarantee that Lincoln will see them. With that in mind, please do not ignore the lower ends of the forecast accumulation ranges!

Overall, the best chance for snow is off to the west. If Lincoln is able to see any flakes, we’re looking at very light accumulations. This type of forecast is very sensitive to the track of the storm system causing the snow showers, and the system could easily track in a way where we end up completely dry.

For instance, if the storm system tracks 50 miles farther to the southwest than expected, accumulation ranges also shift to the southwest. Consider two versions of Stormcast below. For the first case, Lincoln could see a few flakes on Wednesday evening. However, Lincoln sees nothing at all with the 50-mile shift in track to the southwest.

Despite some uncertainty in how the system will track, Wednesday will be a cold day regardless. We’ll remain cold through the end of the week before we finally start to warm above average next week!

Meteorologist Malcolm Byron

Facebook: /mbyronwx

Twitter: @mbyronwx